Wupatki National Monument

The pueblo

A pueblo of over 100 rooms, the tallest of its time in the region

Wupatki is a Hopi word meaning Long Cut House. The main pueblo is a multistory dwelling of over 100 rooms, believed to be the tallest and largest structure of its time in the region. Its walls were built from thin, flat blocks of local Moenkopi sandstone, which gives the pueblos their red color, and many still stand.

100+rooms in the main pueblo, the largest of its time here

The eruption

A volcano covered the land in ash, and people came to farm it

A major population influx began soon after the eruption of Sunset Crater in the 11th century, between 1040 and 1100. The eruption blanketed the area with volcanic ash, which improved farming and helped the soil hold water. An estimated 2,000 people moved into the area over the following century.

Trade

Seashells from the coast turned up in dry country

The land had few sources of food or water, yet artifacts have been found from distant places, which suggests that the people here took part in trade. Items from as far as the Pacific and the Gulf Coasts have turned up, among them many kinds of pottery and seashells.

The ball court

The northernmost ballcourt in North America, and a blowhole

The monument holds the northernmost ballcourt ever discovered in North America, a structure like those found in Mesoamerica and in the Hohokam sites of southern Arizona. It also has a geological blowhole, from which wind escapes from a cave system.

Remembered

It looks empty now, but the Hopi say the people remain as guardians

About 85 to 100 people lived at Wupatki Pueblo by 1182, and by 1225 it was permanently abandoned. Today it appears empty, but it is remembered and cared for. Hopi believe the people who lived and died here remain as spiritual guardians, and stories of Wupatki are passed on among the Hopi, Navajo, Zuni and other tribes of the region.