Finding and Understanding Ancient Hohokam Irrigated Agricultural Fields in Southern Arizona

Summary

This is a presentation from the 2021 Arizona Archaeological Council (AAC) Fall symposium on "The Archaeology of Canals in the Arizona Desert".

For over a century, archaeologists have investigated the vast network of prehistoric Hohokam canal irrigation systems in the lower Salt and middle Gila river valleys, as well as in other areas of southern Arizona. However, documentation of the agricultural fields in which prehistoric farmers irrigated their crops generally was lacking until the last 25 years. This is largely a result of the difficulty in identifying ancient fields since they are not visible on the surface and have been obscured or destroyed by natural landscape processes as well as historic and modern disturbances. More recent archaeological investigations have revealed ancient Hohokam irrigated fields through innovative methods and excavation techniques that have exposed the faint traces of these fields. These discoveries occurred during projects conducted in compliance with the National Historic Preservation Act, enacted in 1966. In this presentation I will highlight these important studies that have expanded our view of ancient agricultural landscapes in southern Arizona.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• 2021 AAC Fall Conference

Keywords

Individual & Institutional Roles

Contact(s): Arizona Archaeological Council; Kyle Woodson

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