The San Francisco Peaks of northern Arizona rise dramatically from the surrounding desert plain to an elevation of 12,637 feet. Despite receiving abundant winter snows and summer thunderstorms, most of this moisture disappears into porous volcanic cinders and fractured sedimentary rocks, leaving little in the way of streams or lakes. The geology of the region is dominated by some 600 volcanoes that include the highest peaks. The early Spanish explorers dubbed the region “Sierra Sin Agua”—mountains without water.
Despite the arid conditions, people practicing corn agriculture began to settle the area around A.D. 400, some 2,500 years later than in other parts of the Southwest. The abundant archaeological record includes the Sinagua and Cohonina cultures. Later, elements of the Chaco culture to the east and the Hohokam culture to the south made their presence known, sometimes on the same sites. Around 1200, the region began a long decline, and by about A.D. 1450 the Sierra Sin Agua was abandoned. Today, thousands of people visit the area’s major ruins including Wupatki Pueblo, Eldon Pueblo, and Walnut Canyon National Monument, each year.
At least 14 Native American groups consider the San Francisco Peaks a holy place, including the Hopis, Yavapais, Zunis, Utes, and Navajos. The Hopi kachinas, spiritual guides and helpers, reside here. The title of this book Hisat’sinom is a Hopi term that translates as “those who lived long ago.”
The most recent volcanic activity took place between about A.D. 1068 and 1080. Sunset Crater grew to 1,100 feet above the surrounding terrain and ejected some two billion tons of ash, scoria, and cinders. The local residents must have been terrified by the eruptions and the resulting destruction, and the area was abandoned for a time. Recent studies indicate, however, that these people quickly learned that the new ash and cinders brought agricultural rewards and the population expanded.
In this volume, Northern Arizona University archaeologist Christian Downum has assembled 20 essays by diverse scholars that probe this fascinating region’s people, biology, geology, and legends. Written for the general public and richly illustrated with photographs, drawings, maps and diagrams, Hisat’sinom is both a delight to peruse and reliable source of the latest information on this most fascinating part of America.
