During the Migration Time: Oral History, Violence, and Identity in the Prehistoric Verde Valley

Abstract

Archaeological data supports Native American oral histories recounting violence, arson, and the abandonment of the Montezuma Castle (AZ O:5:14 [ASM]) and Castle A (AZ O:5:95 [ASM]) dwellings at the end of the fourteenth century. Oral histories provide context for this event by revealing larger patterns resulting in population emigration and the formation of cultural identities in the Verde Valley of central Arizona. The coordinated analysis of archaeological data and oral histories presented in this paper provide an accurate and insightful representation of past events and illustrate a strong connection between contemporary Native American communities and the archaeological sites at Montezuma Castle National Monument.

Los datos arqueológicos respaldan las historias orales de los nativos americanos que narran episodios de violencia, incendios provocados y el abandono de las viviendas del Castillo de Montezuma (AZ O:5:14 [ASM]) y del Castillo A (AZ O:5:95 [ASM]) a finales del siglo catorce. Las historias orales dan un contexto a este suceso al revelar las pautas que provocaron la emigración de los pobladores y la formación de identidades culturales en el Valle Verde. El análisis coordinado de los datos arqueológicos y las historias orales presentadas en este documento hacen una representación precisa y reveladora de eventos pasados e ilustran una fuerte conexión entre los nativos americanos que viven hoy y los yacimientos arqueológicos del Monumento Nacional Castillo de Montezuma.

KEYWORDS:

• Apache
• Hopi
• Yavapai
• Cultural identity
• Montezuma Castle National Monument
• Oral history
• Social violence
• Southern Sinagua

Notes

1 Cavates are culturally modified alcoves and architectural spaces hollowed out of bedrock or other geologic layers. In the Verde Valley, cavates are carved into the soft Verde Formation limestone. These spaces comprise storage and habitation rooms.

2 Two archaeomagnetic sets consisting of 10 samples each were analyzed by the Archaeomagnetic Dating Laboratory at the New Mexico Office of Archaeological Studies in 2011 and 2013. The 2011 set (ADL 1353) produced three date ranges compared with the Wolfman Virtual Geomagnetic Pole (VGP); A.D. 945 ̶ 1020, A.D. 1330 ̶ 1365, A.D. 1375 ̶ 1415. The 2013 set (ADL 1367) produced one date range compared with the Wolfman VGP; A.D. 1370 ̶ 1395. For more information on sampling methods and results, see Guebard 2015.

3 Accession MOCA-00057, Catalog Number 1499 was originally collected from Castle A by George Boundey in 1927. It is now located at the Western Archeological and Conservation Center in Tucson, Arizona.

4 A similar story explains the abandonment of the Tonto National Monument cliff dwellings in Roosevelt, Arizona. This story recounts a similar conflict in which cliff dwellers were forced to emigrate from the area by the ancestral Apache. For more information, see Goodwin (1942:62).

5 It is important to note that the violent event described in this paper does not necessarily imply warfare throughout the valley. The events at Montezuma Castle and Castle A may have created a heightened awareness or fear of social violence. Perhaps this was a catalyst for additional emigration from the Verde Valley.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the National Park Service.