What did the Hohokam have to do to grow their crops?
They used every possible space to grow crops, even building small terraces and check dams on hill slopes to collect and divert rainfall runoff toward their fields. On and near the slopes they also stacked up rocks and planted agave and yucca in the piles.
How did the Hohokam manage to grow crops in a desert?
The Hohokam lived in the dry desert, which means there was not enough rainfall alone to grow crops. In order to meet their needs, they created highly sophisticated and large irrigation systems. These canals were laid out over the landscape on a downhill drop of 1 to 2 feet per mile.
What did the Hohokam farm?
Corn (maize), beans and squash were the three major crops in the prehistoric American Southwest and were also the principle foods of the Hohokam. But the Hohokam also used other Mesoamerican food plants such as agave and amaranth.
Why were the Hohokam able to farm their dry land?
The Hohokam built ingenious canals systems throughout the Phoenix Basin. These canals allowed the Hohokam people to create vast farming lands in an otherwise arid environment. Archaeologists have documented over 500 miles of ancient canals, some of which were 20 miles long.
How did the Hohokam adapt to their environment?
The Hohokam lived in a desert with little rain, so they figured out how to irrigate their crops. They also became good at trade with other people. The Anasazi used the landscape to build their homes. They created pueblos within canyon walls for protection.
When did Hohokam build irrigation canals?
600 CE
Around 600 CE, the Hohokam population grew too large for sustainable living. As the population grew further from the river, the Hohokam began to construct canals for irrigation. Using digging sticks, the Native Americans excavated 12-feet deep canals, fanning into a larger network of smaller canals.
What are the Hohokam known for?
The Hohokam are probably most famous for their creation of extensive irrigation canals along the Salt and Gila rivers. In fact, the Hohokam had the largest and most complex irrigation systems of any culture in the New World north of Peru.
What did the Hohokam use to hunt?
When they weren’t tending to their crops, the Hohokam explored and exploited the environment around them. A day’s walk into the hills provided the people with many important resources. They hunted bighorn sheep, deer, and other animals there.
How did the Hohokam trade?
The Hohokam grew cotton that was spun into tread and woven to make fabric. trade – to take one item for another of equal or greater value. Prehistoric communities traded for materials or goods that they could not make or find nearby. The Hohokam traded for items from as far away as Mexico and California.
What were the Hohokam known for?
How did the Hohokam build the canals?
As the population grew further from the river, the Hohokam began to construct canals for irrigation. Using digging sticks, the Native Americans excavated 12-feet deep canals, fanning into a larger network of smaller canals.
What animals did the Hohokam eat?
The Hohokam supplemented their primarily plant-food diet with meat. They had no domestic animals except the dog, so most meat was obtained by hunting. Deer and rabbit were the most important meat sources, but the Indians also killed and ate mountain sheep, antelope, and rodents, including mice and ground squirrels.
How did the Hohokam direct water through irrigation canals?
To maximize potential of water to exit river into canals, the Hohokam developed several techniques. A weir, or partial dam, forced water into the head gate of the canal, creating maximum force, and more efficiently carrying water to the local farms.
Why did the Hohokam built canals?
Around 600 CE, the Hohokam population grew too large for sustainable living. As the population grew further from the river, the Hohokam began to construct canals for irrigation. Using digging sticks, the Native Americans excavated 12-feet deep canals, fanning into a larger network of smaller canals.
How did the Hohokam farm?
In parts of the basin where floodplains were not available, the Hohokam farmed at the mouths of arroyos. They also built rock terraces and check dams on hill slopes and in washes to catch rainfall runoff. The Indian’s only agricultural tools were sharp, wooden digging sticks and handheld hoes made from thin rock slabs.
What is Hohokam?
This is evidence that the Hohokam stayed in one area for a long time. Hohokam ceramics are defined by a distinct Plain, Red, and Decorated buffware tradition, and were made using a technique called coiling. A small, fine clay base was connected to a series of coils. These coils were then thinned and shaped using a paddle and anvil.
How did the Hohokam make their ceramics?
The art of making ceramics was highly advanced in the Hohokam culture. Using different firing techniques and paints hey made jars and bowls of different styles and colors. Archaeologists once thought that each Hohokam village produced the bowls, jars and scoops that it needed.
What factors influenced the Hohokam culture?
The harshness of the Sonoran Desert may have been the most influential factor on the society. Despite cultural exchange at trade centers, self-sufficiency and local resources were emphasized. In modern-day Phoenix, the Hohokam are recognized for their large-scale irrigation networks.