Vapaki: Akimel O’Odham Cultural Knowledge Regarding Classic Period Platform Mound Villages in the Phoenix Basin

Summary

This is an abstract from the "Collaborative Archaeology: How Native American Knowledge Enhances Our Collective Understanding of the Past" session, at the 89th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

Vapaki is plural in the O’Odham language for Vah’ki, which is the name used to refer to what archaeologists now call Classic period (ca. 1250–1450) platform mound villages. Importantly, Vah’ki is specifically applied only to platform mound sites, and the term is not used to refer to any other older villages such as Snaketown. Because O’Odham traditions regarding the Vah’ki are of great importance, they have been carefully passed down, and this knowledge has therefore been preserved. This history individually describes platform mounds, and each Vah’ki has a unique name. The leaders who ruled each mound are also still known by name, and events that occurred at the sites are still remembered. Furthermore, the O’Odham history says that Elder Brother, their primary deity, defeated the Vapaki rulers one after the other. Unfortunately, some archaeologists have misinterpreted this to mean that the O’Odham are a different ethnic group than the people who lived at the mounds, but the traditions are that the mound builders are direct ancestors who were also O’Odham. Indeed, the creation narrative begins long before the Vapaki were destroyed, and it is impossible that the prior events describe the lives of a different people.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Collaborative Archaeology: How Native American Knowledge Enhances Our Collective Understanding of the Past   •
• Society for American Archaeology 89th Annual Meeting, New Orleans, LA (2024)

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 39277.0