HOHOKAM (CULTURE): HISTORY, LOCATION, CHARACTERISTICS, POLITICS, SOCIETY - CULTURE VOCABULARY - 2024

Hohokam is the name used to designate one of the archaeological cultural areas that appeared in Oasisamerica. Its territory comprised much of the territory of the current US state of Arizona, specifically the lower courses of the Salado and Gila rivers. Likewise, its influence reached Sonora and Chihuahua, in Mexico.

It was not until 1930 when Harold S. Gladwin established the parameters that differentiated this culture from the others that settled in the region. However, the concrete data about it are quite scarce and are only based on archaeological remains. Thus, neither its origin nor the peoples that formed it are known.

Hohokam culture location.

Equally scarce is information about their political system, their social organization or their religion. The remains found do allow, however, to affirm that they had serious difficulties to be able to survive through agriculture. To solve an unfavorable environment, this culture had to build important canalization and irrigation systems.

Experts have divided the history of the Hohokam culture into four different periods. The first began in 300 BC. C. and is called the Pioneer period. The influence of this culture was maintained until 1450 AD. C., when the so-called Classic period ended.

Origin and history

The Hohokam culture appeared in the valleys of the Gila River in Arizona. One of the existing theories affirms that the antecedents of these towns are in the Cochise culture. In general, it is considered that its origin took place at the beginning of the Christian era.

The area where the Hohokam culture groups settled were practically desert, with high temperatures and little rain. This became a big problem in developing productive agriculture.

Until 1930, no differentiation had been established between the Hohokam and the peoples belonging to other cultures in the area. That year, the archaeologist Harold S. Gladwin began to study the remains found and to define the specific features of this culture. For him, the name hohokam came from the o'odham language and meant "those who have gone."

Theories about its origin

There is no consensus among experts about their ethnic origin and identity. One of the hypotheses holds that the development of the Hohokam culture was endogenous, that is, that no outside influences were involved.

Other archaeologists, on the other hand, maintain that the culture was created after the migration of some groups from Mesoamerica.

Periodization

The periods in which the history of this culture has been divided are, above all, applicable to the so-called Hohokam nuclear area. This area is the one located between the Salado and the Gila, in Arizona. In other regions, the dates indicated could vary to a greater or lesser degree.

Pioneer Period (2nd-8th centuries AD)

The first groups of this culture had agriculture as their main source of subsistence. It was, however, corn and bean crops that only gave to survive. The cultivated area was located near the middle course of the Gila.

The villages were built in areas conducive to cultivation, always near a source of water. Very soon, the Hohokam began to build means to irrigate their fields and for their own consumption. The first infrastructures of this type were wells less than three meters deep.

Between the 4th and 6th centuries d. C, agriculture developed by the Hohokam peoples began to grow. Thus, they began to plant other products, possibly from Mesoamerica and the Mogollón area. Among these was cotton, which would become one of its main riches.

Besides agriculture, at this time they also practiced commerce. The destination of their products were the towns located on the Gulf of California.

Likewise, the remains found reveal that the Hohokam used tools such as metates and other stone artifacts to grind the grains they were going to eat.

Already during the Pioneer period, this culture worked with ceramics. Its elaborations were quite simple, without any adornment. The purpose of these creations was to serve to store food, to cook or to introduce the ashes of the deceased.

Colonial Period (8th-10th centuries)

The second period was characterized by the growth of Hohokam society. Thus, their settlements began to grow larger and, according to the remains found, different hierarchies appeared in society. Among the signs that demonstrate this last fact are the large houses-rooms that have been found.

In addition, remains of offerings have also been found, possibly dedicated to the gods related to death.

An interesting aspect of the Colonial period was the increasing influence of the Mesoamerican peoples on the Hohokam culture. Thus, in some settlements, courts for the ball game were built, with a style very similar to that of Mesoamerican cultures.

Sedentary Period (10th - 12th centuries)

Population growth continued during the next period, the Sedentary. This was accompanied by cultural and social changes to be able to adapt to the larger population.

Similarly, its irrigation infrastructures, such as ditches, had to be expanded, which, in turn, caused the extension of the cultivation area to grow.

The architecture also began to vary. The houses, which were built in circular shafts, stopped using bahareque as the main material and, instead, caliche adobe began to be used. The towns were growing, always around the cultivable lands, of communal property.

In the field of crafts there was a refinement of their techniques. Thus, around the 11th century, Hohokam artisans began to use etching. Their most frequent elaborations were jewelry, for which they used mollusk shells, bones and stones. Likewise, stone carvings dating from this period have also been found.

All these factors, together with the emergence of a certain cotton-based textile industry, caused social stratification to increase. According to historians, the artisans gained considerable prestige.

The findings of remains of platforms similar to the pyramid-shaped foundations of Mesoamerica has led experts to think that the relationship with the Mesoamerican peoples continued. These platforms had a ritual purpose.

Classic Period - Soho Phase (1150 - 1300)

The Classic period of Hohokam culture has been divided into two stages by historians. The first, the Soho phase, began with a small population loss in the area located in the Gila Valley.

