One might think that we would know everything there is to know about the subject by now, but new discoveries are being made in both museum collections and from ceramics recently uncovered during new excavations. This week’s blog is written by James Heidke, Desert Archaeology’s senior ceramic analyst.Īrchaeologists have been studying Hohokam pottery for about 100 years. Archaeologists continue to conduct research in order to fill in the gaps in their knowledge and answer the many questions that remain.Hohokam Ceramic Studies: Past, Present, Future There is still a great deal about the Hohokam culture that archaeologists do not fully understand. When this system broke down (the reason still not entirely clear), each group went its separate way culturally. Another theory proposes that they remained here and evolved culturally into the Akimel O'odham (formerly known as the Pima) and/or Tohono O’odham (formerly known as the Papago).Ī more contemporary theory states that the Hohokam culture actually was composed of many different ethnic groups operating under a single cultural, economic and political system. One theory states that they migrated back to Mexico, possibly after an extended drought in Arizona. Various theories have been proposed over the last century to answer this question. There is no evidence that the Hohokam worked copper themselves so they must have traded the finished products.

Trade items such as parrots and copper bells have been traced to their origins in Mexico. There is strong evidence that they maintained ties with communities in Mexico. The Hohokam migrated north from what is now Mexico and settled in southern Arizona. It is believed that these leaders lived in the communities that had platform mounds and ball courts that were used for ceremonial games, trade and other special occasions when several communities gathered together. As a result, some leaders probably gained political power over several communities. It is likely that some communities, and therefore their leaders, dominated others by controlling access to the source of water for the canals. The Hohokam canals were very well engineered, as later discovered by European American farmers, indicating that there probably was division of labor between the “engineers” and the laborers who did the digging. Construction at this scale would have required leaders to organize the construction and ongoing maintenance of the canal systems. The canal systems were large public works projects that required organization and cooperation between communities. However, their social and political systems appear to have been quite complex. They also created hundreds of petroglyphs on rock outcrops throughout the valley. The Hohokam made pottery and stone tools, and wove cotton textiles. They harvested shellfish and fish from their canals. They hunted game such as deer, rabbit, and quail. The Hohokam had no domesticated livestock. Some of these same canals were later re-excavated and used by pioneer farmers in historic times. The Hohokam built hundreds of miles of canals throughout the valley to irrigate their agricultural fields. The Hohokam were farmers who grew corn, beans, squash and agave. Michael Hampshire’s rendering of the large platform mound at Pueblo Grande on the north bank of the Salt River. The Hohokam people occupied the valley and much of southern Arizona from A.D. The name Hohokam (pronounced with the accent on the last syllable) comes from the word Hoohoogum, the name given by the contemporary Native Americans in this area to the prehistoric peoples whom they claim as their ancestors.

Hohokam native american