On Saturday and Sunday, November 21-22, 2026, Old Pueblo Archaeology Center’s “Coyote Ruin, Fitzmaurice Ruin, and Museum of Indigenous People Tour” will be led by archaeologist Andrew Christenson, Ph.D. Tours will be held on Saturday starting at 11:30 am to Sunday 12:00 noon in Prescott Valley and Prescott, Arizona.

Archaeologist Dr. Andy Christenson leads this tour to two hilltop archaeological sites of west-central Arizona’s Prescott culture and to one of Arizona’s oldest anthropology museums. On Saturday, we will take a short hike to the Coyote Ruin in Prescott Valley, which was occupied from perhaps the 900s until after 1300 CE. Archaeological excavations there in the 1920s were the earliest in the Prescott area for which we have documentation. Additional excavations were conducted in 1998 and later in 11 of Coyote’s 26 masonry rooms and two of its 10 pit structures, and many agricultural and water-control features were recorded.

After visiting Coyote, we will caravan about 20 miles to Prescott’s Museum of Indigenous People, originally the Smoki Museum. This complex of stone buildings was completed in 1935 by a non-Native community-minded social group, the “Smoki People,” with assistance from Depression-era work program participants. Andy, the Museum’s curator, may take us into the back rooms of the Museum if we have time. There will be an optional group dinner in Prescott on Saturday evening.

On Sunday, we will take a slightly longer hike to visit the famous Fitzmaurice Ruin. Situated on and near a prominent Prescott Valley hilltop overlooking Lynx Creek, it includes a 27-room pueblo and outlying structures dated between 1140 and 1300, at least one petroglyph, and stone-outlined areas interpreted as terraced and possibly canal-irrigated garden plots.

There is a requested donation of $109 per person ($99 for Old Pueblo Archaeology Center members), which covers all site entry fees and supports Old Pueblo’s and the Museum of Indigenous People’s education programs about archaeology and traditional cultures. Participants are responsible for their own transportation, lodging, and meals. Registration and prepayment are due 10 days after reservation request or by 5 pm Tuesday November 17, whichever is earlier: 520-798-1201 or info@oldpueblo.org.

Flyer: 20261121-1122(v1)_Coyote&Fitzmaurice&MuseumOfIndigenousPeopleTourFlyer