Irrigation Time: An Assessment of Time as a Factor in Hohokam Irrigated Acreage

Summary

The Hohokam within the lower Salt River Valley, central Arizona, practiced large-scale irrigation the spanned thousands of acres. Previous studies examining Hohokam irrigation assumed that there was a direct correlation between the amount of available water within the lower Salt River and the amount of land that could be irrigated. The amount of available water is necessary for assessing where water was sufficient for successful crops and where insufficient water made agricultural production difficult; however, time is also important. A key component of modern irrigation strategies is the amount of time required apply sufficient water to fields for successful crop growth. Despite its importance, time has not been included in assessments of Hohokam irrigated acreage. In this paper, I estimate the amount of time it would take to irrigate all agricultural land within Canal System 1, the largest of the four major Hohokam systems. This study will provide a further method for assessing the amount of land the Hohokam could irrigate during key points in the agricultural calendar.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 83rd Annual Meeting, Washington, DC (2018)

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 20503