The Hohokam left behind numerous petroglyphs in locations all around the Valley of the Sun and nearby areas. These are similar to the calendars used by the nearby Puebloan cultures. Archaeological finds across the Valley indicate that the Hohokam used three types of calendar: horizon calendars, light and shadow markers, and lunar phase counts. They also used the dawn location of Pleiades as a seasonal marker for establishing their calendar. The O’odham carefully tracked the movements of the sun throughout the year, believing it was omnipotent. He then commanded Gray Spider to spin a web connecting the edges of the sky with the earth.” “According to O’odham oral traditions, the sky is seen as a vault, with Earth Doctor spitting water into the sky to create stars and throwing a block of ice to make the sun. Photo from .Īrchaeologists believe that Hohokam ceremonial and ritual systems were likely influenced by Mesoamerican religions which centered around the observations of the day and night skies. Bostwick writes “We believe the Hohokam were dedicated skywatchers and thoroughly familiar with the annual movements of certain celestial bodies.” Bostwick goes on to explain that paleobotanist Vorsila Bohrer believes the “ancient and historical agricultural people of the American Southwest defined their universe by the path of the sun.” In the book Landscape of the Spirits, author Todd W. HOHOKAM SKY WATCHERSĪncient people everywhere, including the Hohokam, were deeply attuned to the cycles of nature and the movements of the day and night sky. Lord Darrell Duppa, one of Swilling’s travel companions, suggested naming the new settlement “Phoenix” because it described a city born from the ruins of a past civilization. Later that year, he formed the Swilling Irrigation and Canal Company with inspiration from the ancient Hohokam canals. He set up a community just 4 miles east of modern downtown Phoenix. While traveling through the Valley in search of gold in 1867, he recognized the potential for farming in the area. Modern-day Phoenix’s founding is credited to Jack Swilling, a Confederate veteran of the Civil War. Yet the harsh desert living conditions forced them to be self-sufficient and to make good use of local resources.Īrchaeologists believe that severe droughts and floods between 1300-1450 CE may have caused them to abandon the area. Hohokam settlements were located along major trade routes, allowing them to connect with other cultures all the way to the Great Plains, the Pacific Coast, and into Mesoamerica (much of modern Central America).
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