Hohokam Pima National Monument
Hohokam Pima National Monument | |
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ballcourt at Snaketown in 1935. It has since been backfilled. | |
Location | Gila River Indian Reservation, Arizona |
Coordinates | 33°11′15″N 111°55′28″W / 33.1875°N 111.9245°W[1] |
Area | 1,690 acres (6.8 km2)[2] |
Authorized | October 21, 1972 |
Owner | Gila River Indian Community |
Official name | Snaketown |
Designated | April 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
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
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.
Archaeology
The site of Snaketown is positioned on the
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
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
Snaketown was first excavated in 1934 by the
Most archaeological excavations have been
Archaeologists and Snaketown
Winifred and
The abandonment of Snaketown
It is not particularly clear what caused the abandonment of Snaketown around 1100 CE. Haury cites over-irrigation leading to
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
- Casa Grande Ruins National Monument
- List of national monuments of the United States
- Mesa Grande
- Pueblo Grande Ruin and Irrigation Sites
- Oasisamerica cultures
- List of National Historic Landmarks in Arizona
- National Register of Historic Places listings in Pinal County, Arizona
References
- ^ "Hohokam Pima National Monument". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey, United States Department of the Interior. Retrieved March 18, 2012.
- ^ "Listing of acreage – December 31, 2011" (XLSX). Land Resource Division, National Park Service. Retrieved March 18, 2012. (National Park Service Acreage Reports)
- ^ a b "Snaketown". National Historic Landmark summary listing. National Park Service. Archived from the original on March 3, 2009. Retrieved September 27, 2007.
- ^ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. July 9, 2010.
- ^ "NPS Annual Recreation Visits Report". National Park Service. Retrieved March 18, 2012.
- ^ a b c d Martin, Paul and Plog, Fred. The Archaeology of Arizona. 1973, pp. 94, 146–47
- ^ "Hohokam Pima National Monument". www.nps.gov. Archived from the original on June 19, 2015. Retrieved May 11, 2022.
- ^ "Huhugam Heritage Center". www.grichhc.org. Retrieved May 11, 2022.
- ISSN 0023-1940, pp. 165–78
- ^ a b c Haury, Emil. The Hohokam: Desert Farmers and Craftsmen. 1976, pp. 354–57
- ^ 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
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Fagan, Brian. Ancient North America. 2005, pp. 347–51
- ^ a b Snow, Dean R. Archaeology of Native North America. Boston: Prentice Hall, 2010. Print.
- ISSN 0023-1940, pp. 165–78
- ^ a b c d Woosely, Anne. Exploring the Hohokam. 1991, pp. 2–3, 153–54
- ^ Arizona Archives Online: Gila Pueblo Foundation Papers 1928–1950
Selected books and monographs
- Crown, Patrica L. and Judge, James W, editors. Chaco & Hohokam: Prehistoric Regional Systems in the American Southwest. School of American Research Press, Santa Fe, New Mexico, 1991. ISBN 0-933452-76-4.
- Emil W. Haury 1976. The Hohokam Desert Farmers and Craftsmen – Excavations at Snaketown, 1964–65. The University of Arizona Press, Tucson.
- Gladwin, Harold S. and Winifred; Haury; and Sayles 1938. “Excavations at Snaketown: Material Culture.” Medallion Papers. Gila Pueblo, Globe, Arizona. Reprinted 1965 by the University of Arizona Press, Tucson.
- The National Parks: Index 2001–2003. Washington: U.S. Department of the Interior.
External links
- National Park Foundation information on Hohokam Pima National Monument
- Poster presentation: The Irrigation Canals at Snaketown Settlement
- Snaketown Red-on-buff jar (scroll down) – excavated near Gila Pueblo.