Montezuma Castle MONTEZUMA CASTLE NATIONAL MONUMENT ARIZONA A guide to discovery of the Castle, its Builders, and Neighbors. $1.00 [Illustration: _Courtesy Sharlot Hall Museum, Prescott_] [Illustration: Diary entry] April, 1894 “_We rode along and finally Montezuma Castle loomed up.... I was very much excited and filled with awe. We just sat and gazed. Finally I got my little wooden camera out and took a picture of the Castle from horseback.” F. G. Steenberg_ The Settlers Many early visitors thought this cliff dwelling was a “castle” built by Aztec refugees for their emperor, Montezuma—thus the name! Today Thanks to the archeologist, a more realistic story is beginning to unfold. The setting is a prehistoric one, meaning the people involved left no written history. They are believed to be the ancestors of some present-day Southwestern Indians. Montezuma Castle Time A.D. 1100-1400 This 20-room apartment house was occupied between 1100 and 1400. It has approximately the same floor space as a large, three-bedroom home of today. Perhaps a dozen families, or about 50 people, lived here. A natural recess provides shelter Like other nearby caves and crevasses, the large recess in which the Castle was built is the product of wind and water erosion over eons of time. Shelter from the elements and solar heat from the winter sun were probably good reasons for starting a home here. Other ideas have also been suggested, including protection, tradition, or perhaps the view! However, with no written records to guide us, maybe the real reasons will never be known. 300 years of construction The uppermost wall of the Castle was apparently the first one constructed. It makes two rooms out of a cave in the highest part of the recess. Later additions were made in front of and below these rooms. It appears that modifications were made right up to the time of abandonment! Inside the Castle [Illustration: _A ROOF BEAM chopped to length with a stone axe. Was the notch at the end used to help lift the log in place?_] [Illustration: _INSIDE A TYPICAL ROOM. Uprights and ceiling beams are from sycamore trees. Ceilings and upper-story floors are a thatching of grasses and shrubs covered with a mud mortar. The small, T-shaped doorway may have helped in regulating air circulation._] [Illustration: _WALLS OF ROCK CEMENTED TOGETHER WITH MUD. Note the handprints of the original plasterer._] Today Because of the natural overhang and quality of construction, Montezuma Castle stands today as a well-preserved cliff dwelling. [Illustration: Montezuma Castle] Say Ranger! The following are some frequently asked questions about Montezuma Castle