Hohokam (Maig 2024)
La cultura Hohokam, indis nord-americans prehistòrics que van viure aproximadament entre 200 i 1400 a la regió semiarida de l'actual Arizona central i sud d'Arizona, en gran mesura al llarg dels rius Gila i Salt. El terme Hohokam es diu pima per a "aquells que s'han esvaït". La cultura es divideix habitualment en quatre períodes de desenvolupament: Pioner (200-775 ce), Colonial (775-7575), Sedentari (975–1150) i Clàssic (d’aproximadament 1150 a alguns temps entre 1350 i 1450).
Indígenes americans: cultures del sud-oest: el poble ancestral, Mogollon i Hohokam
Els primers segles de l’Era Comuna es van veure el desenvolupament de tres grans complexos agrícoles al sud-oest, tots ells depenent d’alguns
Durant el període pioner, els Hohokam van viure en pobles compostos per estructures de fusta, raspall i argila construïdes individualment molt disperses, construïdes sobre una fossa poc profunda. Depenien del cultiu del blat de moro (blat de moro), complementat amb la recol·lecció de mongetes i fruites silvestres i una mica de caça. Tot i que el reg de les aigües inundables es va poder practicar anteriorment, va ser durant aquest període quan es va construir el primer canal de reg: un canal de 5 milles a la vall del riu Gila que dirigia l'aigua del riu cap als camps. El desenvolupament de Hohokam de xarxes de canals complexos durant el mil·lenni següent va ser incomparable a l'Amèrica del Nord precolombina; aquesta enginyeria agrícola va ser un dels seus majors èxits. Durant el període pioner també van desenvolupar diverses varietats de terrisseria.
During the subsequent Colonial Period, Hohokam culture expanded to influence all of what is now the southern half of Arizona. Village architecture changed little, except for the addition of ball courts similar to those of the Maya. Cotton was added to corn as a major crop, and irrigation canals proliferated; the Hohokam began to make canals narrower and deeper in order to minimize water loss through ground absorption and evaporation. Pottery improved, becoming thinner and stronger, and styles were borrowed from neighbouring peoples.
The Hohokam area of occupation reached its maximum geographic extent during the Sedentary Period. Villages continued to consist of collections of pit houses, which had become slightly better-reinforced. During this period a few villages were surrounded by walls, and platform mounds made their first appearance. Corn and cotton were cultivated with ever more extensive irrigation systems. A major technological achievement was the casting of copper bells in wax molds.
The Classic Period of Hohokam culture is notable for the peaceful intrusion of the Salado tribe, a branch of the Ancestral Pueblo (Anasazi) culture. They came from the upper reaches of the Salt River, lived in Hohokam territory for several decades, then withdrew and disappeared. The principal effect of their presence is revealed in the advent of Pueblo architecture in Hohokam territory. Great multiple-storied community houses with massive walls of adobe began to be built, along with the older, more easily constructed pit houses; some houses were also built on top of platform mounds. The art of basketry was added to that of pottery, bean and squash production was added to that of corn, and subsistence agriculture continued to be supplemented by game and wild plant foods. Networks of irrigation canals reached their greatest extent and complexity during this period: some of the more than 150 miles (240 km) of canals in the Salt River valley were renovated and put back into use in the 20th century.
The Hohokam people abandoned most of their settlements during the period between 1350 and 1450. It is thought that the Great Drought (1276–99), combined with a subsequent period of sparse and unpredictable rainfall that persisted until approximately 1450, contributed to this process. The later occupants of the area, the Pima and Tohono O’odham (Papago), are thought to be the direct descendants of the Hohokam people.
