[Aztlan] Late Hohokam Site at Queen Creek Explored

[michael ruggeri]

Late-period Hohokam site explored

Srianthi Perera
The Arizona Republic
Jul. 24, 2006 12:00 AM

For three years, experts have quietly excavated the remains of dozens  
of Hohokams in Queen Creek in what could be one of the latest  
settlements of the mysterious desert dwellers ever identified.

Archaeologists have done exploratory work in the Power Ranch area  
since the 1930s, but recent dating has put the Germann site complex,  
as it's known, toward the end of a rarely explored Hohokam era,  
preliminarily dated between 1400 and 1450.

Hohokams are believed to have inhabited the Sonoran Desert between  
500 and 1450 before they abruptly disappeared.

Toward the end of its existence, the society appeared to break down,  
with the economy and culture falling apart as the population  
dwindled, according to experts. The Hohokam had used up natural  
resources, such as firewood and plants, and had exhausted prime  
farming soil.

But while scholars believe that after 1350 or so, the population of  
Hohokam declined, "we seem to have a pretty thriving location" in  
Queen Creek, said Banks Leonard, senior project director for Soil  
Systems Inc., a Phoenix archaeology company. "Nonetheless, it was  
abandoned, too, eventually."

Leonard said the Hohokam way of life "had a negative impact on the  
environment," even though they appeared to be in touch with the land.

"It may be one of the latest Hohokam settlements that have been  
identified," Leonard said.

The Arizona Republic is not publicizing the exact location of the  
site because of fears of looting, a common problem with  
archaeological excavations, Leonard said.

A large adobe-walled compound, pottery styles, radiocarbon data and  
archaeological magnetic dating helped identify the time period.

Based on an early analysis, the adobe compound would be the largest  
construction by the Hohokam that late in their existence, Leonard said.

Earlier, Hohokams used a red-on-buff pottery decoration. Later, the  
predominant decoration was polychrome: red, black and white or cream.  
The Germann site includes a high percentage of the latter.

The settlement also distinguishes itself in other ways. Hohokams  
generally built near a major river or canal system, but this find  
doesn't have a major waterway and is placed on the Queen Creek  
alluvial fan.

"This is a different sort of Hohokam occupation that we have been not  
so aware of, and we are surprised by how much activity and how much  
occupation was occurring out here in this flat, alluvial fan,"  
Leonard said.

Archaeologists believe the ancient settlers used periodic floodwater  
from Queen Creek and sheet wash from rainfall in winter and summer.  
They also have found what they believe is a reservoir used to capture  
water runoff for drinking.

The site is more than 1 1/2 miles in diameter and is dispersed, not a  
typical concentrated village. The archaeologists have removed about  
30 human remains and expect to find at least another 30.

The remains will be handed over to the Gila River Indian Community.

"I was glad that these things could be discovered and removed rather  
than being bulldozed and built on top of," said Jim Power, whose  
grandparents James and Sarah Power homesteaded the land in 1908.

The family farmed in the area for most of the last century. The  
parcels of land that reveal the most findings are those that have not  
been under the farmer's plow.

Roanna Weahkee, a member of the Hopi-Tewa and Zuni tribes, is a  
technician working on the site.

"I love these projects. We should be interested in our ancestors,"  
said Weahkee, who lives on the Gila River Reservation.

"Originally, my ancestors are the Anasazis from up north, but I have  
lived in the Valley most of my life, and I'm very happy to be  
involved in archeology."

Besides human remains, the excavation yielded pit houses, a trash  
mound, roasting pits, animal bones, pottery, stone tools and grinding  
stones.

About 50 percent of the artifacts will be analyzed, and the rest will  
remain in the land. Once agencies that view archaeological digs, such  
as the State Historic Preservation Office and the Arizona State  
Museum, are satisfied about compliance relating to cultural  
resources, the land would be released for construction.



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