Tusayan Ruins
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The Tusayan Ruins (aka Tusayan Pueblo) is an 800-year-old
Pueblo Indian The Pueblo peoples are Native Americans in the Southwestern United States who share common agricultural, material, and religious practices. Among the currently inhabited Pueblos, Taos, San Ildefonso, Acoma, Zuni, and Hopi are some of the mo ...
site located within
Grand Canyon National Park Grand Canyon National Park is a List of national parks of the United States, national park of the United States located in northwestern Arizona, the 15th site to have been named as a national park. The park's central feature is the Grand Canyo ...
,Tusayan Ruin visitor brochure
National Park Service
and is considered by the
National Park Service The National Park Service (NPS) is an List of federal agencies in the United States, agency of the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government, within the US Department of the Interior. The service manages all List ...
(NPS) to be one of the major archeological sites in Arizona. The site consists of a small, u-shaped pueblo featuring a living area, storage rooms, and a
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 ...
. Tree ring studies indicate that the site was occupied for about twenty years, beginning around 1185. It is found on the Desert View Drive portion of
Arizona State Route 64 State Route 64 (SR 64) is a State highway (US), state highway in Northern Arizona, the northern part of the US state of Arizona. It travels from its western terminus in Williams, Arizona, Williams to its intersection with U.S. Route 8 ...
, 3 miles west of the
Desert View Watchtower Desert View Watchtower, also known as the Indian Watchtower at Desert View, is a -high stone building located on the South Rim of the Grand Canyon within Grand Canyon National Park in Arizona, United States. The tower is located at Desert View, ...
. The site was listed on the
National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...
in 1974. The site was excavated in 1930 by members of the Gila Pueblo of
Globe, Arizona Globe ( "Place of Metal") is a city in and the county seat of Gila County, Arizona, Gila County, Arizona, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population of the city was 7,249. Globe was founded c. 1875 as a mini ...
. Preservation work took place in 1948 and 1965. The site represents the survival of an isolated Pueblo II culture into the Pueblo III era. The Tusayan Ruin and Museum is a NPS interpreted location, which includes a trail from the museum thru part of the ruin. Tours may be ranger lead or self-guided.A visit to Tusayan Ruin and Museum
(multimedia), National Park Service
The Tusayan Museum was built in 1928 to a design by National Park Service architect
Herbert Maier Herbert Maier (January 2, 1893 – February 23, 1969) was an American architect and public administrator, most notable as an architect for his work at Yosemite, Grand Canyon and Yellowstone National Parks. Maier, as a consultant to the Nationa ...
and sponsored by
Laura Spelman Rockefeller Laura Celestia "Cettie" Spelman Rockefeller (September 9, 1839 – March 12, 1915) was an American abolitionist, philanthropist, school teacher, and prominent member of the Rockefeller family. Her husband was Standard Oil co-founder John D. Rocke ...
as a trailside museum. It was expanded in 1934, and represents an interpretation of a Hopi structure.


See also

* Tusayan National Forest


Notes


Further reading

* {{authority control Ancient Puebloan archaeological sites in Arizona Grand Canyon Buildings and structures in Coconino County, Arizona Archaeological sites on the National Register of Historic Places in Arizona Former populated places in Arizona Museums in Coconino County, Arizona Native American museums in Arizona Buildings and structures in Grand Canyon National Park Former populated places in Coconino County, Arizona National Register of Historic Places in Coconino County, Arizona National Register of Historic Places in Grand Canyon National Park