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39-487: Montezuma Well ( Yavapai : ʼHakthkyayva ), a detached unit of Montezuma Castle National Monument , is a natural limestone sinkhole near the town of Lake Montezuma , Arizona , through which some 1,500,000 US gallons (5,700,000 L; 1,200,000 imp gal) of water emerge each day from an underground spring . It is located about 11 miles (18 km) northeast of Montezuma Castle. The "well" measures 386 feet (118 m) in diameter from rim to rim and contains

78-555: A cultural group archaeologists have termed the Southern Sinagua . The earliest of the ruins located on the property (with the exception of the irrigation canal), a "pithouse" in the traditional Hohokam style, dates to about 1050 CE. More than 50 countable "rooms" are found inside the park boundaries; it is likely that some were used for purposes other than living space, including food storage and religious ceremonies. The Sinagua people, and possibly earlier cultures, intensively farmed

117-706: A near-constant volume of spring water even in times of severe drought. The water is highly carbonated and contains high levels of arsenic . At least five endemic species , the most of any spring in the southwestern United States, are found exclusively in Montezuma Well: a diatom , the Montezuma Well springsnail , a water scorpion , the Hyalella montezuma amphipod , and the Motobdella montezuma leech . Montezuma Well's steady outflow has been used for irrigation since

156-969: A position as a Research Archaeologist at the Southeast Archaeological Center, and that institution's close association with the Florida State University Department of Anthropology led to Fischer's work with archaeology faculty and students there. Upon his retirement from the NPS in 1988, Fischer became a Courtesy Assistant Professor for the Department of Anthropology. During his tenure at Florida State, he served as an instructor of underwater archaeology courses, lectured on topics relating to underwater archaeology for courses in historical archaeology, public archaeology, and Southeast colonial history, and assisted or co-instructed courses in scientific diving techniques and project management through

195-571: A position as the Park Archaeologist at Ocmulgee National Monument . In 1966 Fischer moved on to become a Staff Archaeologist at the Division of Archaeology and Anthropology for the NPS in Washington, D.C. There Fischer performed general archaeological resource management and research and was able to pursue interests in underwater archaeology. 1972 saw Fischer transferring to Tallahassee to take

234-599: A special student at Florida State University from 1972 to 1973 while employed at the Southeast Archaeological Center. George Fischer was employed with the National Park Service from 1959 to 1988, starting as a seasonal Park Ranger and archaeologist from 1959 to 1962 in Mesa Verde National Park and Wupatki National Monument . In 1962 he became a full-time employee with the NPS as Park Archaeologist at Montezuma Castle National Monument , and in 1964 he took

273-447: Is a US Third System Fort 70 miles west of Key West in the Gulf of Mexico , and is the largest brick masonry fortification in the western hemisphere. In the late 1960s and early 1970s Fischer led evaluations of underwater archaeological resources, limited underwater archaeological survey and excavations, and extensive underwater archaeological survey and testing activities. The 1969 work marked

312-530: Is a subject-verb-object language. Some sample words given in Yavapai translation: There have been recordings of Yavapai (as well as other Yuman languages) done in 1974, relating to phonology, syntax, and grammar. This was meant to understand the three topics better and to hear them. There is an effort to revitalize the language. There is a Yavapai language program for adults to learn the language and pass on to future generations. There have been attempts to save

351-559: Is considered the wreck of the Nuestra Señora del Rosario of the 1622 Spanish fleet, as well as an unidentified patache of the same fleet. This investigation revealed what could represent one of the pataches that was sent to salvage the Rosario less than a month after the hurricane that sank it, possibly documenting the speed with which the Spanish salvaged their own wrecks. HMS  Fowey

390-606: The Missouri River near Blair, Nebraska . Over 200,000 items were excavated from the wreck, whole objects in incredible condition, still packed in the original crates, with the names of the manufacturers, shippers and consignees; all dated to the morning of April 1, 1865. This opened his eyes to the "time capsule" nature of historic shipwreck sites, allowing one to see a specific day and an event caught in time, rather than working with fragments of artifacts and historical trash. In 1970 George Fischer headed up what came to be one of

429-562: The National Historic Preservation Act of 1966 was to be applied to submerged shipwreck sites as it is to historic sites on land, no longer allowing plundering by individuals using marine salvage and Admiralty law to profiteer from the non-archaeological salvage of a historic shipwreck in National Park grounds. This activity is seen by many of his colleagues and former students as George Fischer's defining act. Fischer

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468-543: The 8th century. Part of a prehistoric irrigation ditch is preserved near the park's picnic ground, and portions of the ditch's original route are still in use today. As with Montezuma Castle, the label "Montezuma" is a misnomer: the Aztec emperor Montezuma had no connection to the site or the early indigenous peoples that occupied the area. Montezuma Well is geologically very similar to the sinkholes and cenotes found in Florida and

507-559: The Academic Diving Program has sponsored for outside agencies. In the earliest underwater archaeological investigations by the Park Service (October, 1968), Fischer directed a survey and testing of Montezuma Well , Montezuma Castle National Monument , Arizona . From July to September, 1969, Fischer served as field coordinator on the excavation of the 19th century steamboat Bertrand at Desoto National Wildlife Refuge on

