Casa Malpaís is an

archaeological site An archaeological site is a place (or group of physical sites) in which evidence of past activity is preserved (either prehistoric or recorded history, historic or contemporary), and which has been, or may be, investigated using the discipline ...

of the

Ancestral Puebloans The Ancestral Puebloans, also known as Ancestral Pueblo peoples or the Basketmaker-Pueblo culture, were an ancient Native American culture of Pueblo peoples spanning the present-day Four Corners region of the United States, comprising southe ...

located near the town of

Springerville, Arizona Springerville () is a town in Apache County, Arizona, United States, within the White Mountains. Its postal ZIP Code is 85938. As of the 2010 census, the population of the town was 1,961. Springerville sits at an elevation of above sea lev ...

. The site is a nationally recognized archaeological site and was declared a

National Historic Landmark A National Historic Landmark (NHL) is a National Register of Historic Places property types, building, district, object, site, or structure that is officially recognized by the Federal government of the United States, United States government f ...

in 1964.

Description

Casa Malpaís was built around 1260 and was inhabited until about 1400, meaning that the site dates from the Pueblo III to the

Pueblo IV Era The Pueblo IV period (AD 1350 to AD 1600) was the fourth period of ancient Pueblo life in the American Southwest. At the end of prior Pueblo III period, Ancestral Puebloans living in the Colorado and Utah regions abandoned their settlements ...

. It is one of the latest dated Mogollon sites. The name is Casa Malpaís is Spanish for "House of the Badlands". The Springerville volcanic field contains over 400

volcanoes A volcano is commonly defined as a vent or fissure in the crust of a planetary-mass object, such as Earth, that allows hot lava, volcanic ash, and gases to escape from a magma chamber below the surface. On Earth, volcanoes are most often fo ...

within a fifty-mile radius of Springerville, making it the third-largest volcanic field in the continental

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. Unique and unusual features characterize the site. The Great

Kiva A kiva (also ''estufa'') is a space used by Puebloans for rites and political meetings, many of them associated with the kachina belief system. Among the modern Hopi and most other Pueblo peoples, "kiva" means a large room that is circula ...

, painstakingly constructed of volcanic rock, is the centerpiece. A steep

basalt Basalt (; ) is an aphanite, aphanitic (fine-grained) extrusive igneous rock formed from the rapid cooling of low-viscosity lava rich in magnesium and iron (mafic lava) exposed at or very near the planetary surface, surface of a terrestrial ...

staircase set into a crevice of the high basalt cliff wall leads to the top of the mesa. Both the

Hopi The Hopi are Native Americans who primarily live in northeastern Arizona. The majority are enrolled in the Hopi Tribe of Arizona and live on the Hopi Reservation in northeastern Arizona; however, some Hopi people are enrolled in the Colorado ...

and Zuni peoples still consider Casa Malpaís a sacred ancestral place. The site is at an elevation of 7,000 feet and the pueblo is perched atop terraces in front of basalt cliffs. These cliffs were formed from lava flow from an ancient volcano. Around 1240, a 60-room pueblo, solar calendar, and Great Kiva were built by the people. The site was believed to be abandoned by 1350. Artifacts were excavated and collected over time. The Casa Malpaís collection includes 156 boxes of potsherds and other artifacts from the ruins. Special butterfly collection. Most of the artifacts found in the 1990s are displayed in the Casa Malpaís museum.

Solar Calendar

This feature consists of a low stone wall enclosing a space 26 meters in diameter, with 5 gates. Part of the structure has been restacked, indicating an approximate possible height of 1.2 meters. "An opening on the structure's northern side appears to be oriented to true north" (Zoll 2012) Another, on the southwest side of the structure, is offset to allow a distinctive rectangular shaft of light to enter in a direct line with the wall during sunset at summer solstice (Zoll 2012, p. 15). At winter solstice, the shaft of light once again enters through the gate and extends to about the middle of the enclosure (Zoll 2012, p. 14). During the equinoxes, the sun enters again through the gate and "produces a distinctive rectangular shaft of light" (Zoll 2012, p. 15). Outside this circular feature, is a Bear Claw petroglyph, which at vernal equinox sunset, fits into a shaft of light produced by a natural rock grouping. " Both the Hopi and Zuni have bear clans or bear societies who may have created this image for reasons unknown" (Zoll 2012 p. 18).

Discovery

The first visit to Casa Malpaís by a professional

anthropologist An anthropologist is a scientist engaged in the practice of anthropology. Anthropologists study aspects of humans within past and present societies. Social anthropology, cultural anthropology and philosophical anthropology study the norms, values ...

was in 1883, when

Frank Cushing Frank Hamilton Cushing (July 22, 1857 in North East Township, Erie County, Pennsylvania – April 10, 1900 in Washington, D.C.) was an American anthropologist and ethnologist. He made pioneering studies of the Zuni Indians of New Mexico by ente ...

, an anthropologist living at

Zuni Pueblo, New Mexico Zuni Pueblo (also Zuñi Pueblo, Zuni: ''Halona Idiwan’a'' meaning "Middle Place") is a census-designated place (CDP) in McKinley County, New Mexico, United States. The population was 6,176 as of the 2020 Census. It is inhabited largely by me ...

, visited a site at "El Valle Redondo on the Colorado Chiquito", and was impressed by what he termed "the fissure type

pueblo Pueblo refers to the settlements of the Pueblo peoples, Native American tribes in the Southwestern United States, currently in New Mexico, Arizona, and Texas. The permanent communities, including some of the oldest continually occupied settlement ...

" he found there. In his journal he sketched dry masonry bridging fissures, upon which the pueblo is constructed.

Casa Malpais Visitor Center and Museum

The Casa Malpais Visitor Center and Museum, operated by the City of Springerville, is located on Main Street in Springerville, Arizona. The museum displays artifacts found at Casa Malpais and offers guided tours of the site that originate at the museum.

References

External links