Tours of the Lower Cliff Dwelling at Tonto National Monument will be offered this coming Saturday/NPS

International Archaeology Day, celebrated in more than nine countries with hundreds of events world-wide, comes to the National Park System on Saturday. Visit Tonto National Monument in Arizona on that day, and you can learn about the cultures that called this landscape home for hundreds of years.

Tonto National Monument is the only park system site dedicated to telling the story of the Salado people who built the cliff dwellings you can still visit today. The park's museum preserves some of the most important finds from the pre-Hispanic American Southwest. 

On Saturday, the monument's archaeologist will present an archaeological program and discuss preservation techniques at the Lower Cliff Dwelling from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. to celebrate International Archaeology Day. This site, which dates to about 1300, contains 20 roomsbuilt into a cave. The size of the Lower Cliff Dwelling was limited by the shape of the cave in which it was located - 40' high, 85' long, and 48' deep. Rooms were generally small, with a firepit in the floor and a hatchway to access the second story and roof. Ceilings and walls still bear smoke stains made by cooking fires.

The monument will also host a special interpretive program at the Schoolhouse Point Platform Mound in cooperation with Tonto National Forest at 2:30 p.m. The free program will be led by a Tonto park ranger, and participants do not need a Tonto Pass from the Forest Service.

The Schoolhouse Point site was occupied for over 100 years by prehistoric settlers in the Tonto Basin while smaller sites in the area were only occupied briefly. Join the ranger to learn why access to rooms in the center of the mound was restricted.

The tour involves walking on mostly flat ground for 1-2 miles and going through a large hole in a barbed wire fence twice. Those interested in the program should meet the ranger at the monument visitor center and then travel to the site. This tour will take place even with inclement weather.

International Archaeology Day is held on the third Saturday of October since 2011. The Archaeological Institute of America and archaeological organizations across the globe provide programs and activities for people of all ages to learn about the science of archaeology. More than nine countries and hundreds of events worldwide participate in the annual event