Description
Between 900AD and 1200AD native people inhabited the Painted Desert east of the San Francisco Peaks of Arizona. In an area so dry it would seem impossible to live, they built pueblos, harvested rainwater, grew crops and raised families. Their way of life was the key to survival in this harsh landscape. These people survived here, farming one of the warmest and driest places on the Colorado Plateau. They developed the skills to farm the land and endure hardship in an area where many would not. These ancestral Puebloan people used petrified wood not only for tools but also as a building material. Located on top of a small hill, this structure was built almost entirely of petrified wood and sealed with mud mortar. These thought-provoking remains bring to mind the innovativeness in building and the environmental challenges faced by these indigenous peoples. Based on nearby similar buildings, this pueblo was most likely part of a much larger community of "seasonal farmers or traders". Agate House was partially reconstructed by the Civilian Conservation Corps in 1933-34 and added to the National Register of Historic Places on October 6, 1975. Agate House is in Petrified Forest National Park near Holbrook, Arizona, USA.
