by Jim Mimiaga

Everyone has heard of the Anasazi, the intrepid Native American people who flourished between 500 A.D. - 1200 A.D. in the cliff dwellings of Mesa Verde and Chaco Canyon.

 

But who’s heard of the Hohokam? These southern neighbors predate our trademark Anasazi (now called Ancestral Puebloan), and new proof shows both cultures intermingled, sharing different skills, maybe playing an ancient ball game and surely swapping recipes for venison stew.

Now visitors can travel back in time to a pre-colonial block party at the Anasazi Hertiage Center’s newest exhibit, “Pieces of the Puzzle: New Perspectives on the Hohokam,” on display through Oct. 31.

The Hohokam (pronounced he-ho-kem) occupied what is now central and southern Arizona and are known for their impressive irrigation works, mysterious ball courts and unique pottery and jewelry skills.

Little is known about this ancient Southwest culture as much of it was, and still is, buried beneath the pavement and urbanization of Phoenix, the population center of the Hohokam. But since more intense study began in the 1980s, a fascinating story has emerged, including a link to the Anasazi of the Four Corners.

“We thought we would offer something new and different,” Anasazi Heritage Center museum specialist Dave Kill said. “The Hohokam are unique from the Ancestral Puebloans in that they have a Mesoamerican influence from Mexico. Now more recent studies show a tie to the pre-historic tribes of the Four Corners.”

The Hohokam thrived agriculturally, taking advantage of a year-round growing season, in contrast to the Ancestral Puebloans, who battled frost and winter for part of the year and relied more on hunting and gathering.

The Hohokam were master irrigators and expert canal builders, watering 25,000 acres of farmland in the Salt and Gila river valleys.
“There were 1,000 miles of prehistoric irrigation canals used to water crops, and it was a real regular supply so they could farm year round,” Kill said. “Their irrigation system was the most complex in North America until the 1800s.”

Some stretches of the original canals are still used today within the Gila River Indian Community, south of Phoenix.

Hohokam culture differed in many ways from the northern Ancestral Puebloans, particularly in regards to pottery manufacturing. While Hohokam pottery was formed via an anvil and paddle, Ancestral Puebloans used the coil-and-pinch method, in which coils of clay were stacked, then pinched together.
For years, archaeologists were baffled to find this coiled, Kayenta-style pottery at Hohokam sites near Phoenix, wondering whether is got there via trade or if the Hohokam were merely copying the style.
However, it wasn’t until recently that the mystery was unraveled. Using the science of petrography, archaeologists identified minerals in the pottery as being from clays of the Phoenix Basin. Since research shows pottery makers stick with methods learned at an early age, archeologists now believe the native peoples of the Four Corners must have immigrated south to Hohokam territory, bringing their pottery technique with them.
“It shows that the northern Ancestral Puebloans and Fremont cultures were contemporaries of the Hohokam,” Kill said. “They were flourishing simultaneously for a few hundred years and assimilating into each others cultures.”

It is also known that when not farming or making pottery, the Hohokam had a favorite pasttime, much like some of ours today. Some 200 ancient ball courts, a Mesoamerican influence not associated with the Ancestral Puebloans, have been unearthed throughout their historic territory. The sunken courts have plastered flat floors and raised berms that could hold up to 700 spectators. How the game was played is unknown, but archeologists say there was heavy competition between villages and much gambling and feasting before events.

The actual balls used made with plant material but are very rare; just three have been found in North America. Ancient Mexico tribes had similar courts, a tradition dating to 1200 B.C., but they added elevated “goals” carved from stone. Today, Hohokam Stadium, home of the Chicago Cubs spring training in Mesa, Ariz., immortalizes these prehistoric athletes.

During its zenith, the Hohokam culture numbered around 40,000, yet, like their Puebloan neighbors to the north, they mysteriously disappeared by the 1400s.

Flooding, environmental degradation, calcification of canals and fields, and population dispersal are all thought to play a role, Kill said. Stress from drought also was a likely problem. Tree ring data shows that after 1100 the area suffered from less rainfall and became much drier.

It is thought that the Tohono O’odham and Pima tribes in southern Arizona are the closest descendants of the Hohokam. Their translation of the word is “all used up” or “something that is all gone.”

Fortunately, Hohokam artifacts and stories live on in this exhibit, including their red-on-buff pottery with its signature wavy lines, bird motifs and embedded sparkling mica. Vibrant murals bring to life the massive, communal-style adobe architecture and highlight the daily farming life of this innovative culture. The Hohokam carved shells, traded from Pacific Coast tribes, into intricate bracelets and pendants, and they seem to have a special affinity for frogs.

“We’re still here, and we are still the same,” says Lucy Tapahouso, a Hohokam descendant. “These are our memories and stories, too powerful for things as new as cement and asphalt to destroy.”

The exhibit is on loan from the Center for Desert Archaeology, with artifacts from the Pueblo Grande Museum in Phoenix and the Arizona State Museum in Tucson. The Anasazi Heritage Center is located three miles west of Dolores on Highway 184.

This article we reprinted with permission from the Four Corners Free Press.