Arizona's Historical Eras Trivia Quiz

Answer: Indigenous (9999 BC to 1400 CE)

The Cochise culture was an ancient indigenous group that existed around 9,000 years ago in the American Southwest. They were a desert people, contrasting with the big-game hunting cultures to the east. They focused primarily on gathering and collecting wild plants rather than hunting for their sustenance. Around 2100 BC, corn was introduced to the area through ancient trade networks with Mexico.

This primitive form of corn (or maize) was then farmed by the Cochise. Tools, such as millstones, have been found showing the people planted and then harvested and utilized the crop. This also allowed the culture to become more sedentary and build villages around the farming activities.

Answer: Indigenous (9999 BC to 1400 CE)

The Casa Grande is in Coolidge, Arizona, and is the main structure at what is now a National Monument. It was built around 1350 CE, and is a four-story structure made of earth. The ruins are the remnants of a large village built by the Ancestral Sonoran Desert People, formerly known as the Hohokam.

The exact purpose of this building, named the "Great House" by Spanish explorers, is unknown, but experts have theorized it was used for ceremonial and community functions. Based on the fact that several windows and openings in the adobe structure align with celestial events, it is also surmised the building had astronomical usages. For example, a circular hole in the upper western wall aligns perfectly with the setting sun during the summer solstice. The Casa Grande may be one of the largest prehistoric structures ever built in North America, but its true purposes remains a mystery.

Answer: Indigenous (9999 BC to 1400 CE)

A volcano erupted near what is now Flagstaff, Arizona, in 1085 CE. It displaced the local people living there, and dramatically changed the geography. After several earthquakes, a giant fissure opened up and lava erupted to great heights before flowing across the land. As pieces of cooling lava fell back toward the explosion, it created a large cinder cone that can be seen today.

The name of the crater comes from the colorful oxidized cinders at its rim, which make the cone appear to glow with a reddish hue. Over the centuries, various plants have slowly started to grow back in the surrounding environment. The area is now a national park and visitors can go on trails through the unique landscape.

Answer: Spanish (1528 CE - 1848 CE)

By 1540, tales of riches in the New World had reached Spain. There was also a rumor of Seven Cities of Gold in the southwestern part of what would later be the United States. In February of that year, Spain created a large and ambitious expedition and appointed Francisco Vázquez de Coronado as its captain-general.

His expedition struck out from Mexico. They traveled north through what is now Arizona but found only pueblos in place of golden cities. Later they would trek through what would be New Mexico, Texas, Oklahoma, and even Kansas. Even though the treasure he sought was not found, Coronado's claiming the land for Spain initiated colonization into the Arizona area, and opened the region to European influences. Members of his group were reportedly the first Europeans to see the Grand Canyon.

Answer: Spanish (1528 CE - 1848 CE)

The Pima Revolt was an uprising of the O'odham (Pima) people against Spanish colonial forces in 1751 in present-day southern Arizona. The Spanish people had forced the indigenous people into mission villages for labor usage and to convert them to the Catholic faith. Abuse was rampant in these villages, including forced labor and beatings.

A native, Luis Oacpicagigua, united several Pima communities together to revolt against the Spanish. In 1751 they attacked Spanish towns and missions, leading to the deaths of over 100 people. The following year the rebellion was quashed and Oacpicagigua later died in a Spanish prison. This revolt showed the simmering resentment of the Pima (and other Native American) peoples.

Answer: Spanish (1528 CE - 1848 CE)

In late October of 1736, a prospector named Antonio Siraumea found a huge ball of pure silver in a canyon near the present day border of Arizona and Mexico. People soon flocked to the area and found additional slabs of silver. Some of the balls and slabs of silver were over 2,500 pounds, which is very unusual for that ore.

Because the size was so unexpected, it began to be argued it was not a natural resource but a previously undiscovered treasure. This was important because if it was natural, the Spanish crown only got 20% of it, but if it were hidden treasure the crown got it all. Despite the experts' conclusion that it was natural, the entire amount was sent to Spain. The vein was depleted by 1749.

Note: One speculation about how the state got its name is that the ranch next to the silver find was named "Arizona".

