Ancestral O'odham: Akimel O'ODHAM Cultural Traditions and the Archaeological Record

Abstract

Archaeologists have long used the prehistoric inhabitants of the Phoenix Basin in south-central Arizona as an example of a failed or collapsed society, and most prehistorians still assert that Hohokam material culture patterns ended at the close of the Classic period (circa A.D. 1150–1450). Although researchers are increasingly recognizing connections between prehistoric and modern indigenous people, little consensus exists regarding the cause or causes of the dramatic alterations in material culture patterns that occurred in the region. Most archaeologists who have studied the changes at the end of the Classic period, however, have not fully considered the implications of previous and subsequent conditions, including similar and seemingly abrupt shifts in cultural practices that occurred both before and after this time. This paper uses Akimel O'Odham (i.e., Pima) cultural knowledge to contextualize the “Hohokam Collapse.” We show that this perspective of culture history explains the relationship between prehistoric and historic populations and answers many of the long-standing questions regarding cultural variation in the Phoenix Basin.

Calculating Hohokam Domestic Architecture Building Costs to Test an Environmental Model of Architectural Changes

“…As such, it cannot be explained by changing local conditions alone. For instance, upstream along the Salt River, as noted by Loendorf and Lewis (2017:130), the inhabitants of the Tonto Basin also built massive adobe surface structures during the Late Classic. But population densities were much lower in the Tonto Basin (Doelle 2000), and there is little evidence for wood depletion over time (Dering 1998:89; Miksicek 1995).…”

“…But earlier waves of immigration (e.g., Early Classic period) were equally large, if not larger, and they too occurred over a relatively short period. Also, the down-cutting event that Loendorf and Lewis (2017:130) argue destroyed riparian habitats and depleted wood supplies along the middle Gila and lower Salt rivers occurred between AD 1020 and 1160 (Waters and Ravesloot 2001:292), more than a century before the shift to massive-walled adobe structures. These facts suggest to us that while wood depletion may have contributed to the adoption of massive-walled adobe architecture, other social factors were also likely involved.…”

“…It was designed to be applicable to a variety of architectural styles, including pithouses and surface rooms. To illustrate the method's utility for Hohokam research, we used house data from Pueblo Grande to evaluate the argument that the shift from wattle-and-daub pithouses to adobe surface structures during the Classic period was due to the depletion of wood resources (Loendorf and Lewis 2017). Lending some support to the wood depletion hypothesis, we documented a roughly 60% decrease in the amount of wood used in house construction at Pueblo Grande between the late Sedentary and Late Classic periods.…”

“…To exemplify the utility of our construction-cost methodology, we evaluate a recent suggestion that the sequence of stylistic changes in Hohokam domestic architecture was driven by depleted wood supplies during the Classic period. Loendorf and Lewis's (2017) argument 4 assumes that the Hohokam preferred wood, when available, because it had less relative cost (cost/m 2 of floor space) versus the alternative (i.e., adobe). Although the costs of cutting and transporting wood may have remained constant, if the local availability of wood declined, then clearly the transportation costs would increase accordingly 5 .…”

“…For many years, this shift in architectural styles was attributed to cultural factors, namely, the arrival of Puebloan immigrants from the north (Gladwin 1957:252–269; Haury 1945:204–210, 1976:355). More recently, it has been attributed to the depletion of wood for homebuilding due to population growth and environmental degradation (Loendorf and Lewis 2017:128–130).…”