Hohokam Pima National Monument

Coordinates: 33°11′15″N 111°55′28″W / 33.1875°N 111.9245°W / 33.1875; -111.9245[1]
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Hohokam Pima National Monument
ballcourt at Snaketown in 1935. It has since been backfilled.
Map showing the location of Hohokam Pima National Monument
Map showing the location of Hohokam Pima National Monument
Map showing the location of Hohokam Pima National Monument
Map showing the location of Hohokam Pima National Monument
LocationGila River Indian Reservation, Arizona
Coordinates33°11′15″N 111°55′28″W / 33.1875°N 111.9245°W / 33.1875; -111.9245[1]
Area1,690 acres (6.8 km2)[2]
AuthorizedOctober 21, 1972
OwnerGila River Indian Community
Official nameSnaketown
DesignatedApril 29, 1964[3]

The Hohokam Pima National Monument is an ancient Hohokam village within the Gila River Indian Community, near present-day Sacaton, Arizona. The monument features the archaeological site Snaketown 30 miles (48 km) southeast of Phoenix, Arizona,[6] designated a National Historic Landmark in 1964.[3] The area was further protected by declaring it a national monument in 1972, and was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1974.

The site is owned by the Gila River Indian Community, which has decided not to open the area to the public. There is no public access to the Hohokam Pima National Monument.[7] The museum at the nearby Casa Grande Ruins National Monument, in Coolidge, Arizona, contains artifacts from Snaketown. The Huhugam Heritage Center also has exhibits on tribal history and archaeology.[8]

Definitive dates are not clear, but the site was generally thought to be inhabited between 300 

O’odham
word meaning “those who have gone.” Specifically who the Hohokam people were and when the site was inhabited is subject to debate.

Cultural history

This site is a significant example of the Hohokam culture, which lived in the broader area from about 1 CE until approximately 1500 CE. Snaketown, contained in a one-half mile by three-quarters mile piece of property, was occupied by Hohokam people during the Pioneer and Early Sedentary stages (approximately 300 BCE to 1100 CE). Early in the Classic Period (1150 CE – 1400/1450) the community of Snaketown, once apparently central to the broader Hohokam culture, was suddenly abandoned. Parts of its structure were burned, and the site was not reoccupied.

The Hohokam were farmers, even though they lived in an area with dry sandy soil, rugged volcanic mountains and slow running rivers. They grew beans, squash, tobacco, cotton and corn. The Hohokam made the sandy soil fertile by channeling water from the local river through a series of man-made canals. Woven mat dams were used to channel river water into the canals. The canals were generally shallow and wide, reaching up to ten miles in length.

Most of the population lived in pit houses, carefully dug rectangular depressions in the earth with branch and mud adobe walls supported by log sized corner posts. These pit houses were similar to those constructed by the neighboring Mogollon pueblo people, but were larger in size and made with a more shallow depression.

The oval shaped fields at Snaketown were identified as

Tohono O'odham (Papago) people, used for their Vikita ceremonies until at least the 1930s.[9]

Snaketown's pottery was generally homogeneous during the periods of its occupation. However, most specialists agree that pottery samples contain elements implying the presence two different, but probably related groups, over time.

Snaketown is dated by some scholars to around 300 BCE.

Brian Fagan dates Hohokam culture to 500 CE,[11] and sums up the situation by stating that there are simply two separate schools of thought on the subject.[12] Martin and Plog belong to the first group and Haury belongs to the second. The second group argues that these features the first group believes came from Mexico were developed locally. While there is much dispute on the origin of Snaketown, most scholars are able to agree that Hohokam culture peaked between 700 and 900 CE. Snaketown derives its name from another O’odham word meaning “place of snakes” and is considered to be one of the larger Hohokam settlements.[12] A type of pottery (called red-on-buff) that is identified as distinctly Hohokam is found over ca. 30,000 square miles (78,000 km2) of the southwest.[11]
This indicates the extent and prominence of the Hohokam people at their height.

