May 15, 2007

Desert Cities: Headed for disaster

Underneath the city of Phoenix, Arizona, lies the remains of the Hohokam culture, which flourished around the 15th century. In fact, it’s not so far underneath. Perhaps only six inches beneath the paved streets and concrete shopping centers.

The Hohokams extablished a large civilization in southern Arizona. And we still don’t know the exacft nake of the people who lived there.

That’s because hohokam is a Pima Indian word meaning “all worn out.” And that’s what happened to this ancient culture.

As Phoenix’s population grows and it builds more roads, buildings, schools, shopping centers and canals, yet let’s not forget those canals, engineers are finding more and more evidence of the Hohokam culture.

Evidence like the canals the Hohokam build to extend their agriculture and sustain its population. The canals got farther and farther away from the source. How do we know that? Well, as today’s engineers build canals farther and farther away from their water sources to accommodate its bustling growth, they are finding the Hohokam canals beneath their feet.

And when the Salt River went dry, so did the canals.

When pioneers first reached southern Arizona, they saw what remained of the Hohokams – a few eroded adobe walls, and nothing more.

The early settlers of Phoenix named it after the mythical bird which rose from its own ashes. The ashes they were referring to were the ashes of the Hohokam culture. That’s how Phoenix got its name. Some say that the city may have inherited the legacy of the Hohokum.

Related articles include “Phoenix Falling,” by Craig Childs, High Country News