Existing comment:
A Village/Abandonment
A Village
You are entering the "Citadel," a ruin from the late 1100s. Research has not been completed so it is important that we leave things as they are. Will there be extra storage spaces found, possible evidence for the defense theory? We do know this is one of the larger pueblos in Wupatki National Monument and could have been the home for many families. You are welcome to speculate about what will be found here, as we do.
Abandonment
What happened? Exact reasons are hard to prove, but we know the climate here was variable, with good and bad times. Extended droughts effected many abandonments in the Southwest, probably including this one. By 1250 this area was abandoned and quiet. The families moved on in patterns we still don't understand, but almost certainly descendants of the people who built these houses are among the Pueblo Indians living in the Southwest. |