Near Camp Verde in Yavapai County, Arizona — The American Mountains (Southwest)
Creekside Community
Photographed by James Hulse, June 19, 2024
1. Creekside Community Marker
Nestled in a limestone cliff overlooking the creek, Montezuma Castle could have housed about 35 people. Including families in nearby pueblos and rock shelters, perhaps 150 to 200 people made up this community. In turn, these people belonged to a network of villages united by kinship, agriculture, and cultural traditions that stretched dozens of miles along the Verde River and its tributaries, including Beaver Creek, from the Mogollon Rim to the Black Hills. Archeologists call this the Southern Sinagua culture area.
These farming communities thrived until around 1350 to 1400 when people began leaving the Verde Valley, moving toward other population centers to the north and east, including those along the Little Colorado River and the Hopi Mesas.
Captions
Looking out from the Castle, residents had a commanding view to monitor the creek, their fields, and beyond.
Montezuma Castle is part of what archeologists have called the Southern Sinagua culture
this page online
Erected by Montezuma Castle National Monument.
Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Anthropology & Archaeology • Indigenous Peoples and Communities • Settlements & Settlers.
Location. 34° 36.72′ N, 111° 50.484′ W. Marker is near Camp Verde, Arizona, in Yavapai County. It is on Montezuma Castle Road one mile east of Beaver Creek Estates Road. The marker is located along the loop hiking trail at the Montezuma Castle National Monument. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 2800 Montezuma Castle Rd, Camp Verde AZ 86322, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Regionally, this marker is in Arizona’s Verde Valley and in the Yavapai-Apache Nation. It is also in the American Southwest and in the Mountain West. Globally, it is in North America, the Western Hemisphere, the Western World, and the Anglosphere.
Photographed by James Hulse, June 19, 2024
2. The view of the marker and Montezuma Castle
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: Creating a Home (a few steps from this marker); Cycles of Care (a few steps from this marker); Kinship Ties (within shouting distance of this marker); A Piece of Modern Monument History (within shouting distance of this marker); Aloft but not Alone (within shouting distance of this marker); On the Move (within shouting distance of this marker); Timeless Beauty (about 300 feet away, measured in a direct line); Growing a Livelihood (about 400 feet away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Camp Verde.
Other markers no longer nearby. The Community (was a few steps from this marker but has been permanently removed); Welcome to The Castle (was within shouting distance of this marker but has been permanently removed); The Way Up / Construction Sequence (was within shouting distance of this marker but has been permanently removed); The Neighborhood / Mysterious Departures (was about 400 feet away but has been permanently removed).
Also
Photographed by James Hulse, June 19, 2024
3. Montezuma Castle
On December 8, 1906, President Theodore Roosevelt celebrated the passage of the Antiquities Act by declaring four sites of historic and cultural significance as our nation's first National Monuments. Among these was Montezuma Castle, which the President identified as a place "of the greatest ethnological value and scientific interest." Although very few original artifacts remained in the structure due to intensive looting of the site, Roosevelt's decision assured the continued protection of one of the best preserved prehistoric cliff dwellings in North America.(Submitted on July 18, 2024, by James Hulse of Medina, Texas.)
Credits. This page was last revised on July 19, 2024. It was originally submitted on July 18, 2024, by James Hulse of Medina, Texas. This page has been viewed 353 times since then and 46 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3. submitted on July 19, 2024, by James Hulse of Medina, Texas.
