Tuzigoot

We also visited Tuzigoot National Monument, a hilltop pueblo that once contained 110 rooms.

The Sinaguans who once lived here were part of a wide trade network which extended south into Mexico and beyond. Live scarlet macaws were highly valued for their ability to supply red feathers that were used in ceremonial items.

Do people all over the world like to live on hills? From this vantage point, the traders in this village could see anyone passing in the surrounding area.



The marshy area to the southeast of the pueblo was a rich source of food and materials.



You can still see remains of irrigation ditches which were used to raise squash, beans, corn and cotton.



The National Park Service shows some sample cotton plants. I never realized there was a native cotton plant in the southwest.



In addition to hunting deer, pronghorn antelope, rabbits and bighorn sheep, the Sinagua kept wild turkeys for meat, feathers and eggs.