Issue editor: Todd W. Bostwick

Today, people relocate to Sedona and Oak Creek for the breathtaking views and agreeable climate. But archaeology shows us that, because of its reliable water supply and varied ecology, central Arizona’s Verde Valley has drawn residents for more than 120 centuries. Researchers have found numerous projectile points of Paleoindians and Archaic hunter-gatherers, and the sites of agriculturalists identified as the Southern Sinagua (ca. A.D. 600–1425) are scattered throughout the region. Hohokam cultural materials are also present in lowland sites dating between 800 and 1125, indicating that groups from southern Arizona moved into the Verde Valley and coexisted with the Sinagua, or that some Sinagua groups adopted Hohokam practices. Yavapai and Apache groups have lived in the region for many centuries, and the Hopi maintain close ties to this culturally diverse landscape. Contributors to this issue of Archaeology Southwest Magazine provide a closer look at archaeology in Arizona’s Verde Valley.