Sinagua is a tribal group of Indians who lived in central Arizona between the Little Colorado and Salt rivers (now the area between the cities of Flagstaff and Phoenix ), including the Verde River Valley and a large part of the Mogoyon Plateau, during the period from about 500-1425 AD. e. Sometimes archaeologists consider the synagogue as the western branch of the Anasazi culture .
The early synagogue settlements consisted of well-type houses. Later structures already resembled the modern traditional pueblo homes of the southwestern United States . The economy of the synagogue was mixed, combining hunting and gathering with agricultural subsistence farming.
The name “synagogue” was given to the culture by the archaeologist Harold Colton, the founder of the Museum of Northern Arizona, which means “without water” in Spanish (the name “Sierra Sin Agua” was first given by the Spaniards to the three peaks of Mount San Francisco near Flagstaff in Arizona ) The name reflects the surprise of the Spaniards, who had not met the previously deserted highlands.
Colton also distinguished two different cultures in the synagogue. The northern synagogues were concentrated around the territory of the modern city of Flagstaff - these include monuments such as the Walnut Canyon , Wupatki and Elden Pueblo . The southern synagogues were in the valley of the Verde River; Among the monuments of this group that are open for public access, the most famous are Montezuma Castle, Montezuma Well, Tuzigut , Tents (Arizona) and the so-called V-Bar-V petroglyphs .
The last traces of the stay of the synagogue in Arizona date back to about 1425 AD. e. and discovered during excavations of the Montezuma Castle . The ancient pueblo migrated to the southwest as a result of, presumably, a number of reasons: severe drought and the internal conflicts that began as a result of it, as well as the war with the Yawapai tribe that migrated to this area.
Some Hopi clans are building their genealogy at the synagogue. According to the Hopi, the synagogue migrated from their homelands for religious reasons (the curse of the gods).