![]() ![]() Akimel O'odham oral tradition records that prior to the arrival of the Sto'am O'odham, or 'Coyote People,' this massive structure was built by an important personage called Sial Teu-utak Sivan, (Morning-Green Leader) or 'Chief Turquoise.' In the O'odham language, the Great House and the associated prehistoric ruins found north of Coolidge were collectively referred to as Sivan Vah'Ki, literally meaning the 'Abandoned House,' or 'Village of the Ruler,' respectively. Most observers are attracted to the four-story Great House found near the center of the Casa Grande Ruins National Monument. Overall, the greater Grewe-Casa Grande Archaeological Site covered approximately 900 acres (3.6 km2), centered on State Route 87 and immediately north of the modern city of Coolidge, Arizona. Occupied in the Preclassic and Classic periods, each of these sites was composed of between two and 20 large residential areas. These include the Casa Grande, Grewe, Vahki Inn Village, and Horvath sites. Situated between two primary canals (on the north, Canal Casa Grande and to the south Canal Coolidge), over time this community was recorded as several separate archaeological sites. The GRIC has decided not to open this extremely sensitive prehistoric site to the public.Īltogether, the greater Grewe-Casa Grande Site represented the largest Hohokam community located within the middle Gila River valley. The Hohokam Pima National Monument is located on Gila River Indian Community (GRIC) land and is under tribal ownership. After Snaketown was abandoned, several minor settlements were founded within the general vicinity and continued to be occupied until the early 14th century AD. Overall, Snaketown boasted two ball courts, numerous trash mounds, a small ceremonial mound, a large central plaza, several large community houses, hundreds of residential pithouses, and may have been home to at least several thousand people. Following the last excavations conducted by Emil Haury, the site was completely recovered with earth, leaving nothing visible above ground. At its height in the early 11th century, Snaketown was the center of both the Hohokam culture and the production of the distinctive Hohokam Buff Ware. Excavations conducted in the 1930s and again in the 1960s revealed that the site was inhabited from about 300 BC to AD 1050. Today Snaketown is situated within the Hohokam Pima National Monument, located near Santan, Arizona, which was authorized by Congress on October 21, 1972. Snaketown was the archetypical Preclassic Period settlement and preeminent community centered within the core of the Hohokam culture area. Including outlines of archaeological exploration provided below are brief descriptions of the largest and most important prehistoric villages found within the so-called Hohokam Core area. Although sharing a common cultural expression, each of these major villages has its own unique history of emergence, growth, and eventual abandonment. This is best gleaned from a review of their principal population centers, or more appropriately, major villages. The true measure of the Hohokam can only be derived from the sum of their material culture. Major Villages Within The Hohokam Core AreaFurther information: List of dwellings of Pueblo peoples ![]()
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