TUZIGOOT NATIONAL MONUMENT
no doorways. Like pueblo dwellers across the Southwest, the Sinagua people entered rooms through holes in the roofs.
The museum at Tuzigoot’s visitor center, designed to look like an old pueblo, holds a remarkable collection of artifacts and a model of what archaeologists believe the community looked like in its heyday.
Sinagua weavers made blankets, skirts, sandals, matting, bags and ropes from locally grown cotton, and colored those items with vegetable and mineral dyes. Some of their spindle sticks and the whorls they used for spinning are on display, along with obsidian arrowheads, spear points, knives, axes, hoes and other implements.
Some of the pots and bowls are more than 1,000 years old. Most are plain, but a few bear intricate geo- When: 8 a.m.-5 p.m. daily. (Closed Christmas Day.) Where: 25 Tuzigoot Road, Clarkdale.
Details: 928-634-5564, nps.gov/tuzi. Admission: $5, free for age 15 and younger. Facilities: Trails to the pueblo and Tavasci Marsh, water, restrooms, gift shop. metric designs.
The most eye-catching display is the full-size re-creation of a typical pueblo room. The dirt floor, ladder, blankets, loom, fire pit, pottery and a smattering of household items gives visitors a glimpse of the lifestyle of these ancient people.