Montezuma Castle National Monument

Montezuma's Castle National Monument was constructed by the "Sinagua" people between 1100 CE and 1425 CE. Named by European Americans in the 1860s, is not a castle and has nothing to do with the Aztec emperor, or anyone else named Montezuma. It's credited to the "Sinagua Indians", though that wasn't what they called themselves—the name was coined by archaeologists who marvelled that a people could develop a culture in the dry canyons they seemed to prefer. They were, essentially, the Anasazi people; but the Anasazi didn't call themselves "Anasazi", either. That name was given them by the Hopi and Navajo peoples, meaning as it does "enemy ancestors", which suggests the Anasazi were no strangers to family feuds which may be what tore their culture apart.)

However, it's a fascinating bit of history that's now very accessible from the Interstate; we've made several visits.

Keith and I Visit Montezuma's Castle

By: Paul S. Cilwa	Occurred: 9/14/2013		Page Views: 923
Topics: #Montezuma'sCastle
Keith and I knock another site off the old bucket list!

After Keith and I broke camp at Fossil Springs, we found it was such a beautiful day, and certainly too early for us to return home. So I mentioned Montezuma's Castle, which is quite near Camp Verde. This is an ancient cliff dwelling, founded about a thousand years ago, and active for about 400 years before the residents all packed up and moved away. Since Keith is mostly Navajo, Montezuma's Castle was inhabited by his direct ancestors; and he was excited to see it.

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