Sunset Crater Archaeology: The History of a Volcanic Landscape, Prehistoric Settlement in the Shadow of the Volcano
Creators: name: Brin, Adam
Publisher: name: Center for Desert Archaeology
Year: 2011
Subjects: Wupatki National Monument
Coconino (County)
Sunset Crater
Flagstaff, AZ
U.S. 89
Arizona (State / Territory)
Prehistoric
Cohonina
Hopi
Sinagua Culture
NA25,777
NA25,776
NA25,767
NA21,087
NA25,769
NA25,766
NA860
NA420
NA25,770
NA25,330
NA18,621
NA25,771
NA181
NA25,775
NA18,625
NA25,772
NA25,754
NA25,756
NA25,755
NA25,996
NA21,345
NA18,680
NA25,485
Headman's Edge
NA25,764
NA18,630
Borrow
NA25,762
NA33,180
NA25,949
NA21,131
NA25,753
NA25,779
NA19,007
NA21,103
Slope Fieldhouse
NA21,104
NA18,417
NA21,089
NA25,780
NA20,700
Clay House Small
NA21,092
NA21,091
NA25,752
NA21,090
NA25,751
NA25,774
NA25,773
AZ I:10:13 (ASM)
Lenox Annex
AZ I:10:93 (ASM)
Full House
Bachelor House
AZ I:10:63 (ASM)
Road House
AZ I:10:16 (ASM)
AZ I:10:96 (ASM)
AZ I:10:86 (ASM)
AZ I:10:99 (ASM)
AZ I:10:122 (ASM)
AZ I:10:114 (ASM)
AZ I:6:6 (ASM)
Seven
AZ I:10:60 (ASM)
AZ I:10:18 (ASM)
AZ I:10:20 (ASM)
AZ I:10:91 (ASM)
AZ I:10:105 (ASM)
AZ I:10:61 (ASM)
Plainview
Little Elk
AZ I:10:97 (ASM)
AZ I:10:69 (ASM)
AZ I:10:104 (ASM)
AZ I:10:62 (ASM)
Corn Rock
AZ I:6:5 (ASM)
AZ I:10:17 (ASM)
AZ I:10:10 (ASM)
AZ I:10:22 (ASM)
AZ I:10:121 (ASM)
AZ I:10:90 (ASM)
AZ I:10:113 (ASM)
AZ I:10:110 (ASM)
AZ I:10:120 (ASM)
AZ I:10:109 (ASM)
AZ I:10:92 (ASM)
Dean
AZ I:10:12 (ASM)
AZ I:10:15 (ASM)
AZ I:10:108 (ASM)
AZ I:10:38 (ASM)
AZ I:10:19 (ASM)
AZ I:10:94 (ASM)
AZ I:10:71 (ASM)
AZ I:10:112 (ASM)
AZ I:10:14 (ASM)
AZ I:10:107 (ASM)
AZ I:10:101 (ASM)
North End
Snag
Ant Hill
Lenox Park
Divide
Basalt Ridge
Elk
Homestead
Deadman Flat
Domestic Structures
Masonry Room
Archaeological Feature
Pit
Field House
Pit House / Earth Lodge
Hearth
Shade Structure / Ramada
Domestic Structure or Architectural Complex
Check Dam
Ceramic
Data Recovery / Excavation
Reconnaissance / Survey
Site Evaluation / Testing

description: This volume explores human adaptation to catastrophic events, particularly to volcanic eruptions. Sunset Crater Volcano is located in the pine forests of northern Arizona, approximately 20 km north of the city of Flagstaff. The volcano was long thought to have erupted in A.D. 1064, with the eruption extending for several hundred years. Research presented here, however, suggests that Sunset Crater erupted for only a few years sometime between A.D. 1085 and 1090, when nearby areas were densely populated by small, prehistoric farming groups. Lava and volcanic tephra were deposited over an area of 2,300 km2, dramatically changing the physical landscape and, almost certainly, the ideological world view of the prehistoric inhabitants. The eruption caused large-scale abandonment, creating a conservative estimate of 1,000-2,000 volcano refugees. Conversely, the deposition of a thin, moisture-retaining cinder mulch, 3-10 cm thick, allowed low elevation areas previously too dry to farm to now be settled. In this volume, the results of archaeological investigations of 41 prehistoric sites along a 26.7-km long section of U.S. 89, situated 5-20 km from Sunset Crater, are presented. Despite the stress of the eruption, the prehistoric populations who inhabited this area not only thrived, they prospered, eventually building some of the largest village sites in the northern Southwest. The goal here is to understand the nature of this highly successful adaptation. Further, the project area crosses what has long been considered a cultural boundary between two groups, the Sinagua to the south and the Cohonina to the north. The distinction between these groups is based largely on the predominance of different ceramic wares, with the Sinagua using Alameda Brown Ware and the Cohonina using San Francisco Mountain Gray Ware. Project research questions involved reconstructing the prehistoric settlement, including examining the question of cultural affiliation, with the goal of refining current understanding of human response to the Sunset Crater Volcano eruption.