_Nalakihu-Citadel Trail_
This booklet will guide you through Nalakihu (nah-LAH-kee-hoo), the
small excavated surface pueblo near the parking area, and the Citadel,
the large fortified, unexcavated structure on top of the butte. The
trail is short and will lead you around to the rear of the Citadel,
passing a large limestone sink, and to the top of the butte, where you
may obtain a magnificent view of the surrounding country and see many
other ruins from this vantage point. Numbered stakes on the trail
correspond to numbered paragraphs in this leaflet, which will assist you
in your understanding of this area and its early people.
_We ask that you please keep off the ruin walls, and do not remove any
pottery fragments, rocks, plants or other material from the area. Thank
you._
1 This unexcavated, rectangular pithouse structure was of a type used
by some of the inhabitants of the area prior to A.D. 1125.
Surface masonry architecture was not adopted by this tribe
(archeologists call them the Sinagua—see-NAH-wah) until the early 1100s
at which time their neighbors to the north, a tribe which scientists
named the Anasazi (the Old People), introduced above-ground masonry
structures to this region.
[Illustration: _Reconstruction of two types of pithouses found in
this region. Note the two methods of roofing and the ventilator at
right._]
[Illustration: _Ground plan of Nalakihu._]
2 Nalakihu is a Hopi word meaning “Lone House” or “House Standing
Alone.” This pueblo had 10 rooms on the ground floor, 3 or 4 more rooms
which formed a second story, providing a home for about 25 to 30 people.
A charred roof beam of ponderosa pine, lying on the floor of the first
room, gave a tree-ring date of A.D. 1183, indicating that this little
pueblo was built in the late 1100s. Dates of 1192 and 1260 have been
obtained on wood from the Citadel above which would cause us to believe
that both pueblos were built at approximately the same time.
By observing how the walls of various rooms butt against each other we
can deduce that the rooms at the secondary doorway constitute the oldest
part of the pueblo, because these walls were erected at one time and the
other walls butt against them. When these three rooms constituted the
whole pueblo, it was probably a one-family house.
[Illustration: _Three possible constructional stages through which
Nalakihu may have passed. (Hatchways are omitted and drains are
merely guesswork.)_]
[Illustration: _Metate (or mealing grindstone) resting on collapsed
roof material in Room 1. There is a mano, or handstone, in it._]
The three rooms in front of Nalakihu had no firepits and apparently were
used for storage. The same applies to rooms 5 and 7. The remaining rooms
had firepits and other features indicating they were dwelling rooms,
such as ventilators to bring in fresh air at floor level, deflectors to
keep draft of incoming air off firepits, and in room 4, loom holes to
anchor the lower horizontal bar of a vertical loom.
[Illustration: _Arrangement of metates (grinding stones) found on
floor of Room 1._]
3 (_Please enter inner room._) Roofs in Nalakihu had a main beam
spanning the room’s shorter axis, with the rafter poles crossing it.
Over these, narrow wooden shakes and sometimes stone slabs supported
another layer of reeds, branches, bark, or grass, and 3 or 4 inches (7.5
or 10 cm) of clay. Two collapsed roofs were found in each of four rooms
so we know a second story once existed over the central portion of the
pueblo.
Note the T-shaped doorway through which you passed and also the
occasional lines of black volcanic rock in the walls which probably were
not for decoration because some courses in the building were covered
with plaster.
[Illustration: _Cross-sections of various pits near Nalakihu._]
4 You are now standing on the upper of two terraces. Exactly what they
were used for we are not sure, but they may have been “kitchen gardens”
similar to those in use today in some of the Hopi villages.
Below the terraces to the right of Nalakihu, archeologists discovered an
unusual group of 6 burials and 16 storage, roasting or burial pits. Most
of the pits were jar-shaped, some had vertical sides, and there were two
pit ovens with flues, sort of teapot-shaped, with the spout actually
being the flue. Three of the six burials were those of infants in
shallow pits, some lined with stone slabs. Only a bowl or a few sherds
(pieces of broken pottery) were placed with them for grave offerings.
These pits have been backfilled and are not visible today.
[Illustration: _Archeologists work carefully to uncover a portion of
collapsed roof._]
[Illustration: _Pits 9 and 10 in which a few sherds, and bones of
common raven, bighorn, and mule deer were found._]
[Illustration: _Rocks standing on edge in Citadel Ruin are the
remains of walls that collapsed intact._]
The Sinagua buried their dead with the body extended full length while
the Anasazi buried them in a flexed position with the knees drawn up
toward the chest.