Archaeology

The site of Snaketown is positioned on the

hunting and gathering.[12] As Snaketown grew in size between 975 and 1150 CE, an additional ball court was built.[12] Some scholars believe the ball courts may have promoted trade or competition between communities or segments of communities.[12] A number of status symbols and trading pieces were found at Snaketown, indicating the Hohokam’s affinity for trading. These pieces included shell, stone, and macaw feathers.[12] Trash heaps played just as crucial of a role as trading pieces in the archaeology of Snaketown. Many of the trash heaps helped archaeologists develop the chronology of the site.[12]

The oval shaped fields at Snaketown were originally identified as ballcourts. Each was about 60 meters long, 33 meters apart, and 2.5 meters high. In 2009 it was suggested that the shape of an oval bowl with curved sides and the uneven embankments on the long sides are unsuited for any kind of ball game. On the other hand, they correspond perfectly with

Papagos, used for their Vikita ceremonies until at least the 1930s.[14]

Snaketown houses were shallow pit houses. There were hearths, small clay lined basins near the doorways. These houses were home to small groups of extended families [13]

Archaeological history

View of Snaketown site, 2008

Snaketown was first excavated in 1934 by the

Mesoamerican
societies, evidenced by copper bells and figurines.

Most archaeological excavations have been

backfilled to protect the site for future research. However, a scale model of the original Snaketown community is held at the Heard Museum in Phoenix, while artifacts from excavations are housed in the Arizona State Museum
.

Archaeologists and Snaketown

Winifred and

Pima people for preservation purposes. The records for the Gila Pueblo Archaeological Foundation are held by the Arizona State Museum Library & Archives.[16]

The abandonment of Snaketown

It is not particularly clear what caused the abandonment of Snaketown around 1100 CE. Haury cites over-irrigation leading to

soil depletion as a possibility for its fall, but still contends that abandonment also occurred in nearby cultures that were less dependent on irrigation.[10] Fagan notes that this time coincides with the Medieval Warm Period, which might have caused droughts.[11] Fagan also suggests that the people continued farming in a much less organized manner or relocated according to remaining irrigation canals.[11] Haury maintains that Snaketown was deserted around 1100 CE while Fagan uses the later dates of 1150–1450. Several texts [10][12] maintain that its population increased until the dispersal of its population. The dispersal could have occurred quickly and violently, as the archaeological record indicates the burning of many buildings at the same time.[12]

Re-colonization and Snaketown

In 1865, the United States Cavalry created Camp McDowell in the general vicinity of Snaketown.[11] In 1867, a retired soldier began the Swilling Irrigating and Canal Company on the remains of the ancient canals.[11] As the company succeeded, a settlement began to form, which was eventually dubbed “Phoenix” after the mythological Phoenix creature that is reborn from its own remains.[11]

See also

References

  1. ^ "Hohokam Pima National Monument". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey, United States Department of the Interior. Retrieved March 18, 2012.
  2. ^ "Listing of acreage – December 31, 2011" (XLSX). Land Resource Division, National Park Service. Retrieved March 18, 2012. (National Park Service Acreage Reports)
  3. ^ a b "Snaketown". National Historic Landmark summary listing. National Park Service. Archived from the original on March 3, 2009. Retrieved September 27, 2007.
  4. ^ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. July 9, 2010.
  5. ^ "NPS Annual Recreation Visits Report". National Park Service. Retrieved March 18, 2012.
  6. ^ a b c d Martin, Paul and Plog, Fred. The Archaeology of Arizona. 1973, pp. 94, 146–47
  7. ^ "Hohokam Pima National Monument". www.nps.gov. Archived from the original on June 19, 2015. Retrieved May 11, 2022.
  8. ^ "Huhugam Heritage Center". www.grichhc.org. Retrieved May 11, 2022.
  9. ISSN 0023-1940
    , pp. 165–78
  10. ^ a b c Haury, Emil. The Hohokam: Desert Farmers and Craftsmen. 1976, pp. 354–57
  11. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o Fagan, Brian. "Elixir: A History of Water and Humankind". 2011, Reprinted by permission of Bloomsbury Press in Archaeology Vol. 64 Number 2. pp. 16, 54–58, 64
  12. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Fagan, Brian. Ancient North America. 2005, pp. 347–51
  13. ^ a b Snow, Dean R. Archaeology of Native North America. Boston: Prentice Hall, 2010. Print.
  14. ISSN 0023-1940
    , pp. 165–78
  15. ^ a b c d Woosely, Anne. Exploring the Hohokam. 1991, pp. 2–3, 153–54
  16. ^ Arizona Archives Online: Gila Pueblo Foundation Papers 1928–1950

Selected books and monographs

External links