Salado culture, or Salado Horizon, was a human culture of the Tonto Basin

Tonto Basin

The Tonto Basin, also known as Pleasant Valley, covers the main drainage of Tonto Creek and its tributaries in central Arizona, at the southwest of the Mogollon Rim, the higher elevation transition zone across central and eastern Arizona....

 in southeastern Arizona

Arizona

Arizona ; is a state located in the southwestern region of the United States. It is also part of the western United States and the mountain west. The capital and largest city is Phoenix...

 from approximately 1150 CE through the 15th century

15th century

As a means of recording the passage of time, the 15th century was the century which lasted from 1401 to 1500.Constantinople, the capital of the Eastern Roman Empire, falls to emerging Ottoman Turks, forcing Western Europeans to find a new trade route....

.

Distinguishing characteristics of the Salado include distinctive Salado Polychrome pottery, communities within walled adobe

Adobe

Adobe is a natural building material made from sand, clay, water, and some kind of fibrous or organic material , which the builders shape into bricks using frames and dry in the sun. Adobe buildings are similar to cob and mudbrick buildings. Adobe structures are extremely durable, and account for...

 compounds, and burial of the dead (rather than cremation). The Salado were farmers, using simple irrigation

Irrigation

Irrigation may be defined as the science of artificial application of water to the land or soil. It is used to assist in the growing of agricultural crops, maintenance of landscapes, and revegetation of disturbed soils in dry areas and during periods of inadequate rainfall...

 techniques to water fields of maize

Maize

Maize known in many English-speaking countries as corn or mielie/mealie, is a grain domesticated by indigenous peoples in Mesoamerica in prehistoric times. The leafy stalk produces ears which contain seeds called kernels. Though technically a grain, maize kernels are used in cooking as a vegetable...

, beans, pumpkins, amaranth

Amaranth

Amaranthus, collectively known as amaranth, is a cosmopolitan genus of herbs. Approximately 60 species are recognized, with inflorescences and foliage ranging from purple and red to gold...

, and cotton

Cotton

Cotton is a soft, fluffy staple fiber that grows in a boll, or protective capsule, around the seeds of cotton plants of the genus Gossypium. The fiber is almost pure cellulose. The botanical purpose of cotton fiber is to aid in seed dispersal....

. They also hunted local game and gathered buds, leaves, and roots to supplement their diet. They traded with other cultures, as indicated by archaeological finds of seashells from the Gulf of California

Gulf of California

The Gulf of California is a body of water that separates the Baja California Peninsula from the Mexican mainland...

 and macaw

Macaw

Macaws are small to large, often colourful New World parrots. Of the many different Psittacidae genera, six are classified as macaws: Ara, Anodorhynchus, Cyanopsitta, Primolius, Orthopsittaca, and Diopsittaca...

 feathers from Mexico

Mexico

The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...

.

Cliff dwellings

While the Salado communities of the river valley have been covered by Theodore Roosevelt Lake

Theodore Roosevelt Lake

Theodore Roosevelt Lake is a large reservoir formed by Theodore Roosevelt Dam on the Salt River in Arizona as part of the Salt River Project...

, elevated cliff dwellings remain. The cliff dwellings were built in the 14th century by Salado who moved up into the hills from the more crowded valleys. Two relatively intact cliff dwellings were set aside in 1907 by Theodore Roosevelt

Theodore Roosevelt

Theodore "Teddy" Roosevelt was the 26th President of the United States . He is noted for his exuberant personality, range of interests and achievements, and his leadership of the Progressive Movement, as well as his "cowboy" persona and robust masculinity...

 as Tonto National Monument

Tonto National Monument

Tonto National Monument is a National Monument in central Arizona, United States. The area lies on the northeastern edge of the Sonoran Desert, which is generally arid land with annual rainfall of about 16 inches here...

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The cliff dwellings of Tonto National Monument were constructed within natural recesses in siltstone hills surrounding Tonto Basin. The Salado used mud and rocks to construct multistory dwellings, or pueblos. The Lower Cliff Dwelling consisted of sixteen rooms on the ground floor, three having a second story. Adjacent to the primary structure was a twelve-room annex. The Upper Cliff Dwelling consisted of thirty-two rooms on the ground floor, eight of which had second stories.

