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Science Friday > Archives > 1997 > November > November 14, 1997

Hour Two: Early People of the Southwest:
The great civilizations of the Anasazi, the Hohokam, and the Mogollon.

Long before Europeans came to North America, several peoples had developed wonderfully advanced civilizations in the desert southwest.  They build multi-storied houses, developed extensive irrigation systems for agriculture, and created beautiful artworks. They also were the ancestors of many of the more modern Native American peoples that inhabit the desert southwest today.

Perhaps the most famous of these cultures is the Anasazi, a group that dominated much of what is today called the "Four Corners" area. The Anasazi moved into the area around 100 BC. By around 500 AD, they had developed agriculture, allowing them to settle in one place and begin to build the elaborate cliff dwellings that characterized their society. But by 1300 AD they had moved elsewhere, perhaps driven by drought, and blended with other cultures.

Balcony House, Anasazi People Mesa Verde National Park (photo courtesy National Park Service)

The Mogollon people, who inhabited mainly the mountain areas of eastern Arizona and New Mexico down into  Mexico, arrived in the area around 200 BC. Thought to be the first people to adopt agriculture in the high desert, they developed complex pithouses that evolved into elaborate, multi-storied buildings. The Mogollon are most known, however, for their artworks, including the exquisite coiled pottery and ceramics made by the Mimbres branch of the Mogollon.

The Hohokam peoples of southern Arizona were great farmers. They are known by some as the "Canal Builders," due to the extensive irrigation systems that they developed for their agriculture. Some remnants of their canal system are still visible today around Phoenix.

On this hour of Science Friday, broadcast live from the Arizona Science Center in Phoenix,  we'll talk about the early peoples of the desert southwest, from their ancient roots to modern Native American efforts to protect archaeological sites from outsiders.

Listen to this program in RealAudio!

Guests:
Kathy Henderson
Principal Investigator
Northland Research
Phoenix, AZ

Laura Tohe
Member of the Dine' (Navajo) Nation
Assistant Professor of English
Arizona State University
Tempe, AZ

Carol Chiago Lujan
Member of the Navajo Nation
Professor in the School of Justice Studies
Arizona State University
Tempe, AZ

Margaret Nelson
Professor of Anthropology
Arizona State University
Tempe, AZ

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Related Links:

The Arizona State Museum (has large collections of Native American archaeolgical items)

An overview of ancient peoples in the desert southwest

Anasazi material
Mesa Verde National Park

Hohokam material
An online book, " Hohokam Indians of the Tucson Basin"
A 3D Hohokam pithouse dwelling
Hohokam skywatchers