- Bone Needle Threaded with Yucca
Cultural Period: Ancestral Puebloan (Wupatki Pueblo, A.D. 1130 – A.D. 1260) Description: Bone sewing needle threaded with twisted yucca fiber; found in a room in Wupatki Pueblo. Dimensions: 10.7 (L) x 0.7 (diameter) cm (4.21 x 0.28 in). Collection: On display at Wupatki National Monument (catalog card). - Bone Gaming Pieces
Cultural Period: Ancestral Puebloan (Nalakihu, constructed late A.D. 1100s) Description: Highly polished bone pieces thought to perhaps have been used in gaming. These three pieces were found in Nalakihu Pueblo, located at the base of Citadel Ruin. Dimensions: Rectangular, approx. 3.0 cm wide; circular, approx. 1.5 cm diameter (1.18 x 0.59 in). Collection: On display at Wupatki National Monument (catalog cards 1 and 2 for the rectangular pieces on the left, or 3 for the circular piece on the right). - Bone Finishing Needle
Cultural Period: Ancestral Puebloan/Wupatki Pueblo (A.D. 1130 – A.D. 1260) Description: Bone needle with tapering ends. The needle, found in Wupatki Pueblo, might have been used as a finishing needle in weaving. The piece was found broken and has since been mended. Dimensions: 14.4 (L) x 0.6 (diameter) cm (5.67 x .24 in). Collection: On display at Wupatki National Monument (catalog card). - Bone Comb
Cultural Period: Ancestral Puebloan Description: Bone comb with nine teeth carved into one end and a tapering point at the other. This comb, found in a room in Wupatki Pueblo, may have been used in weaving. Dimensions: 19.5 (L) x 3.3 (W) cm (7.68 x 1.30 in). Collection: On display at Wupatki National Monument (catalog card). - Bone Awl or Hairpin
Cultural Period: Ancestral Puebloan (Wupatki Pueblo, A.D. 1130 – A.D. 1260) Description: Bone awl or hairpin carved at one end. The carving could be a feather, an arrow point, or the rattle of a rattlesnake. Although not broken, this piece was found in the trash of Wupatki Pueblo. Dimensions: 9.6 cm long (3.78 in). Collection: On display at Wupatki National Monument (catalog card). - Bone Awl or Hairpin
Cultural Period: Ancestral Puebloan (Wupatki Pueblo, A.D. 1130 – A.D. 1260) Description: Bone awl or hairpin carved into an animal hoof at one end; found in a room in Wupatki Pueblo. Dimensions: 22.2 cm long (8.74 in). Collection: On display at Wupatki National Monument (catalog card). - Black Mesa Black-on-white Jar
Cultural Period: Ancestral Puebloan/Kayenta (Wupatki Pueblo, A.D. 1130 – A.D. 1260) Description: Black Mesa black-on-white jar bearing a diamond pattern around the neck and stylized thunderbirds around the body. This jar was recovered from Wupatki Pueblo. Dimensions: 4.5 inches (H) x 2.0 inches (mouth diameter). Collection: On display at Wupatki National Monument (catalog card. - Big Pots
Cultural Period: Ancestral Puebloan/Cohonina/Kayenta Description: Intact prehistoric pottery is an extremely rare find. These vessels were uncovered in February 2009 from deep cinder deposits. The pot on the left is a Cohonina-style vessel, while the pot on the right is Kayenta-style. The date ranges for the two pottery types overlap between A.D. 1075-1125, allowing archaeologists to estimate when these pots were made, used, and buried together. Collection: These pots are on loan from the U.S. Forest Service to the National Park Service for the enjoyment of visitors at Wupatki National Monument. - Be Prepared for Bad Years
- Basalt Pottery Anvil
Cultural Period: Ancestral Puebloan Description: Basalt pottery anvil used as an aid in shaping ceramic vessels. Provenience unknown. Dimensions: 6 cm (H) x 8.5 cm (W) (2.36 x 3.35 in). Collection: On display at Wupatki National Monument. - Basalt Cylinders
Cultural Period: Sinagua Description: Shaped scoriaceous basalt cylinders; function unknown. Recovered primarily from Wupatki Pueblo. Dimensions: Max. - 8.95 cm (L) x 3.12 c (diam.); Min. - 4.6 cm (L) x 2.1 (diam.). Collection: Museum of Northern Arizona: Wupatki. - Basalt "Bullets"
Cultural Period: Ancestral Puebloan/Sinagua Description: Tapering, bullet-shaped objects made of basalt and carefully smoothed; found in Wupatki Pueblo. Dimensions: Left - Unknown; Right - 6.25 cm (L) x 1.6 cm (diam.). Collection: Museum of Northern Arizona: Wupatki. - Ballcourt Stabilization in June of 1965
Description: Stabilization crew at work reconstructing the top courses of masonry within the ballcourt at Wupatki Pueblo, June 1965. The ballcourt was excavated in 1965 by Alexander J. Lindsay, Jr. of the Museum of Northern Arizona. Date: June, 1965. Collection: Wupatki National Monument (Catalog No. WUPA 24384). - Ballcourt Interpretative Panel
This depiction of a ball game is based on descriptions of games played by the Mayan and Aztec cultures of Mexico and speculations on the Hohokam games in southern Arizona.
Ballcourts were common in southern Arizona from A.D. 750 to 1200, but relatively rare here in the northern part of the state. This suggests that the people of Wupatki intermingled within their southern Arizona neighbors – the Hohokam – who may have borrowed and modified the ballcourt idea from earlier contact with the Indian cultures of Mexico. Located along major natural drainages and travel routes, ballcourts may have provided opportunities for social exchange between villages. They were often within a one-day walk of a neighboring village. There is continued speculation about the uses of the ballcourts. Because of the work involved in building a ballcourt and the numbers that have been found (over 200 in Arizona), ball games may have been an important part of life for the people of Wupatki and their southern neighbors. The Hohokam balls – found at archaeological sites containing ballcourts – were made of carefully shaped rock and perhaps covered with pin pitch or other material. One form of the game might have involved moving the ball toward a goal using a curved stick.
The Wupatki ballcourt is 78 feet wide, 102 feet long, and had a 6-foot-high wall. Excavated and stabilized in 1965, a large part of the interior wall has been reconstructed. - Ballcourt
The reconstructed ballcourt was an unusual structure. Known ballcourts in the Southwest were not masonry. This court may have had multiple functions: a place where special ceremonies were held, where competitive games took place for socialization, or where children played a game of stick and ball, similar to hockey. After rains, it may have served as a reservoir. Some archaeologists think valuables changed hands through ritual events such as ball games. People living to the south (Hohokam tradition) had shells, salt, cotton, and a ballcourt in every town. People to the east in the Chaco region (Ancestral Puebloan tradition) has Mesoamerican macaws, copper, and turquoise to trade. A ballcourt at Wupatki could function as a link between distant regions. Trade valuables from both regions ended up here. Sandals trod far and wide, maintaining trade networks that helped meet mutual needs and improved the quality of life. When materials, innovations, and ideas came to communities, all knew what others had to offer.