Tonto National Monument, Arizona
Around A.D. 1150, the Salado, a cultural group melding characteristics of Hohokam, Mogollon and puebloan communities, such as the Hopi, took hold in Arizona's Tonto Basin, where Tonto Creek joins the Salt River. By 1300, a growing population and shrinking resources probably pushed the Salado out from the valley and into the region's hillside slopes, plateaus and caves. The Salado knew and used their surroundings well. They cultivated crops on small patches of workable land on the craggy hillsides. They fashioned clothing and tools from native plants and developed a unique style of polychrome painted pottery. They constructed cliff dwellings from siltstone rocks found in erosion carved caves high above the valley. Then, sometime around 1450, for reasons not completely understood, but widely attributed to increased population pressure and depleted resources, the Salado walked away from their hillside and valley settlements and abandoned their lofty cliff dwellings. They most likely broke into smaller groups, joining various settled cultural groups in the region. Some may have returned to a hunting and gathering way of life; still others may have formed their own agricultural communities.
For hundreds of years, rugged terrain, remoteness and natural camouflage isolated and protected the cliff dwellings and the materials the Salado left. These irreplaceable treasures were threatened in the mid-1870s, however, when Western expansion and the fascination with Native American artifacts found their way into Arizona's Tonto Basin. Recognizing the significance of the Salado to America's cultural heritage, President Theodore Roosevelt declared the site a national monument in 1907, one of the first sites protected by the Antiquities Act of 1906. The proclamation mentioned “two prehistoric ruins of ancient cliff dwellings ... of great ethnologic, scientific and educational interest” (Proc. No. 787).
The site's earliest archeological research took place in 1937, when William A. Duffen excavated vandalized rooms and stabilized decaying walls of the Lower Cliff Dwelling. But professional archeological investigation at Tonto began in 1940 with Charles Steen's work at the Upper Cliff Dwellings. His research uncovered a variety of pottery types, along with plant and animal remains, and the most extensive collection of woven materials yet found in the Southwest.
Today, more than 63,000 visitors annually explore the site's 1,120 acres. They follow a self-guided half-mile trail to visit the 16 rooms of the Lower Ruin and take guided tours of the Upper Ruin's 40 rooms. In addition to distinctive pottery, the site's visitor center displays clothing and hunting tools fashioned by the Salado people.
In 2005, visitors to Tonto National Monument responded to the question, "In your opinion, what is the national significance of the park?" with these comments: