Photos 2-8 depict Walnut Canyon, just a stones throw east of Flagstaff, AZ. Anyone with an elk hunt in the legendary Coconino County units (8, 6, 9, 10, etc) should make the 20 minute drive from Flag to check this out. The cliff dwellings, carved into soft limestone, were inhabited from around 1100 to about 1250 AD. Recent studies indicate that prehistoric peoples may have occupied the area thousands of years earlier. The Sinagua peoples (Spanish for
without water) who inhabited the area in the 2nd millennia left no written history at least none which wasn't looted by the 1800s as was the style at the times. Archeology suggests that the Indians hiked up to the canyon rims and farmed in the fertile soil just above their homes. Wild berries and drought hearty crops were their staple. The Sinagua are believed to have moved on and assimilated into the larger area Hopi culture--possibly due to drought or other factors. The Hopi refer to them as Hisatsinom ("People of long ago").
Photo #1 is a bit to the south and shows Montezuma Castle. This was one of four original National Monuments protected by Teddy Roosevelt under the creation of the Antiquities Act. It is located a bit to the south of Walnut Canyon in Verde Valley, AZ. It appears to have been settled Around the same time as Walnut Canyon but kept its populace a bit longer--until about 1300-1400.
Information cited from NPS leaflet propaganda
