Wupatki Pueblo (Wupatki National Monument — Sinagua Great House)
Wupatki Pueblo · Wupatki · Sinagua Wupatki
Pueblo III (Sinagua-Ancestral Puebloan, 1100–1250 CE)·Sinagua–Ancestral Puebloan (Cohonina/Sinagua with Ancestral Puebloan)·🇺🇸 Arizona, Coconino County, Flagstaff–Little Colorado, Wupatki Basin, Sunset Crater vicinity, United States
About
About Wupatki Pueblo (Wupatki National Monument — Sinagua Great House)
Wupatki Pueblo (Wupatki National Monument — Sinagua Great House) is a multi-period tell/ancient village in Arizona, Coconino County, Flagstaff–Little Colorado, Wupatki Basin, Sunset Crater vicinity, United States — Largest Sinagua pueblo (105 rooms) at Sunset Crater ash-mulched farmland — ballcourt and blowhole shrine Excavated evidence reveals Sinagua–Ancestral Puebloan (Cohonina/Sinagua with Ancestral Puebloan) cultural horizons with Moenkopi sandstone architecture.
The pueblo 120×80 m, 105 rooms, 4 storeys at wupatki; ballcourt 78×13 m; blowhole 1 m preserves moenkopi-slab veneer, jacal, ballcourt masonry, blowhole natural crack shrine technique. Position on Arizona illustrates highest sinagua pueblo bridging sunset crater fertility boom to flagstaff ancestral puebloan interaction world.
Why it mattersHighest Sinagua pueblo bridging Sunset Crater fertility boom to Flagstaff Ancestral Puebloan interaction world.
Open questions
Mysteries & theories
Mysteries
- 01Wupatki ballcourt — Mesoamerican or local invention?
- 02Blowhole — shrine or natural phenomenon curated?
Theories
- 01Colton Sunset ash-fertility model vs. Yengoyan water-management
- 02Sinagua-Anaasazi interaction ballcourt diffusion debate
Theories are interpretations, not findings. The seal above tells you how much scholarly weight the place carries.
History
How it came to be
- Built
- c.1100 CE small pueblos; 1120 CE Great House expansion post-Sunset Crater eruption 1085; peak 1180–1220 CE
- Period
- Pueblo III (Sinagua-Ancestral Puebloan, 1100–1250 CE)
- Culture
- Sinagua–Ancestral Puebloan (Cohonina/Sinagua with Ancestral Puebloan)
- Builders
- Sinagua agriculturalists post-Sunset eruption, Ancestral Puebloan-influenced builders
- Purpose
- Largest Sinagua pueblo (105 rooms) at Sunset Crater ash-mulched farmland — ballcourt and blowhole shrine
- Abandoned
- c.1250 CE drought and resource depletion abandonment
- Rediscovered
- Excavated 1933–1934 Hargrave, Colton, 1948–1952 NPS stabilization
- Excavation
- Excavated
1085
Sunset Crater erupts, ash mulches Wupatki basin
1120
Wupatki Great House expansion with ballcourt started
1933
Hargrave excavates 105-room pueblo and ballcourt
On the ground
Structures & features
35.5189° N · 111.3744° W · 1490 m · 3 mapped features
Wupatki Great House (105 Rooms, 4 Storeys)
great house105-room Moenkopi-slab Great House with 4 storeys
35.5191° N · 111.3743° WWupatki Ballcourt (78×13 m, Masonry)
ballcourtMasonry ballcourt — only one in northern Sinagua world
35.5187° N · 111.3747° WWupatki Blowhole and Amphitheatre Shrine
blowholeNatural blowhole crack shrine and amphitheatre plaza
35.5192° N · 111.3741° W