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After paying the required $4 per carload entrance fee, 12 Motorolans joined the
Tonto Park Ranger on a tour of the Upper Cliff Dwelling at Tonto National
Monument.
Those who went were: Tom, Jeannie and Adrienne Van Lew, Julia, Mike and Alicia
Staley, Scott King, Dennis Robertson, Peggy and Chuck Giovanniello, Elaine Cobos
and Ben Velasquez.
The Salado Indians who farmed the Salt River Valley inhabited the cliff
dwellings during the 13th and 14th centuries.
The Salado Indians occupied this area for three centuries; they made their
living from what nature provided in their mountainous terrain.
We began our trek on a dirt/rock, 1.5 mile trail, first through the wash and
then up the switchbacks that climbed 600 feet to the Upper Ruin, not a hard hike
but an interesting and informative one.
Our tour consisted of lessons in geology, history, ecology and botany.
In the creekbed we learned about the Stromatolite.
Some of the earliest known fossils of blue-green algae or bacteria trapped in
layers of sediments.
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We also discovered the root ball of a Night-blooming cereus, a vinelike
perennial that produces spectacular blossoms and a heady perfume, used to
attract night pollinators.
The root had been exposed during the summer monsoon storm last August when they
received 2.5 inches of rain in less than an hour.
There were many loose rocks and boulders in the creekbed, which had drastically
changed form due to the storm.
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Along the way we learned that the Salado were farmers.
Their pueblo villages dotted the riverside near irrigated fields of corn, beans,
pumpkins, amaranth, and cotton.
Groups ventured into the hills to hunt and to gather buds, leaves, and roots.
A favorite was the fruit of the saguaro cactus, which ripened in the summer.
They exchanged surplus food and goods with neighboring tribes, joining the trade
network that reached from Colorado to Mexico to the Gulf of California.
As the Salado prospered, their numbers increased.
They were also fine craftsmen, producing some of the most exquisite polychrome
pottery.
They made mats and sandals from the fiber of the Yucca.
The root provided the Salado people with soap.
The Saguaro cactus ribs were used as the ceiling cross pieces, as timber was
scarce.
The Agave, Mesquite, Saguaro and Prickly Pear all provided food.
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Bonding rocks with mud, the Salado constructed apartment-style dwellings
adequate for sleeping, storage, cooking and protection.
The Upper Ruin had 32 ground floor rooms, eight with a second story.
Terraces and rooftops provided level open spaces for work and play.
The surrounding area offered a bounty of useful plants and animals.
The dwellings have been so well protected that we could see original roof
timbers as well as finger marks in the wall plaster.
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