Hohokam
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Hohokam is the name of one of the four major prehistoric archaeological traditions of the American Southwest. Archaeologist Harold S. Gladwin applied the name meaning "those who have vanished" to the remains he excavated in the Lower Gila Valley. The Hohokam may be the ancestors of the modern Pima and Tohono O'odham peoples in Southern Arizona, though the link has not been proven archaeologically.
Overview
The Hohokam tradition is believed to have been centered around the middle Gila River and lower Salt River drainage areas as well as the southern Sonoran Desert in what is now Arizona, Sonora, and Chihuahua. They built extensive irrigation canals without the benefit of implements. Their subservience to canals and agriculture in their inhospitable desert climate may have led to their lack of participation in warfare. They also had far-reaching trade routes with other mesoamerican cultures to the south.
Settlements in the Hohokam tradition were rancheria-style; each large, square house had slightly excavated floors and was no more than one room until very late in the Hohokam sequence.
The Hohhokam are credited with being the first culture to master etching. (circa 1000 AD)
The Hohokam cremated their dead.
Hohokam ceramics were finished using the paddle and anvil technique and fired to achieve a buff color. Red paint decorates ceramics of this tradition.
Hohokam archaeological sequence
This sequence is applied specifically to the Hohokam core area which is the Gila-Salt basin near Phoenix, Arizona. Outside this region, local phase schemes are used to more closely fit regional differences.
- Pioneer Period (AD 200-775)
- Colonial Period (AD 775-975)
- Sedentary Period (AD 975-1150)
- Classic Period (AD 1150-1400/1450)
- Soho Phase (AD 1150-1300)
- Civano Phase (AD 1300-1400/1450)
Between 1350 and 1450, the Hohokam tradition loses coherence and many settlements are abandoned. Much research and excavation continues in order to determine the ultimate fate of the Hohokam.
The Hohokam Pima National Monument, near Coolidge, Arizona, preserves one archeological area. The site is nearly 1700 acres but is not open to the public.
Casa Grande National Monument, the preserved ruins of a three story caliche astronomical observatory, is open to the public.
