Hohokam Pima National Monument
Hohokam Pima National Monument is a small reserve of the type of National Monuments in the south of the U.S. state of Arizona. It preserves under the administration of the National Park Service today a Snaketown ( serpent city) called, prehistoric settlement of Indians of the Hohokam culture.
The area is located in Pinal County, southwest of Chandler, entirely within the Gila River Reservation of the Pima Indians and is not accessible to the public. Since 1990, the area is available on the suggestion list for recognition as a World Heritage Site by Unesco.
The settlement
The Hohokam Indians inhabited central and southern Arizona from about 2100 BC to about 1500. They were farmers and built on the dry floor of the semi-desert in addition to the three main crops of corn, beans and squash pumpkin also cotton and tobacco to. For the irrigation of their fields, the Hohokam built canals from the Gila River.
Today Snaketown called settlement in the valley of the Gila River was founded about 300 BC and abandoned around 1100. The settlement consisted of pit houses, whose walls were built of wattle and Adobe mud bricks. About 60 fire pits can be detected, the number should correspond approximately to the number of buildings. They were grouped around a central square. The settlement included two oval areas that have traditionally been identified with fields for the Mesoamerican ballgame. In 2009, however, suggested that it is dance floors, from which existed until the 20th century traditions of Vikita festival of Papago have emerged. The curved side lines and the low limits, and other features make the places of the Hohokam for the ball game unsuitable, but correspond to the shapes of the Papago.
In the area of diverse ceramic vessels were found, but also jewelry from shells. Clamps and small figures made of copper were not manufactured locally, but acted out of Central America.
The settlement was excavated in 1934 by the Gila Pueblo Archaeological Foundation under the direction of Harold S. Gladwin. From 1964-1965, a second study under Emil Haury took place. The excavations have been completely backfilled after graduation. On the surface, no buildings or other traces can be seen. Artifacts from the settlement are exhibited in several museums in Phoenix and nearby Casa Grande Ruins National Monument.
On 29 April 1964, the prehistoric settlement Snaketown was recognized as a National Historic Landmark.