Homolovi Ruins State Park
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| Homolovi Ruins State Park | |
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| Location | Arizona, USA |
| Nearest city | Winslow |
| Area | 4,500 acres (18 km²) |
| Established | 1986[1] |
| Governing body | Arizona State Parks |
The Homolovi Ruins State Park is a 4,500-acre (18 km²) preservation of over 300 Ancestral Puebloan archaeological sites. Homolovi or Homol'ovi (the Hopi spelling of the word) is a Hopi word meaning "place of the little hills". The park is located just over a mile north of Winslow, Arizona and features historical exhibits, interpretive programs, bird-watching, and hiking. There is a year-round campground, restrooms with showers (closed in winter), and an RV dump station.[2][3]
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[edit] History
The Homol'ovi cluster of archaeological sites includes seven separate pueblo ruins built by various prehistoric people, including Hopi Mesa ancestors, between approximately 1260-1400 AD. This fertile area is on a floodplain of the Little Colorado River, and the inhabitants grew cotton, corn, beans, and squash.
The people of the this period are called Hisat'sinom, which is the Hopi word for "long-ago people". They are often referred to as Anasazi, as the Navajo guides who helped nineteenth-century anthropologists and archaeologists called them. However, the word "Anasazi" is Navajo for "enemies of our ancestors", and the present-day Hopi population prefer to refer to them as the Hisat'sinom.[3]
Four of the sites are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.[4]
[edit] Exhibits and activities
The visitor center displays pottery sherds, baskets, and other artifacts, as well as offering an introduction to the human history of the park area. Information can also be found about the flora and fauna of the park, and there are books and brochures for sale.
Out of the seven Homolovi ruins, three are accessible. Homolovi II, the largest and most thoroughly excavated site, has a walkway and interpretive signs. It was occupied between 1330 and 1400 AD, and has about 1200 rooms. Archaeologists believe that the inhabitants were trading cotton for pottery with the inhabitants of the Hopi Mesas. This ruin also features three large rectangular plazas and about forty kivas (underground ceremonial chambers). There are also several clusters of pit houses, occupied before 1260 AD, which appear as mere depressions in the earth. Petroglyphs may be seen along certain sections of trail.
Sunset, one of a series of farming communities along the Little Colorado River in the late 1870s, was established by Lot Smith and his Mormon followers. Frequent floods forced the settlers to abandon Sunset in the early 1880s, and the community was eventually washed away. The cemetery, located on a small hill overlooking the river, survived and can be visited. Three of Lot Smith's children are among the cemetery population.
Hikers, mountain bikers, and horseback riders can use the six miles of unshaded dirt roads in the park along with the trails leading to archaeological sites.[3]
[edit] Wildlife
A bird checklist, available at the visitor center, lists of over 100 species that can be found in the area. These include notable species such as hawks, golden eagles, killdeer, Gambel's quail, great blue herons, and red-shafted flickers. Many mammals can also be seen in the park, such as gray foxes, bobcats, badgers, prairie dogs, desert cottontails, jackrabbits, and porcupines. Reptiles found in the area include the Hopi rattlesnake, western king rattler, horned lizards, collared lizards, bull snakes, and desert spiny lizards.[3]
[edit] Location and visitor information
The entrance to the park is located on highway SR 87, 1.3 miles north of Exit 257 off of Interstate 40. The campground is open year-round; the ruins are open to the public from 6:30am to 7:00pm daily. The visitor center is open from 8:00am to 5:00pm daily, except Christmas Day.[3]
[edit] References
- ^ Homolovi Ruins State Park
- ^ Samson, Karl (2008). Frommer's Arizona 2008. Wiley Publishing, Inc., 272. ISBN 978-0-470-14570-8.
- ^ a b c d e Laine, Don & Barbara (1998). New Mexico & Arizona State Parks: A Complete Recreation Guide. The Mountaineers, 170-172. ISBN 0-89886-559-X.
- ^ National Register Information System. National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service (2008-04-15).
[edit] External links
- Homolovi Ruins State Park
- Homolovi Chapter of the Arizona Archaeological Society
- Information about the Sunset Cemetery
