The Hohokam Culture

The Hohokam culture of the Sonoran Desert lasted from about AD 50 to AD 1450 hitting its peak at around AD 950. They are well known for many aspects of their culture, but the feature that most likely lead to their large populations and lasting culture was their irrigation canal systems. The Hohokam were focused primarily around the Salt and Gila rivers of Southern Arizona as depicted in Figure 1. The massive canal systems that they build off of these rivers allowed for the support of a large population, and allowed the growth of a wide variety of crops which could not be grown without irrigation. The Hohokam are estimated to have occupied a territory of roughly 80,000 square kilometers, and while the total population is debated it is estimated …show more content…
Irrigation agriculture in arid regions is by no means unique to the Sonoran Desert, or even the Americas for that matter, we see it in across the Middle East and perhaps most notably in Egypt. Though the benefits of using irrigation for agriculture were undoubtedly great, there were many potential issues that the Hohokam may have encountered throughout the process. Considering the issues previously mentioned with the design of their irrigation systems it is quite possible they may have encountered some of …show more content…
Further examination of both the canals ' stratigraphy and dendrochronological data of the area are necessary, at the very least, to determine if this was in fact the case. It is interesting to think that it is possible to think that the irrigation that the Hohokam so relied on may also have played a part in their decline. Whether that is the case or not, there is little doubt that the irrigation canals constructed by the Hohokam were impressive feats of engineering; these canals allowed them to grow crops that, had they relied on rain watering, would not normally grow in their