By: Erin and Heidi Hohokam Lived around 200A.D.-1400A.D.

The name Hohokam comes from the word Hoohoogum, the name given by the contemporary Native Americans in this area to the prehistoric peoples whom they believe to be their ancestors.

The Hohokam had no form of writing. They were split up into four different developmental periods Pioneer (ad 200–775), Colonial (775–975), Sedentary (975– 1150), and Classic (from approximately 1150 to sometime between 1350 and 1450). They traded with neighboring tribes. Some goods from the Hopis, Sinagua, and the Aztec's have been found at the Hohokam excavation sites. They were good builders.

The Hohokam built hundreds of miles of canals throughout the valley to irrigate their agricultural fields. Some of these same canals were later re-excavated and used by pioneer farmers in historic times. The main water source they used to irrigate was the Gila River and Salt River. The canals were mainly used for crops, drinking, cooking, and pottery. They built 600 miles of canals.

The Hohokam were farmers who grew corn, beans, squash, tobacco, and agave. They also grew cotton for textiles. The Hohokam had no domesticated livestock. They hunted deer, rabbit, squirrel, and quail. They harvested shellfish and fish from their canals. They also ate native gathered from the desert.

The Hohokam people occupied the valley and much of southern Arizona from A.D. 200 to The Hohokam are thought to have originally migrated out of north Mexico around 300B.C. to become the most skillful irrigation farmers the southwest ever knew.

The Hohokam's largest village is called Snaketown. It was made up of 100 pit houses. Pit houses were made by digging a pit in the ground and covering it with a framework of logs. Framework was covered with plants and mud to make a roof and walls. The pit kept them cool in the summer

About 1400 a.d. the Hohokam abandon their villages after living there for more than 1,000 years. Nobody knows why they left.

The Hohokam made pottery and stone tools, and wove cotton textiles. They also made hundreds of rock outcrops throughout the valley. They created a coiled pottery finished with a paddle and painted with red designs. They retained a great deal of Mesoamerican influence as can be seen in their use of ball courts and decorative feathers. The Hohokam were famous for their intricate work with shells obtained from the Gulf of California and the pacific coast. They made pottery and human figures out of. clay