Existing comment:
Link to the Past:
Did the northern Sinagua completely disappear? No trace of their way of life shows up in the archeological record after 1400. Some may have joined the Hopi Indians to the north who still recognize the ruined Sinagua towns as their ancestral homes. The link between the modern Hopi and the ancient Sinagua were strengthened by the discovery of a remarkable burial.
Not far from Walnut Canyon, archeologists uncovered the grave of a Sinagua man filled with over 600 burial offerings -- 25 beautifully painted pots, 420 arrowheads, and other fine objects. But the most puzzling artifacts were twelve wooden wands, carved and painted to resemble hands, hoofs, and other shapes. To find out what they were, the archeologists questions various Hopi about their purposes.
To his surprise, they not only knew what they were used for, but they identified the ceremonial society to which the Sinagua man had belonged. |