In addition, some events caused the communities belonging to this culture to increase their centralization. The medium and large towns welcomed an increasing population and some of them began to protect themselves through the construction of walls.

The demographic decline caused agricultural activity to decline slightly. The same happened with the number of channels, although the number was still higher than in previous stages.

One of the hypotheses with the most consensus is that during the Soho phase the Hohokam communities were grouped around higher authorities. It was also then that larger buildings were erected, possibly with the intention that they would be inhabited by the political and religious upper classes.

Classic Period - Civano Phase (1300 - 1400/1450)

The last stage of the history of this culture began with a loss of internal cohesion between its settlements. Several of them were also abandoned, possibly because the crops could not support the population.

The latter was caused, in large part, by the decrease in available water, as the flow of the Gila River was decreasing. In response, the Hohokam built new ditches and became even more concentrated in some localities. Likewise, there was an increase in the control of the working classes by the political power.

In about 1355, ecological problems increased and, as a cause, the centralized authority entered a great crisis.

From that year until 1450, the Hohokam were abandoning their settlements. Some groups are supposed to have moved to the desert, while others migrated to Anasazi-dominated areas.

When the Spanish conquerors arrived in the ancient Hohokam dominions, their settlements were occupied by other peoples.

Geographic location

The Hohokam culture settled in ancient Oasisamerica. This term, which arises from the union of oasis and America, is used by experts to designate an area that included the deserts of Arizona, Sonora and Chihuahua and the current states of Colorado, California, Nevada, Utah and New Mexico.

Location

Within Oasisamerica, the Hohokam culture occupied the middle of the Gila River and the lower Salado River, in what is now the Phoenix Basin. All this territory has been called by historians as the Hohokam nucleus, while the so-called Regional System occupied the Sonoran desert.

On the other hand, its most important settlements were Casa Grande, Snaketown and the Pueblo de los Muertos, all of them in Arizona.

General characteristics

The archaeologist Harold S. Gladwin was the person in charge of the first investigations on this culture and, even, was the one who gave it its current name. In this sense, Gladwin explained that the word hohokam comes from the papago and can be translated as “those who left”.

An important aspect about the Hohokam is that they were not a specific human group. The denomination refers to a more or less shared culture in a territory.

Irrigation system

One of the best known characteristics of this culture was its ability to build canalization systems for rivers and irrigation for their fields. The Hohokam used the waters of the Salado and Gila rivers to irrigate their lands through canals. This network of ditches reached 10 kilometers in length and, in addition, they had a considerable depth.

The main cause that led to the construction of these infrastructures was the poverty of the lands they inhabited. The terrain was very arid or, directly, desert and the rains were very scarce. Thanks to the ditches and canals, the Hohokam managed two maize crops a year, in addition to growing other crops.

Commerce

Despite the above, agriculture was not enough to support the entire population. The Hohokam then began to exchange products with nearby towns, such as Pataya.

Among the products they used in trade were turquoise, highly appreciated in Mesoamerica, sea salt or copper bells. In exchange, they got items like seashells, pyrite, and even Mexican cockatoos.

Crafts

The Hohokam culture achieved great mastery in the field of crafts. To develop this activity, its artisans used several quite advanced techniques, such as etching with acids.

One of the most used materials was the shell of various mollusks. With it they made earrings, earrings or necklaces. In addition, with the snails they created trumpets for their rituals.

Ceramics also played a prominent role in the art developed by this culture. However, this activity was limited to large cities, without being present in small towns. The Hohokam used red-on-cream pottery to make their creations.

Politics

Information on the political organization of the Hohokam culture is very scarce. Only the archaeological remains provide some clues to this aspect. It is also probable that in the border area with other cultures the situation was very changeable.

The houses from the Colonial era that have been found seem to show that there was a ruling elite, both political and religious. In this sense, experts point out that they were organized into chiefdoms, with a chief at the head.

Later, already in the Sedentary, population growth forced political power to be centralized and strengthened.

Likewise, some remains have appeared that seem to point to the existence of internal clashes, although what happened is not known for sure.

Already in the Soho phase, the peoples of this culture were organized into regional leagues. Each of them was governed by a central authority. The construction of large buildings has been linked to the emergence of this political class, more powerful than the previous one.

Society

Knowledge of Hohokam society is as limited as that of its politics. As in this area, archaeological remains can only be used to develop different hypotheses.

It is known, for example, that the settlements were similar to a ranchería. They always stood near the farmland and had several rather clustered buildings.

In the Colonial period, the society of the Hohokam culture expanded considerably. It was then that different groups appeared in the cities, arranged according to a hierarchy of power. Apart from the existence of caciques or rulers and priests, it is only known that artisans were gaining prestige.

Already in the last period of the history of the Hohokam culture it seems proven that internal cohesion was disappearing. The most likely cause was the shortage of crops, making it impossible for agriculture to be sufficient for the survival of the settlements.

