Sinagua: Introducing Prehistoric Cultural Groups

There were two groups within the Sinagua, the Northern and the Southern.
 
The Northern Sinagua resided in a large area above the Mogollon rim encompassing present-day Flagstaff, the San Francisco peaks, Sunset Crater and regions east of it, and the northern extension of Wupatki and its environs.  The earliest pithouses of this region date from around 675 A.D., and by 900 A.D. these people were already trading with the Kayenta Anasazi and the Hohokam.  1150 A.D. marked the peak of northern Sinagua cultural development, centered at Elden Pueblo.  Other notable centers of this culture such as Wupatki, Ridge, Walnut Canyon, and Winona Village, developed and thrived between 1150 and 1250 A.D., known as their Classic Period.  The Northern Sinagua had to endure eruptions of Sunset Crater for 200 years (starting 1064 A.D.), as well as times of peak rainfall and devastating drought by 1250 A.D.  The volcanic eruptions were not totally without warning, and this gave the people time to move from place to place as needed. 
 
The Southern Sinagua lived in the Sedona/Verde Valley region.  Their culture developed in parallel with their relatives to the north and include such well known sites as the earlier 13th Century Palatki and Honanki near Sedona, and the later Golden Age 14th Century examples such as Monument Castle, Tuzigoot and Clear Creek in the Verde Valley.  It is thought that some of the Northern Sinagua moved south during the 12th Century A.D., due to minor droughts and volcanic eruptions in their homelands. 
 
In the Verde Valley, fields were planted on tops of mesas whereby temperatures were warmer and crops were exposed to more precipitation and sunlight.  Climate and resources were always much better to the south, so much so that it is believed for a period of time the Sinagua and Hohokam both shared the Verde Valley.  Irregardless, the Sinagua and Hohokam were always in close contact with each other through trade.  Populations of Southern Sinagua concentrated in Tuzigoot and Montezuma Castle in 1300 A.D., but abandoned these centers of culture in the early 1400's with migrations to the north and east. 
 
The Sinagua were potters, but never made decorated pottery - only plain, sturdy brown/red ware, and usually ollas (large pottery storage jugs).  They were merchants and tradesmen who carried on an extensive trading network involving Anasazi and Hohokam pottery, cloth and salt from the Verde Valley, minerals such as turquoise and argillite (pipestone) from New Mexico and Prescott respectively, shell from the Pacific Ocean and the Gulf of California, and parrots and copper bells from Mexico.  They were also artisans in their own right and produced jewelry, stone tools and pipes, plus items of bone.  They wove baskets and made mats, nets and other textiles from yucca and cotton, all of which were incorporated into their trading profession.  Their famous Palatkwapi trading trail took them 150 miles from the Verde Valley to the Hopi Mesas, and it is along this trail that the settlement of Nuvakwewtaqa was established.
 
One particularly notable cultural characteristic the Sinagua adopted from their Hohokam neighbors was the ballcourt, a distinctly Mesoamerican tradition.
 
Like most other prehistoric cultures, the Sinagua disposed of their trash by throwing it into great heaps, both indoor and outdoor, and the dead were buried in these mounds, wrapped in matting, laid out fully extended, accompanied by offerings of jewelry and pottery, then covered over with dirt or stone slabs.