We went visit the Besh-ba-Gowah Archaeological Park. In 1883 Adolph F. Bandelier did the first archaeological work there. About ten years ago we had visited Bandelier National Monument in New Mexico. Apparently, Bandelier did quite a bit of digging in the southwest. This dwelling of ancient Americans was excavated in 1935. There had been a village there since the sixth century. The name given to the inhabitants was the Salado. The term actually means "salt", no doubt due to the nearby Salt River. Besh-ba-Gowah is actually an Apache name. Located near the Pinal Creek, which flows year round, the settlement was on a major trade route from Mexico to points north. Evidence of this was found in the ruins. The Besh-ba-Gowah Archaeological Park is smaller that the original town, because the perimeter had been bulldozed over time for other purposes such to create a park for recreation. Today the site is well maintained with informative signage as well as some reconstruction. There is a museum, small theater, and gift shop. We watched an informative video after purchasing our tickets. In retrospect, I think we should have visited the museum before venturing into the ruins. If I had seen the model of the village prior to the ruins I would have better understood the significance of all that remains of Besh-Ba-Gowah.
We entered under an archway which led to a long alleyway. Had I seen the model I would have known that it was once covered. This corridor terminated at a plaza. This plaza had over three hundred graves underneath. These early Americans, unlike most of the other indigenous people of the southwest, buried their dead. We walked among the rectangles outlined in stone. This was a complex of about 400 rooms; of these, 250 were on the ground floor. There may have been as many as four floors. Entry was through a hatch in the roof. Ladders provided a method to reach the roof. In times of danger the ladders could be pulled up on the roof. Soon we came to the ceremonial room, according to a sign. It was below ground level and had seating, an altar, and a ceremonial fire ring. According to the signage there was also an echo chamber. "I wonder what the echo chamber was used for?" Claudette asked.
"I don't know. It doesn't say on the sign. Maybe, it was just an added sound effect for the ceremony," I answered.
"It says there was a crystal covering a hole in the altar where the spirits appeared," she added.
"You know the Indians from this area believed they came from deep within the earth," I said.
"And the first nation people of the northwest thought they came from the seashells of the sea," she said, reminding me of our visit to the University of British Columbia's Museum of Anthropology.
We continued our walk into a large stone structure. Inside the reconstruction were rooms as they would have been centuries ago. The overhead wooden beams were lashed together, since the native Americans were not experienced with metallurgy. It was fairly dark inside and much cooler. It offered a good opportunity to see the construction methods used. Back in the sunlight we continued our walk and eventually returned to the museum/gift shop. The museum had much information presented in the form of artifacts and some some reproductions. The pottery was beautifully crafted and decorated. Geometric designs and stylized animals were a common motif. Primitive tools and textiles were also on display. There were scale models of the habitat as well. As I mentioned earlier, it would have been to our advantage to have visited the museum prior to visiting the site.
I was a great day in the Arizona sunshine, and we will surely remember our visit to Besh-ba-Gowah
