Prehistoric Irrigation in Arizona.*

Hodge, F. W.

doi:10.1525/aa.1893.6.3.02a00090

Cited by 19 publications

(5 citation statements)

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“…An updated report by Hill et al (2015) indicated that more than 1500 km of canals, ditches, and laterals have been mapped, with some canals reaching as far as 16 km from the river. Authors have described the morphology of canals (Woodbury, 1960; Howard, 1993; Huckleberry, 2015); the likelihood that saline or waterlogged soils impacted Hohokam agriculture (Hodge, 1893; Halseth, 1936; Schroeder, 1943) or that soil salinization was not a significant factor affecting Hohokam agriculture (Ackerly, 1988); the effort required in canal construction and maintenance (Hayden in Schroeder, 1943; Woodbury, 1961; Doolittle, 1991; Howard, 1993); the possibility that the maintenance and management of complex Hohokam canal systems required significant social coordination (Masse, 1981; Hunt et al, 2005); and the surmise that Hohokam canals were objects to be controlled and a symbol of wealth and power indicative of political evolution. Archaeologists have also studied the morphology of river channels to suggest how their structures might reflect past flood events and, by inference, Hohokam agriculture (Woodson 2014).…”

Section: Water Desert and Saltmentioning

confidence: 99%

Saline Soils and the Agricultural Failure of a Prehistoric Population

Short

2019

J of Env Quality

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Environmental problems severely affected some prehistoric populations. For example, the Hohokam, during their millennium (450–1450 CE) in the Lower Salt River valley of Arizona, USA, constructed hundreds of kilometers of canals and extensively irrigated farmlands using Salt River waters which carried a high salt content. A quantity of that salt‐laden irrigation water was evaporated in the hot‐arid Sonoran Desert, resulting in thousands of tonnes of salt being deposited onto farmed fields, conditions deleterious to agriculture. Hohokam farmers, limited in their ability to manage salinity in irrigated soils, benefited both from the periodic flooding of the Salt River that leached soil salts from some fields and the occasional movement of their agriculture to new arable soils. They eventually vacated the Lower Salt River valley, presumably because periods of low river flows and limited flooding reduced irrigation and soil leaching capabilities, resulting in conditions unfavorable for continued agriculture. Enhanced soil and water management allows modern agriculture to succeed by successfully managing the environmental factors that limited the Hohokam. Core Ideas Soil salinity adversely affected some civilizations in prehistory. Environmental factors constrained some prehistoric populations. Artifact production is a function of duration of occupancy. Hohokam agriculture was restricted by the production of saline soils.

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Section: Water Desert and Saltmentioning

confidence: 99%

Saline Soils and the Agricultural Failure of a Prehistoric Population

Short

2019

J of Env Quality

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“…Remnants of prehistoric villages and canal systems were noted by archeologists in 1887, but by 1903, most of the surface evidence of these villages and canal systems had been obliterated by farming and construction. On the basis of the remains of extensive irrigation works, the amount of land irrigated under the prehistoric system was estimated to have been at least 250,000 acres (Hodge, 1893).…”

Section: History Of Water Developmentmentioning

confidence: 99%

Predevelopment hydrology of the Salt River Indian Reservation, East Salt River Valley, Arizona

Thomsen¹,

Porcello²

1991

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“…Canals and canal distribution systems, wells (both shaft and walk-in variants), reservoirs, and field drainage and erosion prevention structures have been documented (Crown, 1987;Hodge, 1893;Turney, 1985;Vivian, 1974;Woodbury, 1960). Many of these features were obviously planned and involved considerable effort to construct and maintain.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Aboriginal water control features in the southwestern United States have been discussed by Crown (1987) and include man-made irrigation and storage facilities in Arizona, New Mexico, and elsewhere. Canals and canal distribution systems, wells (both shaft and walk-in variants), reservoirs, and field drainage and erosion prevention structures have been documented (Crown, 1987;Hodge, 1893;Turney, 1985;Vivian, 1974;Woodbury, 1960). Many of these features were obviously planned and involved considerable effort to construct and maintain.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Archaeological and geological evidence for protohistoric water management in Northeast Louisiana

Kidder

Saucier

1991

Geoarchaeology

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Native North American Indians built and maintained water control and irrigation facilities, especially in the southwestern United States. However, the use of hurnan-made structures to manage water for agriculture and personal use is rarely documented in the Southeast. Excavations a t the protohistoric period Jordan site in Louisiana demonstrate the use ofearthworks, ponds, and ditches to channel and direct surface water for drainage and irrigation. The Jordan site is remarkable for its preservation, as well as for having evidence for sophisticated hydraulic engineering, but it is unlikely that it is unique in the Southeast in regard to the degree and kind of earthmoving related to water management. Archaeological and geological contexts provide the background for understanding the Jordan site features. Results of geoarchaeological subsurface investigations demonstrate the scale and nature of the site's aboriginal constructions and provide evidence that they were part of a deliberate plan to make the site area habitable during the immediate postcontact era in the Mississippi Valley.

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Prehistoric Irrigation in Arizona.*

Cited by 19 publications

References 0 publications

Saline Soils and the Agricultural Failure of a Prehistoric Population

Saline Soils and the Agricultural Failure of a Prehistoric Population

Predevelopment hydrology of the Salt River Indian Reservation, East Salt River Valley, Arizona

Archaeological and geological evidence for protohistoric water management in Northeast Louisiana

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