Existing comment:
Dry Farming:
Early visitors found broken stone hoes in the open parks along the rim. Archeologists later discovered evidence of extensive farming on both rims of the canyon.
The Sinagua had to be resourceful to live in a land so marginal for farming. They built check-dams in washes to catch run-off and to create terraces. They planted corn and varieties of squash and beans in scattered parks along the rims, in washes and wherever the canyon bottom allowed. If one field didn't get enough rain or run-off then another might.
To go from canyon home to their fields on the rim, the Sinagua followed natural breaks in the cliff walls. These formed over time as vertical joints in the cliffs eroded into steep ravines. |