The origins and disappearance of the Salado inhabitants of the Tonto Basin has perplexed archaeologists for many years. Between A.D. 1250 and A.D. 1450 the Salado people influenced a large number of cultural groups within the southwestern United States through their iconographic pottery designs. The spread of the Salado culture became known as the Salado Phenomenon. The distribution of Salado polychrome pottery encompasses 130,000 square kilometers that include central Arizona, southwest New Mexico, and the northern Mexican states of Sonora and Chihuahua. Despite the great influence of the Salado culture, archaeologists continue to have questions about who the Salado people were.
Showing results 1-7 of 7
- Tonto National Monument
Series: Salado Overview
- Type: Series
- Locations: Tonto National Monument
The origins and disappearance of the Salado inhabitants of the Tonto Basin has perplexed archeologists for many years.
- Tonto National Monument
Dendrochronology at Tonto National Monument
- Locations: Tonto National Monument
Dendrochronology, or tree-ring dating, has assisted archeologists in assigning calendar dates to archeological sites since the early twentieth century. This dating method has played a large and yet disappointing role in assisting archeologists in determining the dates of occupation at the Upper and Lower Cliff Dwellings at Tonto National Monument.
- Locations: Amistad National Recreation Area, Aztec Ruins National Monument, Big Bend National Park, Carlsbad Caverns National Park, Casa Grande Ruins National Monument, more »
In the arid Southwest, water means life, and prehistorically, rivers were the lifelines of the people.
- Locations: Amistad National Recreation Area, Big Bend National Park, Carlsbad Caverns National Park, Casa Grande Ruins National Monument, Chiricahua National Monument, more »
The Southern Basin and Range is an extension of the Basin and Range Province centered on Nevada and the Great Basin and extending from southern Oregon to western Texas, and into northwest Mexico.
- Locations: Gila Cliff Dwellings National Monument, Montezuma Castle National Monument, Tonto National Monument, Tuzigoot National Monument
The Transition Highlands, or Central Mountains, consist of numerous rugged low mountains marking the boundary between the tablelands of the Colorado Plateau and the southern deserts.
- Tonto National Monument
Geology at Tonto National Monument
- Locations: Tonto National Monument
The geology of Tonto National Monument played an essential role in the lives of the Salado people, providing the raw material from which they shaped tools and the building blocks for their dwellings and terraces.
- Tonto National Monument
Roosevelt Red Wares and Salado Polychrome
- Locations: Tonto National Monument
Salado polychrome ceramics, a variety of Roosevelt Red Ware, were the most abundant decorated ware of the Classic period (A.D. 1275 - 1450) southern Southwest.
Last updated: December 9, 2015