Tuzigoot Interpretation

July 06, 2016 Posted by: Collin Beckham
Today was spent at Tuzigoot working on interpretation. I walked around the monument and answered any questions that guests had. Examples of questions included "how did they enter their rooms," "What did they trade," "why did they leave," and "what happened to the rest of the buildings?" Many visitors wondered how I stood outside in the heat for so long, but I actually enjoy the heat;being raised in the desert has its benefits! Everyone was truly amazed by the monument. 

There were some Hopi masons restoring the two- story pueblo today. It was a treat to see them in action. It is easy to tell that they know what they're doing and genuinely care about the preservation of Tuzigoot. Unfortunately, visitors weren't able to enter that part of the monument today but it's for a great cause.  

Anne Worthington let me take a replica bow out to show visitors. She said it is an exact replica of a bow that was found buried with an Ancestral Puebloan near the area. Visitors definitely enjoyed the bow as they were able to hold it themselves and see what it would have looked and felt like. People often get to hold arrow heads but it is rare that they get to hold an authentic bow. 

I spent the last part of my day reading the in-depth management history of Tuzigoot, which was quite interesting. It also held information on other monuments as well as the mining industry in the area. I found out that the two people in charge of excavating and restoring Tuzigoot didn't follow what they were told and messed up the site's restoration. This is why we now have Hopi Masons take care of the monument. Before I left, there was a little lizard in the shop that I was tasked with taking out. It was feisty at first but once I caught it there was no problem at all;I released the little lizard back outside and it scurried off into its natural habitat. I look forward to more interpretation this week!

Collage of three photographs of the pueblo at Tuzigoot, two of them show men and ladders.

Mason, Tuzigoot National Monument, preservation, conservation, Internship, interpretation, Archeology



Last updated: July 6, 2016

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