Hohokam was a culture in the North American Southwest in what is now part of south-central Arizona, United States, and Sonora, Mexico. It existed between 300 and 1500 CE, with cultural precursors possibly as early as 300 BCE. Archaeologists disagree about whether communities that practiced the culture were related or politically united. According to local oral tradition, Hohokam societies may be the ancestors of the historic Akimel and Tohono Oʼodham in Southern Arizona.
The Great House at the Casa Grande Ruins National Monument
Hiking trail leading to Indian Mesa (in the background): The hiking trail is located on a portion of a canal which the Hohokam built in 700 CE. The canal is now filled with soil.
Sears-Kay Ruin Fort Mystery Room before circa 1050 CE: This room had rounded corners.
Sears-Kay Ruin Fort rooms with square corners, circa 1050 CE
Indigenous peoples of the North American Southwest
The Indigenous peoples of the North American Southwest are those in the current states of Colorado, Arizona, New Mexico, Utah, and Nevada in the western United States, and the states of Sonora and Chihuahua in northern Mexico. An often quoted statement from Erik Reed (1666) defined the Greater Southwest culture area as extending north to south from Durango, Mexico to Durango, Colorado and east to west from Las Vegas, Nevada to Las Vegas, New Mexico. Other names sometimes used to define the region include "American Southwest", "Northern Mexico", "Chichimeca", and "Oasisamerica/Aridoamerica". This region has long been occupied by hunter-gatherers and agricultural people.
Puebloan from San Ildefonso Pueblo, New Mexico
Navajo family