Those cliffs were home to the Salado people until the 15th century. It is not clear when the Salados settled in the Tonto area.
Within this cave, the Salado built a structure of about 20 rooms, now called the lower cliff dwelling. Sixteen ground floor rooms can still be traced; several…
Salado masonry was crude by the 14th century pueblo standards. Walls were built of unshaped quartzite stones held in place by a mortar of clay and caliche…
Some time between AD 1400 and 1450, the Salado may have abandoned the Tonto Basin. What actually happened has been a subject of debate for decades. Their…
