People of the Verde

People of the Verde. . People have long been drawn to settle in the Verde Valley for its plentiful food sources, water, and natural shelters., The earliest people to arrive here left behind fluted spear points that date to 13,000 years ago. About 1,500 years ago, people began to settle more permanently, which marked the beginning of long-term growth of agricultural communities throughoat the valley., As people began living together in larger numbers during the 1100s, settlements like Tuzigoot replaced small, dispersed farming sites. By the year 1200, communities extended all along the Verde River and its tributaries. Around 1400 these Puebloan farming groups began leaving the valley for other settlements., Nearly 200 years later, when the first Europeans arrived, they found the valley populated by Yavapai people living in scattered rancherías, clusters of dwellings that were less permanent than pueblos., Captions , The Verde Valley proved an exceptional, bountiful place to live. By around 1300, at least 40 villages with dwellings and farmlands formed a complex settlement network. , Some settlements were large pueblos like Tuzigoot. Others were cliff dwellings, such as Montezuma Castle. The community at Montezuma Well had both kinds of structures, as well as pit houses - semi-subterranean homes from an earlier age.