How Do We Know Immigrants Came to the Hohokam Region?
After about A.D. 1275, distinctive, non-Hohokam artifacts and architecture began to appear at sites in the Hohokam region (Remember Puzzle Piece #1?). Archaeologists have long asked what this means.
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To illustrate how archaeologists concluded that migration happened, we will walk through their reasoning process and focus on one piece of evidence: Maverick Mountain Series pottery.
The Maverick Mountain Series is a group of pottery types that look like ceramics made in the Kayenta region of northeastern Arizona and southeastern Utah. These distinctive types began to appear in central and southern Arizona beginning around A.D. 1275.
Was Maverick Mountain Series Pottery Traded To Hohokam Groups?
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Key Points:
Maverick Mountain Series pottery, which looks like ceramics made in northern Arizona and southern Utah, appears in the Hohokam region after A.D. 1275.
Analysis of sand added to the clay as temper indicates Maverick Mountain Series pottery was made in southern Arizona, not traded in from the north.
Maverick Mountain Series pots were made using the coil-and-scrape method, prevalent in northern Arizona, not the Hohokam paddle-and-anvil technique.
Perforated plates, which were used by northern groups as pottery-making tools, are found in Hohokam sites. Analysis of their temper shows that, after A.D. 1275, they were made in the Hohokam region.
This online exhibit was created in partnership with Pueblo Grande Museum, and is made possible by grants from the National Science Foundation.
