Ancestral Ties During a Period of Social Upheaval, An Example from the Early Classic Period in the Tucson Basin

Summary

The transition to the early Classic Period (ca. A.D. 1100-1300) in the Tucson Basin has its roots in the disintegration of long-lived pre-Classic Period (ca. A.D. 500-1100) villages in the 11th century. The break-up of these villages engendered a variety of responses among the constituent social groups including the use of ancestral ties to place, real or constructed, to stake claims to land. Early Classic period settlement at the site of AA:12:46 begins during the fluid period immediately following the breakup of the pre-Classic villages. During the 12th century a corporate group made up of three households settled at the site. The choice of location was not random with the households building within the confines of a plaza of a short-lived village abandoned 400 years before. The new inhabitants made an overt display of their connection to ancestors and place. We suggest that this was important amid the social tensions of the 12th century to establish rights to the adjacent floodplain farm lands and the water needed to irrigate their crops. While AA:12:46 is a good example of this process in the Hohokam region, other instances of Classic Period construction in pre-Classic plazas are considered here.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 82nd Annual Meeting, Vancouver, BC (2017)   •
• Walls, Mounds, and Pots: Examining the Classic Period Hohokam

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 15952