The "Collapse" of Cooperative Hohokam Irrigation in the Lower Salt River Valley

[...]we discuss indicators of migration and social diversity in oral traditions and the archaeological record, emphasizing the importance of interplay between social and ecological factors. There was sufficient land and water to support continued occupation of the lower Salt, but as the social and e...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published inJournal of the Southwest Vol. 57; no. 4; pp. 609 - 674
Main Authors Hill, J. Brett, Lyons, Patrick D., Clark, Jeffery J., Doelle, William H.
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Tucson Southwest Center at the University of Arizona 22.12.2015
The Southwest Center, University of Arizona
University of Arizona
Subjects
Analysis
Anthropology
Canals
Cooperation
Demography
Hohokam culture
Hypotheses
Irrigation
Irrigation (Agriculture)
Occupations
Oral tradition
Population decline
Social factors
Space
Traditions
Wilcox, David
Arizona
Salt River
Online AccessGet full text

Cover

More Information
Summary:[...]we discuss indicators of migration and social diversity in oral traditions and the archaeological record, emphasizing the importance of interplay between social and ecological factors. There was sufficient land and water to support continued occupation of the lower Salt, but as the social and ecological relationships among settlements along canal systems changed, it became increasingly difficult to sustain profitable cultivation near canal intakes. [...]it was not the magnitude of degradation that doomed Classic period irrigation systems along the lower Salt, but the location of those effects in relation to vital system components, attempts to keep these large systems going in a context of declining population, and the arrival of populations with divergent historical traditions and motivations.
ISSN:0894-8410
2158-1371
2158-1371
DOI:10.1353/jsw.2015.0015