Produced by Stephen Hutcheson and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net Wupatki _National Monument_ ARIZONA [Illustration: Wupatki National Monument] WUPATKI NATIONAL MONUMENT An unusual stone pueblo built by Indian farmers of the 12th century The red sandstone prehistoric pueblos of Wupatki, gleaming against a background of black basaltic cliffs and facing a view of the Painted Desert of the Little Colorado River, were built by groups of farming Indians, ancestors of the picturesque Hopis. More than 800 home sites have been discovered in the monument, varying from the pits of ancient earth lodges to house structures three stories high. Studies of ancient wooden beams in the ruins have dated the major occupation as occurring during the eleventh and twelfth centuries. These abundant prehistoric ruins constitute the tangible and colorful remains of an eleventh-century Indian “land rush” that resulted from the earlier eruption of Sunset Crater, a nearby volcano. Coming from several directions and bringing different customs and habits, the various tribes met and mixed, though remaining in large part distinct groups, forming a local cultural pattern differentiated from its contemporaries in other sections of the prehistoric American Southwest. The many ruins in Wupatki National Monument are in an unusual state of preservation. The most accessible are the Citadel and Wupatki, located 5 and 14 miles, respectively, from U. S. Highway 89. The Eruption and the Land Rush Prior to the eruption of Sunset Crater, the vast area from the San Francisco Peaks to the Little Colorado River was sparsely inhabited due to scarcity of rainfall for raising crops. A few families were scattered along the base of the peaks where abundant snow and frequent summer rains made farming possible. Between 1046 and 1071 A. D., or almost 1,000 years ago, there were rumblings in the valley at the foot of the peaks. Earth lodges abandoned by the frightened Indians decayed into ruins. Then came the eruption of what is now Sunset Crater. Huge clouds of volcanic cinder or ash buried remains of the homes and spread a black mantle over more than 800 square miles of territory between the mountains and the river. While this was probably regarded as a great catastrophe at the time, some of the Indians soon discovered it was possible to raise corn where plants previously had shriveled and died from lack of water. The fine layer of cinder over the soil formed a mulch which absorbed moisture from the scanty rain and snow. Gradually news of this new farming land filtered out over the Southwest. The land rush was on. The People