Hohokam Indian canal system unearthed
Submitted by coldrum on Tuesday, 26 July 2005 Page Views: 8045
DiscoveriesCountry: United States State: ArizonaInternal Links:
Archaeologists working at a proposed development site in Mesa (Phoenix, Arizona) have unearthed one of the largest integrated canal systems the Hohokam Indians ever built in the Phoenix area. Twenty canals, uncovered during an ongoing archaeological survey of the 240-acre site, have been found since October. The largest measures 45 feet wide and 16 feet deep.
"They are the size of canals in Phoenix today, but these were done with digging sticks and baskets," said Tom Wilson, an archaeologist and director of the Mesa Southwest Museum. "There are some extraordinary things there."
Other archaeological remains were also found, including a half-dozen pit houses and hundreds of pottery fragments and artifacts.
Historians believe the Hohokam lived in central and southern Arizona for about 1,500 years, sometime between 300 B.C. and A.D. 1400. They were a largely agricultural community known for their sophisticated canal systems.
This spring, the development site was at the center of a fierce political fight over the merits of locating a Bass Pro Shops store or Wal-Mart Supercenter there. Meanwhile, the archaeological team was quietly working under the public radar to unearth construction that dates as early as A.D. 600.
More at KVOA TV, Tucson (archived)
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