Bostwick writes “We believe the Hohokam were dedicated skywatchers and thoroughly familiar with the annual movements of certain celestial bodies.” Bostwick goes on to explain that paleobotanist Vorsila Bohrer believes the “ancient and historical agricultural people of the American Southwest defined their universe by the path of the sun.” In the book Landscape of the Spirits, author Todd W. HOHOKAM SKY WATCHERSĪncient people everywhere, including the Hohokam, were deeply attuned to the cycles of nature and the movements of the day and night sky. Lord Darrell Duppa, one of Swilling’s travel companions, suggested naming the new settlement “Phoenix” because it described a city born from the ruins of a past civilization. Later that year, he formed the Swilling Irrigation and Canal Company with inspiration from the ancient Hohokam canals. He set up a community just 4 miles east of modern downtown Phoenix. While traveling through the Valley in search of gold in 1867, he recognized the potential for farming in the area. Modern-day Phoenix’s founding is credited to Jack Swilling, a Confederate veteran of the Civil War. Yet the harsh desert living conditions forced them to be self-sufficient and to make good use of local resources.Īrchaeologists believe that severe droughts and floods between 1300-1450 CE may have caused them to abandon the area.

Hohokam settlements were located along major trade routes, allowing them to connect with other cultures all the way to the Great Plains, the Pacific Coast, and into Mesoamerica (much of modern Central America).

Where were the hohokam located