NATIVE AMERICAN RUINS IN GILA COUNTY, ARIZONA

Ancient Indian Ruins can be found and enjoyed throughout the state of Arizona but some of the greatest concentration of prehistoric cliff dwellings, ancient villages and pueblos are in Gila County, Arizona.

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This area was once inhabited by many different civilizations including the Hohokam, Salado, Mogollons and later the Apaches.

 

We invite you to take a step back in time and walk where they walked and emerce yourself in their culture.   The displays you will find in the museums listed below will give you the opportunity to walk though replicas of Hohokam dwellings, and glimpse artifacts used in daily activities, such as cotton weaving, jewelry manufacture, pottery making, hunting activities, food preparation and storage.

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Besh-Ba-Gowah is one of the pest preserved ancient villages in Arizona.

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FIND NATIVE AMERICAN RUINS IN GILA COUNTY

Credit:  Arizona Highways

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Besh-Ba-Gowah 
Museum

Besh-Ba-Gowah is a 200-room prehistoric Salado masonry pueblo located atop a broad ridge overlooking Pinal Creek. The site is situated one mile southwest from Globe, Arizona.

Photo Credit:  Gila County

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Credit:  David Pinter

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Goat Camp 
Ruins

Goat Camp Ruin is located in Payson and was occupied from about 750 to 1280 AD.  The site was originally a Hohokam colony that continued to be occupied through the Classic Period. 

Photo Credit:  N. Gila County Archaeology

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Credit:  Delange.org

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Shoofly Indian
Ruins

These ruins are located just outside of Payson, Arizona. It was occupied between 1000 and 1200 AD. It contains over 80 rooms, and housed as many as 250 people. 

Photo Credit:  Cameron Davis

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Credit:  Arizona Highways

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Devil's Chasm
Ruin

Perhaps the single most impressive ruin in the Sierra Anchas, and one of the least accessible.  Visitors will find the trail hard and difficult to get there, but the pay off is truly a WILD experience.

Photo Credit:  Arizonaruins.com

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Credit:  Cameron Davis

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Kinishba
Ruins

Is a large pueblo ruin containing nine masonry buildings constructed between 1250 and 1350 A.D. by the pre-Columbian Mogollon culture.  Located on the White Mountain Apache Lands.

Photo Credit:  White Mountain Apaches

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Credit:  DJ Craig

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Tonto National 
Monument

TNM  showcases two Salado-style cliff dwellings that tell a story of people living and using resources from the northern Sonoran Desert from 1250 to 1450 CE.  Located near Roosevelt Lake.

Photo Credit:  Tonto National Monument

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Credit:  David Pinter

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Gisela

Ruins

These ruins are a hilltop fortification near the town of Gisela, Arizona. The ruins are composed of a main circle surrounded by many individual rooms.  Left behind by the ancient Salado's.

Photo Credit:  Arizona Ruins & Petroglyphs

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Credit:  Cameron Davis

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Pueblo Canyon
Group

It has been suggested that this may have been the remnants of an older or hybrid community that managed to cling to its traditions after the larger  area was occupied by the Salado.

Photo Credit:  Arizonaruins.com

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