546-595: The Academic Diving Program. Fischer's instruction and mentoring capacities lessened in the late 1990s as he shifted more into retirement mode. George Fischer served as principal investigator on field projects undertaken through his Park Service and FSU career in two areas of Gulf Islands National Seashore ; Castillo de San Marcos , Fort Jefferson , and Fort Matanzas National Monuments in Florida ; and Fort Frederica National Monument in Georgia. Projects in Florida outside

585-569: The National Park Service in 1959, which included assignments in six parks, the Washington, D.C. Office, and the Southeast Archaeological Center from which he retired in 1988. He began teaching courses in underwater archaeology at Florida State University in 1974 and co-instructed inter-disciplinary courses in scientific diving techniques. After retirement from the NPS his FSU activities were expanded and his assistance helped shape

624-656: The National Park System included investigations at Fort Picolata, St. John's County; a survey for HMS Fox (1799) at St. George Island; a survey of Ballast Cove, Dog Island; an underwater survey of Wakulla Springs ; a project involving applications of underwater archaeological techniques to crime scene investigation for the Florida Department of Law Enforcement ; and several investigations of shipwreck sites in Mobile Bay . He also taught portions of workshops that

663-805: The Southeast Archeological Center and Florida State University and after his retirement. He died in Tallahassee, Florida, on May 29, 2016. Fischer attended Stanford University, performing his Undergraduate work from 1955 to 1960 and earning his Bachelor of Arts in Anthropology , with minor concentrations in English and Geology . He continued with graduate school at Stanford from 1960–62 and has completed all requirements for his Master of Arts in Anthropology except thesis. Fischer dabbled part-time as

702-520: The Verde Valley for at least 10,000 years. The earliest signs of permanent settlement in the area appear quite a bit later, however, around 600 CE . The ruins of several prehistoric dwellings are scattered in and around the rim of the Well. Their inhabitants belonged to several indigenous American cultures that are believed to have occupied the Verde Valley between 700 and 1425 CE, the foremost of which being

741-509: The Well a deeply sacred site, as they believe it is the place through which they emerged into the world. The high concentration of dissolved carbon dioxide gas in the water of the Well – which amounts to more than 80 times the typical freshwater concentration – and to a lesser extent its alkalinity, has prevented the development of any kind of fish population, so the Well remains a fishless spring. However, other types of aquatic life have managed to adapt: at least five endemic species ,

780-564: The Well. Weekly maintenance is required to keep water from the Well flowing through the natural outlet and into the irrigation ditch. Yavapai language Yavapai is an Upland Yuman language , spoken by Yavapai people in central and western Arizona . There are four dialects: Kwevkepaya, Wipukpaya, Tolkepaya, and Yavepe. Linguistic studies of the Kwevkepaya (Southern), Tolkepaya (Western), Wipukepa (Verde Valley), and Yavepe (Prescott) dialects have been published (Mithun 1999:578). Yavapai

819-598: The Yucatán peninsula of Mexico , that is, a limestone cave which has collapsed to expose its subterranean water source. The Well sits at the northern end of the Verde Limestone formation, a distinct layer of travertine limestone more than 2,000 feet (610 m) thick in some places, which was deposited beneath a series of shallow lakes that covered Arizona's central Verde Valley region between 8 and 2 million years ago. Archaeological evidence suggests that humans have lived in

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858-452: The accumulated lime has since hardened into a cement-like coating, preserving the canal's shape. The existence of the Well was almost unknown to European Americans before the publishing of Handbook to Arizona by Richard J. Hinton in 1878. In 1968, Montezuma Well was the subject of the first ever underwater archaeological survey to take place in a federally managed park, led by archaeologist George R Fischer . The Yavapai people consider

897-452: The first extensive shipwreck survey by the NPS on park property, noting more than 20 sites. He also participated with staff of Earth Satellite Corporation in a remote sensing survey for historic shipwreck sites, and assisted in analysis of data. Work was conducted at Fort Jefferson in 1981 and 1982 in partnership with Florida State University. In the summer of 1981 and 1982 Fischer directed underwater archaeological investigations of what

936-576: The first serious underwater archaeology investigations by National Park Service starting with a terrestrial metal detector survey and preliminary assessment of underwater archaeological resources at Padre Island National Seashore in Texas . Preliminary research led to an underwater archaeological survey of 1554 Spanish Plate Fleet wrecks there, and excavation of the Galleon San Esteban , sponsored by Texas Antiquities Committee . Fort Jefferson

975-524: The interned Japanese children. Fischer soon distinguished himself as the only Caucasian child that was hurling stones at the guards during recess. He met his wife, Nancy (Jane) George Fischer while attending Stanford and they were married on June 20, 1961. They had a son while Fischer was stationed at Montezuma Castle National Monument in Arizona . They lived in Tallahassee, Florida during his career with

1014-517: The land surrounding the Well using its constant outflow as a reliable source of irrigation. Beginning about 700 CE, the Well's natural drainage into the immediately adjacent Wet Beaver Creek was diverted into a man-made canal running parallel to the creek, segments of which still conduct the outflow today. The prehistoric canal, estimated at nearly seven miles in length, likely drained into a network of smaller lateral canals downstream, supplying perhaps as much as 60 acres of farmland with water. The route of

