Community Living

The drive north from Tucson through Tonto National Forest offered blue skies, white clouds and panoramic views. "But where I would have expected the clearest weather of the trip--central Arizona--skies totally clouded," said Andy, as we left the old mining town of Globe.

At Tonto National Monument Ranger Drew provided a personal tour of the Lower Salada Cliff Dwelling. We hiked up the 300 feet just before he came on duty, only to find the last two switchbacks barred. As we turned back, disappointed, he hurried up the trail to open the gate and welcome us into the cliff house.

For half an hour Andy and I were the only guests in the mountainside apartment that overlooked Theodore Roosevelt Lake. Drew pointed out the interior community room with metate holes in the floor, where Salada women probably ground corn. Fingerprints in the mortar from 600 years ago showed where a father had fashioned the walls. Probably 60-70 people slept in this one dwelling, and many more lived in the area and created the type of pottery that influenced much of the Southwest.

No one really knows why the Hohokam people, another ancient Southwestern group, built the Great House in the 1300's that Spanish explorers named Casa Grande or why they abandoned their expansive village and farming community in the 1400's. Some think that inconsistency in water flow made community living in the desert too difficult. The changing land ultimately couldn't support so many people in one place.

But the Casa Grande Ruins supply evidence of a highly civilized people with an extensive trade network and with the most advanced system of irrigation along the Salt and Gila Rivers to water 16 harvested crops.

Because openings in the Great House align with the setting sun at the summer solstice, scientists theorize the structure served as a sort of farmland observatory. Protected since 1892, Casa Grande is the nation's first archaeological reserve.

We walked through the ruins and around the ball court and browsed in the museum before closing time. In a harsh and demanding land, these ancient people had learned creatively how to survive and thrive.