Religion

Some of the scarce data that historians point out about the religion of the Hohokam culture are its polytheistic character and the influence that came from Mesoamerica.

In addition to this, it is known that they gave great importance to their divinities related to death. According to the remains found, these gods were offered the best offerings. Likewise, it is believed that the ceremonies and rituals were directed by a priestly elite.

The incorporation of the ball game, coming from central Mexico, seems to have had a ritual significance.

Cremation of the dead

Although it is not known if this culture believed in an afterlife and, if so, how it would be organized, it is known that funeral ceremonies had a special importance.

The dead were cremated and their ashes were deposited in graves or in ceramic vessels. These remains, both bones and ashes, were accompanied by the corresponding offerings addressed to the gods of death, such as jewelry or pottery.

Ceremonial centers

As noted, the Hohokam culture was not made up of a single homogeneous ethnic group. In reality, there were several peoples that shared a good part of the cultural tradition, despite each telling its own story.

The main ceremonial centers of this culture were located in Arizona and, as mentioned, they shared some common characteristics.

Snaketown

This settlement of the Hohokam culture was located in the Gila Valley. It has been estimated that it was first occupied around 100 AD. C. and that remained inhabited until 1500 d. C.

The remains found cover an area of ​​just under one square kilometer, although work is still underway in the area. So far it has been discovered that, like the rest of the settlements of this culture, its inhabitants were mostly farmers.

In order to obtain good crops, since the nearby land barely has water, the population had to build an important system of ditches and canals. Thanks to this, they made the land more fertile and provided them with products such as beans, tobacco, cotton, or corn.

The Snaketown structure boasted about sixty mounds. The town was built around a central plaza and two courts for the practice of the game of ball. Around, a set of well houses in which the population lived.

Big House (Arizona)

Casa Grande is, so far, the largest archaeological site of the Hohokam culture. Like the previous one, the town was located near the Gila, in the middle valley of the river.

Although its origin is earlier, it was around 1150 AD. C. when this settlement grew and became one of the most important of this culture. The reason for this growth was a migratory wave from other localities of the same culture, without the reason being known.

What stands out the most within this settlement is the structure that gives it its name: the large fall that stands out from the rest of the built structures. This house was built in the 16th century and is the largest built by members of this culture in the Gila Valley. According to experts, it took 3,000 tons of caliche to lift it.

Like other similar buildings, archaeologists think that it had several functions. Thus, its four stories high made it the best place to monitor the irrigation needs of the fields in the area.

In addition, it is also thought that it served as an astronomical observatory. In fact, some experts affirm that its own structure has a meaning, as demonstrated by the fact that it is aligned with the four cardinal points and the gaps left to allow observing the sky. These observations were used to fix religious ceremonies.

The dead

The most important settlement of the Hohokam culture in the Salado Valley was the Town of the Dead, named after the first explorer to investigate the area, Frank Hamilton Cushing.

In the center of the settlement, a large number of longhouses have appeared and, a little further away, another series of buildings that occupy almost 2.3 kilometers of surface. The largest of the houses found in this second group of buildings is even larger than the Casa Grande.

A differentiating aspect of the houses around the larger building is that adobe walls were used, possibly for defensive purposes.

In the streets of Los Muertos, ovens and places for kitchens have appeared, all built with clay. Archaeologists have found in this area a large number of kitchen utensils, such as plates.

According to the most current estimate, the population of Los Muertos could have reached 13,000 inhabitants.

Architecture

The architecture of the Hohokam culture presents many variations depending on the period and the settlement studied.

At first, most of the houses were built with adobe, with a rectangular house-well structure. Only in the case of specific buildings, such as the Big House, the height exceeded that of a single level.

Households

The houses - wells served as housing for the majority of the population. They were rectangular structures built with adobe and a single story high. Normally, they only had one room, although in the final ages of this culture some were larger.

On the other hand, in the 8th and 10th centuries, houses built in a different style appeared. It is assumed that the cause was the appearance of hierarchical social groups, which required the upper classes to live in better houses, of considerably larger size.

Already around the year 1300 AD. C., the houses of the settlements began to be built with adobe and caliche. The latter material is a very common type of rock in the desert. These houses were square or rectangular and had a higher height. In addition, they used to rise up in areas that were easy to defend.

References

1. Fishm, Phil R.; Fish, Suzanne K. The Hohokam Culture of Southern Arizona. Obtained from arqueologiamexicana.mx
2. Original towns. Hohokam culture. Obtained from pueblosoriginario.com
3. My Universal History. Cultures of northwestern North America. Obtained from mihistoriauniversal.com
4. The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica. Hohokam culture. Retrieved from britannica.com
5. National Park Service. Hohokam Culture. Retrieved from nps.gov
6. Ciaccio, Robert B. Hohokam. Retrieved from archaeologysouthwest.org
7. Carrillo, Caitlyn. Hohokam Culture. Retrieved from organpipehistory.com
8. Tempe. The Hohokam. Retrieved from tempe.gov
9. National Park Service. Arizona: Casa Grande Ruins National Monument. Retrieved from nps.gov