Hohokam
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 pottery 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.
Cultural divisions
Cultural labels such as Hohokam, Anasazi or Mogollon are used by archaeologists to define cultural differences among prehistoric peoples. It is important to note that culture names and divisions are assigned by individuals separated from the actual cultures by both time and space. This means that cultural divisions are by nature arbitrary, and are based solely on data available at the time of analysis and publication. They are subject to change, not only on the basis of new information and discoveries, but also as attitudes and perspectives change within the scientific community. When making use of modern cultural divisions in the Southwest, it is important to understand three specific limitations in the current conventions.
- Archaeological research focuses on physical remains, the items left behind during people’s activities. Scientists are able to examine fragments of pottery vessels, human remains, stone tools or evidence left from the construction of buildings. However, many other aspects of the culture of prehistoric peoples are not tangible. Languages spoken by these people and their beliefs and behavior are difficult to decipher from the physical materials. Cultural divisions are tools of the modern scientist, and so should not be considered similar to divisions or relationships the ancient residents may have recognized. Modern cultures in this region, many of whom claim some of these ancient people as ancestors, contain a striking range of diversity in lifestyles, language and religious belief. This suggests the ancient people were also more diverse than their material remains may suggest.
- The modern term “style” has a bearing on how material items such as pottery or architecture can be interpreted. Within a people, different ways to accomplish the same goal can be adopted by subsets of the larger group. For example, in modern Western cultures, there are alternative styles of clothing that characterized older and younger generations. Some cultural differences may be based on linear traditions, on teaching from one generation or “school” to another. Varieties in style may define arbitrary groups within a culture, perhaps identifying social status, gender, clan or guild affiliation, religious belief or cultural alliances. Variations may also simply reflect the different resources available in given time or area.
- Designating culture groups, such as the Hohokam, tends to create an image of group territories separated by clear-cut boundaries, like modern nation states. These simply did not exist. Prehistoric people traded, worshipped and collaborated most often with other nearby groups. Cultural differences should therefore be understood as “clinal,” "increasing gradually as the distance separating groups also increases." (Plog, p. 72.) Departures from the expected pattern may occur because of unidentified social or political situations or because of geographic barriers. In the Southwest, mountain ranges, rivers and most obviously, the Grand Canyon can be significant barriers for human communities, likely reducing the frequency of contact with other groups. Current opinion holds that the closer cultural similarity between the Mogollon and Anasazi and their greater differences from the Hohokam is due to both the geography and the variety of climate zones in the Southwest.
Sites
- The Hohokam Pima National Monument, near Coolidge, Arizona, preserves one archeological area. The site is nearly 1700 acres (6.9 km²) 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.
Reference
- Plog, Stephen. Ancient Peoples of the American Southwest. Thames and Hudson, London, England, 1997. ISBN 0-500-27939-X.