The Hohokam Canals at Pueblo Grande, Arizona

Abstract

A cross section of the surviving traces of two large prehistoric canals near Pueblo Grande, Phoenix, shows one to have originally been V-shaped in profile, about 6 m. wide and 4 m. deep, and the other U-shaped in profile, about 10 m. wide and 3 m. deep. Both were dug into coarse gravel and the broader (north) canal had been lined with brown clay subsequent to its construction and initial period of use. There is a possibility that the V-shaped South Canal was built first and perhaps abandoned when the North Canal was built. Both canals show evidence of repeated filling and clearing out, either by natural erosion due to a periodically swifter current or by the efforts of the Indians using the canals. Sherds under the banks and in the canals were too few for conclusive dating of construction and use, but suggest that this took place during the Soho phase of the Hohokam Classic period, that is, during the late 12th and the 13th centuries. Hohokam canals much older than this are known, and the occupation of nearby Pueblo Grande began earlier and lasted later than the Soho phase.

The scale and organization of ancient Maya water management

“…The relative paucity of formal irrigation and floodwater cultivation techniques in the Maya area is partially due to the relatively few rivers in the Maya lowlands, particularly in the northern Yucatan, as well as the underlying karstic bedrock. Higher rainfall throughout much of the year in the southern lowlands also precluded the need for complex irrigation mechanisms, especially compared with the more formal irrigation systems found farther north in Mesoamerica, and in the Southwestern United States …”

“…Higher rainfall throughout much of the year in the southern lowlands also precluded the need for complex irrigation mechanisms, especially compared with the more formal irrigation systems found farther north in Mesoamerica, [134][135][136] and in the Southwestern United States. 137,138 Along the edges of rivers and lakes, the periphery of swamps, and within seasonal depressions known as bajos, at sites such as Pulltrouser Swamp 77 and the Far West Bajo, 32 and along the Candelaria River, 139 farmers modified riverine and depression or basin wetland environments to increase production and make use of marginal landscapes. 140 Riverine wetlands are characterized by 'discernible surface water flow, and display cyclical inundation patterns associated with the rise and fall of the river' (Ref 140, p. 12), and are modified through channelization to facilitate drainage, creating nominally dry surface areas to plant crops.…”

Irrigation's Impact on Society

“…The recent work of Haury (1965) and Woodbury (1960Woodbury ( , 1961aWoodbury ( , 1962, however, has confirmed the thesis that irrigation was basic to Hohokam settlement in southern Arizona, and Woodbury's (1961b) study of prehistoric agriculture in the Point of Pines area of central Arizona has shown that the practice of water control was equally important among the Mogollon_ In this paper I will synthesize information on water control systems of the Anasazi in northern Arizona and New Mexico and attempt to demonstrate that the capture and control of water resources was also a significant cultural development in the northern Puebloan area.…”

Archaeological and geological evidence for protohistoric water management in Northeast Louisiana

“…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.…”

“…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.…”