Material culture (artifacts)

Archaeologists have found a variety of objects that form our picture of Salado life and culture. Salado Polychrome pottery was both useful and decorative. Sandals woven from yucca

Yucca

Yucca is a genus of perennial shrubs and trees in the family Asparagaceae, subfamily Agavoideae. Its 40-50 species are notable for their rosettes of evergreen, tough, sword-shaped leaves and large terminal panicles of white or whitish flowers. They are native to the hot and dry parts of North...

 and agave

Agave

Agave is a genus of monocots. The plants are perennial, but each rosette flowers once and then dies ; they are commonly known as the century plant....

 fibers testify to weaving skills, as do close-coiled baskets. Bone tools helped the Salado function and thrive in the desert environment.

Natural environment

The Salt River

Salt River (Arizona)

The Salt River is a stream in the U.S. state of Arizona. It is the largest tributary of the Gila River. The river is about long. Its drainage basin is about large. The longest of the Salt River's many tributaries is the Verde River...

 flows through the Tonto Basin, which provided the Salado with enough water to support agriculture and animal populations. In approximately 1330, climate change made the valley more arid and water tables dropped. Current flora and fauna in the basin and up into the surrounding hills and mountains include mesquite

Mesquite

Mesquite is a leguminous plant of the Prosopis genus found in northern Mexico through the Sonoran Desert and Chihuahuan Deserts, and up into the Southwestern United States as far north as southern Kansas, west to the Colorado Desert in California,and east to the eastern fifth of Texas, where...

, Arizona walnut, and sycamore

Sycamore

Sycamore is a name which is applied at various times and places to three very different types of trees, but with somewhat similar leaf forms....

 trees; saguaro

Saguaro

The saguaro is a large, tree-sized cactus species in the monotypic genus Carnegiea. It is native to the Sonoran Desert in the U.S. state of Arizona, the Mexican state of Sonora, a small part of Baja California in the San Felipe Desert and an extremely small area of California, U.S...

, cholla

Cholla

Cholla can refer to the following things:* Cholla cacti, a genus of cyllindrically-stemmed cacti* Cholla , a painting horse born in Nevada* Jeolla , former Korean province...

, prickly pear

Opuntia

Opuntia, also known as nopales or paddle cactus , is a genus in the cactus family, Cactaceae.Currently, only prickly pears are included in this genus of about 200 species distributed throughout most of the Americas. Chollas are now separated into the genus Cylindropuntia, which some still consider...

, agave

Agave

Agave is a genus of monocots. The plants are perennial, but each rosette flowers once and then dies ; they are commonly known as the century plant....

, and jojoba

Jojoba

Jojoba, pronounced , is a shrub native to the Sonoran and Mojave deserts of Arizona, California, and Mexico. It is the sole species of the family Simmondsiaceae, placed in the order Caryophyllales. It is also known as goat nut, deer nut, pignut, wild hazel, quinine nut, coffeeberry, and gray box...

 cactus

Cactus

A cactus is a member of the plant family Cactaceae. Their distinctive appearance is a result of adaptations to conserve water in dry and/or hot environments. In most species, the stem has evolved to become photosynthetic and succulent, while the leaves have evolved into spines...

 and succulents; oak

Oak

An oak is a tree or shrub in the genus Quercus , of which about 600 species exist. "Oak" may also appear in the names of species in related genera, notably Lithocarpus...

, juniper

Juniper

Junipers are coniferous plants in the genus Juniperus of the cypress family Cupressaceae. Depending on taxonomic viewpoint, there are between 50-67 species of juniper, widely distributed throughout the northern hemisphere, from the Arctic, south to tropical Africa in the Old World, and to the...

, piñon

Piñon

Piñon may refer to:* Pinyon pine * Pinon Airplant, Tillandsia excelsa-Places:* Piñon, Arizona, United States* Piñon, New Mexico, United States* Pinon, Aisne, a commune of the Aisne department in France...

, and ponderosa pine

Ponderosa Pine

Pinus ponderosa, commonly known as the Ponderosa Pine, Bull Pine, Blackjack Pine, or Western Yellow Pine, is a widespread and variable pine native to western North America. It was first described by David Douglas in 1826, from eastern Washington near present-day Spokane...

trees; and deer, rabbit, quail, and other such wildlife.

External links

• http://www.nps.gov/archive/tont/culture/salado.htm
• http://www.cabrillo.edu/~crsmith/salado.html
• http://www.mnsu.edu/emuseum/archaeology/artifacts/gilapottery.html