Below this 2900-foot peak, the Santa Cruz valley was farmed by the Hóhokam Indians as early as 800 A.D. When the Spaniards arrived in the 17th century, the Hóhokam had vanished and settlements of Piman people dotted the valley. One settlement, called Schuk-Shon, meaning at the foot of the Black Mountain, was pronounced Tucson by the Spaniards. The hill served as a lookout for these early Indian and Spanish settlers, who lived in fear of hostile raiders. The whitewashed stone A was constructed by University of Arizona students in 1915.