Answer: Territorial (1849 CE - 1911 CE)

Prior to the US Civil War, residents of the southern part of the New Mexico territory (present day Arizona) were feeling neglected by the U.S. government especially due to lack of military protection and closure of mail routes. Also, many of these settlers had pro-Confederate sympathies and saw the outbreak of the war as an opportunity to get their own territory.

In March 1861, conventions were held in Mesilla and Tucson, where delegates voted to secede from the Union and formally join the Confederacy. In July of that year, a Confederate cavalry seized control of the area and in August the Confederate government proclaimed it the Arizona Territory. In 1862 the westernmost battle of the Civil War occurred at the Battle of Picacho Pass near what is now Tucson.

Answer: Territorial (1849 CE - 1911 CE)

In 1871, two Apache bands, the Aravaipa and Pinal, were peacefully settled in Camp Grant in the Arizona Territory near what is now Graham County. The people were farming and receiving rations from the U.S. government. However, other Apache bands were terrorizing the surrounding area and residents began blaming all Apaches. A vigilante mob was formed and focused their ire on Camp Grant.

On the morning of April 30, 1871, the mob surrounded the camp just before dawn. Most of the men from the camp had gone out hunting, leaving behind women and children. In less than 30 minutes, the attackers had killed over 100 of those people left behind. They then mutilated the bodies and sold many children into slavery. The massacre sparked outrage in the East but all the men were acquitted of the charges.

Answer: Territorial (1849 CE - 1911 CE)

In 1867, Civil War veteran Jack Swilling established a small farming community in the Salt River valley, reusing ancient canals to grow crops there. (For over 2,000 years, the Hohokam people lived in this valley, building an advanced society based on an extensive system of canals). Soon a settlement grew near Swilling's area and was called Phoenix to predict a city that would rise up like the mythological bird. It was incorporated in 1881. Meanwhile, between 1864 and 1877 the capital of the Arizona Territory had moved back and forth between Prescott and Tucson.

By 1887 the arrival of the Southern Pacific railroad had turned Phoenix from a farming town into a regional trade center. This, and its central location in the area, were deciding factors in making Phoenix the permanent capital in 1889.

Answer: Statehood to Modern (1912 CE - now)

The Grand Canyon is a huge, steep-sided gorge carved by the Colorado River in Arizona. It shows almost 2 billion years of Earth's geological history in its layered rocks. It is a wonder of the world but was only made a National park in 1919.

As a Senator, Benjamin Harrison introduced legislation to make the area a national park but it did not pass. In 1893, as President, he established it as a forest reserve, but that did not protect it from mining. Teddy Roosevelt, a passionate conservationist, was enthralled with the canyon. He made it a national monument in 1908. However, it was Woodrow Wilson, in 1919, who ultimately signed the act to establish the Grand Canyon National Park.

Answer: Statehood to Modern (1912 CE - now)

The Hoover Dam is a huge concrete arch-gravity dam (curved in a horizontal plane) located in the Black Canyon of the Colorado River, on the border between the states of Arizona and Nevada. It protects local areas from the river flooding, holds a massive reservoir of water, and generates power.

Construction of this much-needed project began in early 1931, and was officially finished by March 1, 1936. As one of the first steps, the Colorado River itself needed to be diverted around the construction site. Then canyon walls were stabized before the dam itself was constructed using steel pipes and concrete (3.25 million cubic yards). The dam was completed and President Franklin D. Roosevelt dedicated it on September 30, 1935, hailing it as an American achievement.

Answer: Statehood to Modern (1912 CE - now)

Route 66 was one of the United States' first numbered highways and has become an iconic symbol of the country. It ran almost 2,500 miles from Chicago, Illinois, to Santa Monica, California. In a process that took 12 years, Route 66 was created from a combination of existing roads and trails.

Arizona holds the longest contiguous stretch of original Route 66, from Lupton to the California border (385 miles), a historic route that became America's "main street" in 1926. The road meanders through the Black Mountains as well as the Petrified Forest National Park. Along the way are kitschy shops and various "blasts from the past".