Hohokam
Hohokam is the name of one of the four major prehistoric archaeological traditions of the American Southwest. Archaeologist Harold S. Gladwin applied the name meaning "those who have vanished" to the remains he excavated in the Lower Gila Valley. The Hohokam may be the ancestors of the modern Pima and Tohono O'odham peoples in Southern Arizona, though the link has not been proven archaeologically.
Overview
The Hohokam tradition is believed to have been centered around the middle Gila River and lower Salt River drainage areas as well as the southern Sonoran Desert in what is now Arizona, Sonora, and Chihuahua.
Settlements in the Hohokam tradition were rancheria-style; each large, square house had slightly excavated floors and was no more than one room until very late in the Hohokam sequence.
Hohokam ceramics were finished using the paddle and anvil technique and fired to achieve a buff color. Red paint decorates ceramics of this tradition.
Hohokam archaeological sequence
This sequence is applied specifically to the Hohokam core area which is the Gila-Salt basin near Phoenix, Arizona. Outside this region, local phase schemes are used to more closely fit regional differences.
- Pioneer Period (AD 200-775)
- Colonial Period (AD 775-975)
- Sedentary Period (AD 975-1150)
- Classic Period (AD 1150-1400/1450)
- Soho Phase (AD 1150-1300)
- Civano Phase (AD 1300-1400/1450)