1053-572: The language in the Yavapai community. Poetry and stories have been published in Yavapai on several occasions. Yavapai poems are featured in Gigyayk Vo'jka , the anthology of poetry in Yuman languages edited by Hualapai linguist Lucille Watahomigie . Yavapai stories also appear in Spirit Mountain: An Anthology of Yuman Story and Song . Both works are accompanied by English translations, and

1092-668: The largest and most active diving research, support, and training programs in the United States . The Marine Lab and Academic Diving Program traditionally supports the research diving needs of faculty and students from many departments, as well as several outside agencies, including the Florida Geological Survey and the US Environmental Protection Agency . Fischer assisted or co-instructed courses in scientific diving techniques and project management through

1131-407: The modern canal is partly original, especially close to the outlet, but large portions have been re-routed over time as irrigation needs have changed. Much of the abandoned original route is still visible within the park, however, as the warm water emerging from the Well contains a high concentration of lime , which over many centuries was deposited along the canal walls as the water cooled downstream;

1170-431: The most of any spring in the southwestern United States, are found exclusively in Montezuma Well: a diatom , the Montezuma Well springsnail , a water scorpion , the amphipod known as Hyalella montezuma , and the leech species Motobdella montezuma . Many different bird species feed on these organisms and the plant life found in the water. In recent years Illinois pondweed ( Potamogeton illinoensis ) has invaded

1209-638: The poems in Gigyayk Vo'jka also feature a morphological analysis. Alan Shaterian has published a dictionary of Northeastern Yavapai. Pamela Munro is working on a dictionary and grammar for Tolkepaya. George R Fischer George Robert Fischer (May 4, 1937 – May 29, 2016) was an American underwater archaeologist , considered the founding father of the field in the National Park Service . A native Californian , he did undergraduate and graduate work at Stanford University , and began his career with

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1248-725: The same language as we do, some words or accents are a little different". Due to extensive cultural interchange, many Yavapai were once bilingual in Apache , and some Apache were bilingual in Yavapai. Yavapai consonant phonemes are shown below. Vowels occur short, mid and long in stressed syllables. The contrast is reduced to two lengths in unstressed syllables. There are two tones on stressed syllables, high level and falling, which are neutralized to mid on unstressed syllables. Unlike in Havasupai and Hualapai, postaspirated stops cannot appear in word-initial position (Shaterian 1983:215). Yavapai

1287-415: The university's program in underwater archaeology. Fischer was a true pioneer in the field of underwater archaeology and his students are now professors in the U.S. and abroad, serve as state, federal, and territorial archaeologists , direct non-profit research organizations, and work in the private sector. He founded and oversaw the underwater archaeology program for the National Park Service in 1968, and

1326-538: Was a fifth rate British warship, carrying 44 guns and over 200 men, captained by a descendant of Sir Francis Drake's brother. It had scored victories over French and Spanish ships in battle, but was lost on a reef at what is now known as the Legare Anchorage in Biscayne National Park in 1748. The sunken vessel became the subject of an ownership dispute with a part-time treasure salvor who presumed that it

1365-630: Was also a founding member of the Advisory Council on Underwater Archaeology, an international committee of the Society for Historical Archaeology that provides advice and assistance to governments, institutions, and individuals on matters relating to the field. He currently holds emeritus status. During the period of Fischer's tenure as a courtesy professor the FSU Coastal and Marine Laboratory's Academic Diving Program, established in 1975, grew to one of

1404-693: Was born in Susanville , Lassen County , to George August Fischer, a forester with the United States Forest Service , and Ruth Robertson Fischer, a school teacher. He was raised in various small towns in northern California, including Alturus , Quincy and Tulelake . While in Tulelake, his mother taught school children at the Tule Lake War Relocation Center , and found it more convenient to bring young George along and teach him with

1443-500: Was involved with many of the early shipwreck excavations that are now required reading in introductory textbooks (such as the 1554 Padre Island galleons, 1733 galleon San Jose , 1622 galleon Rosario , 1748 British warship HMS Fowey , 1865 steamboat Bertrand ). Fischer taught, as a volunteer at no cost to the university, for almost 30 years at Florida State University, which enabled their underwater archaeology program and introduced hundreds of students to this field. Fischer

1482-455: Was once spoken across much of north-central and western Arizona, but is now mostly spoken on the Yavapai reservations at Fort McDowell , the Verde Valley and Prescott . The rate of mutual comprehension between Yavapai and Havasupai–Hualapai is similar to that between Mohave and Maricopa (Biggs 1957). Warren Gazzam, a Tolkapaya speaker, reported that "you know they (Hualapais) speak

1521-454: Was part of the Spanish treasure fleet . Through legal conflicts and systematic surveys and archaeological investigations of the 1980s and 1990s, Fischer and his staff from the Park Service and students from Florida State University not only identified the sunken vessel but won a legal battle that effectively changed how Admiralty law was applied to submerged shipwreck sites. The court found that

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