The people who used these pits may have attached religious significance
to owls, for only owl bones were found here. Winona Ruins south of here
along U. S. Highway 66 produced only hawk bones.
_Please stay on the trail._
5 You are standing in a circular ring of volcanic rock outlining a
room. On the slopes of Citadel Butte are several similar round or
rectangular outlines, none of which have been excavated. There is
another just above you, and several below.
6 The structure above is a fortified pueblo built on a small remnant
butte of volcanic origin. Note the loop holes. Through the higher of
these openings defensive warriors could shoot with bow and arrow. The
lower ones at floor level were air vents.
The black rock around you is basalt, formed by the cooling of molten
lava. Its color is due to the presence of iron minerals.
7 The valley below was the farming area used by the early inhabitants
of not only the Citadel and Nalakihu, but of many other villages, the
ruins of which you may observe on the surrounding mesas. How many can
you count? There are at least eight visible.
[Illustration: _The Citadel, as seen from the west._]
8 Note the way the walls of the Citadel follow the outline of the
volcanic cliff upon which the structure is built. Again the loop holes
are quite evident. The structure was probably two stories high on this
side, which exhibits the best example of the masonry at this site.
[Illustration: _Citadel Sink with the San Francisco Peaks in the
background, as seen from Citadel Ruin._]
9 This limestone sink in the foreground was formed when the roof of a
cavern in the Kaibab Limestone collapsed, probably plugging the outlet
and allowing a pond to form. There is another sink 2 miles (3.2 km) to
the south, and ruins are clustered around its edge also. The thick
Kaibab Limestone forms the greatest portion of the walls of the
sinkhole. It is stained by seepage from the overlying red Moenkopi
Sandstone, a thin layer of which can be seen at the base of the black
lava which forms the surface.
10 You are now entering the Citadel by an entrance utilized by the
Indians of yesteryear. Note the loop hole guarding this entrance.
[Illustration: _Ground plan of the visible walls of the unexcavated
Citadel._]
11 This ruin has never been excavated. It might tell a story of
peaceful farming people finding it necessary to defend themselves from
neighboring tribes. Around the depression in the middle there is space
for an estimated 30 rooms; the outlines of some can readily be seen.
Approximately 50-60 persons probably lived in this village.
[Illustration: _Pottery from cremation burials, a mug, pitcher, and
a ladle._]
Most of the broken pottery found on the Citadel’s slopes is of the type
made by the Anasazi, a prehistoric tribe which once lived to the north
of here. Nalakihu’s pottery, however, was only one-third Anasazi, the
other two-thirds being of the Sinagua and Prescott tribes. The latter
lived to the south and west. Different people who were drawn to this
region by the good farmlands created by the cinder cover that fell with
the eruption of Sunset Crater in A.D. 1065, lived together as neighbors
in this region, thus accounting for the different types of pottery in
the ruins.
[Illustration: _Black-on-white pitcher and bowl funeral offerings._]
[Illustration: _Clay pot lid, showing imprints of beans and corn
husks._]
12 Almost all of the dwellings were occupied for only a short period.
When the winds finally duned up the black cinders and blew them off into
the arroyos and the springs dried up, the people had to move to a more
productive location to grow their crops. We believe that the Anasazi
moved north into the Tsegi Canyon country while the Sinagua moved south
into the Verde Valley and east to Chavez Pass near Winslow by the middle
1200s.
_Every litter bit hurts!_
13 You can see why the early people utilized this vantage point for
the construction of a fortified pueblo. Today, we can thank them for a
magnificent view of the surrounding country. In the distance can be seen
the San Francisco Peaks, O’Leary Peak, Sunset Crater, Painted Desert,
Gray Mountain, and numerous volcanic cones, remnants of the San
Francisco volcanic field, over 2 million years old.
The structures you see from this point represent only a few of the more
than 800 sites found within Wupatki National Monument. The largest ruin
in this area is Wupatki ruin, 9 miles (14.5 km) to the southeast.
Wupatki, which has been excavated, housed about 250 persons during its
period of occupation. A visit to Wupatki is well worth your while.
14 We hope you have enjoyed this trail. _Please Return This Booklet to
the Register Stand Before You Go, or You Can Purchase It by Dropping 15
Cents in the Coin Slot._