• Donate
    • Donate
    • Member Circles and Benefits
    • Become a Member
    • Renew Today
    • Give a Gift Membership
    • Student Membership
  • Take Action
    • Volunteer Program
    • Make Your Voice Heard
  • About
    • Land Acknowledgment
    • What We Do
    • Position Papers
    • Team & People
    • Job Openings
    • Partners & Friends
    • Annual Reports
    • Policies & Financials
  • Things to Do
    • Events
    • Archaeology Café
    • Exhibits
    • Classes
    • Field School
  • Explore
    • Free Resources
    • Introduction to Southwestern Archaeology
    • Projects
    • Protection Efforts
    • Ancient Cultures
    • Videos
    • Places to Visit
  • Store
    • Archaeology Southwest Magazine
    • All Products
  • News
    • Blog
    • Press Releases/Announcements
    • Preservation Archaeology Today
    • Sign up for E-News
  • Donate
    • Donate
    • Member Circles and Benefits
    • Become a Member
    • Renew Today
    • Give a Gift Membership
    • Student Membership
  • Take Action
    • Volunteer Program
    • Make Your Voice Heard
X
  • About
    • Land Acknowledgment
    • What We Do
    • Position Papers
    • Team & People
    • Job Openings
    • Partners & Friends
    • Annual Reports
    • Policies & Financials
  • Things to Do
    • Events
    • Archaeology Café
    • Speakers Bureau
    • Exhibits
    • Classes
    • Field School
  • Explore
    • Free Resources
    • SW Archaeology 101
    • Projects
    • Protection Efforts
    • Ancient Cultures
    • Videos
    • Places to Visit
  • Store
    • Archaeology Southwest Magazine
    • All Products
  • News
    • Blog
    • Press Releases/Announcements
    • Preservation Archaeology Today
    • Sign up for E-News

Archaeology Café (Phoenix): Canal Irrigation Studies on the Gila River Indian Community and Modern Water-Rights Issues

January 19, 2016 @ 5:30 pm - 7:30 pm
  • Home
  • >
  • Events
  • >
  • Archaeology Café (Phoenix): Canal Irrigation Stud...
Loading Events
  • This event has passed.

Event Navigation

  • « Chaco Canyon and Mesa Verde: Cultural Landscapes At‐Risk
  • Archaeology Café (Phoenix): From Data to Digital Humanities Content »
An archaeologist with Desert Archaeology, Inc., examines a re-created field area within the roughly 3,000-year-old expanse of irrigation canals at Las Capas in the Tucson Basin.
An archaeologist with Desert Archaeology, Inc., examines a re-created field area within the roughly 3,000-year-old expanse of irrigation canals at Las Capas in the Tucson Basin.

In 2015–2016, we feature presenters who will explain the “so what?” of their findings. Accordingly, we encourage audiences to consider not only the past, but also their own place in our human story.

On January 19, 2016, Kyle Woodson and Wesley Miles (Gila River Indian Community) will present “Canal Irrigation Studies on the Gila River Indian Community and Modern Water-Rights Issues.”

From Kyle and Wesley:

We will discuss the Gila River Indian Community’s long-term cultural resource management study of Hohokam canal irrigation along the middle Gila River. This work has been coordinated in conjunction with the Pima-Maricopa Irrigation Project, a large irrigation-system improvement project funded by the United States Bureau of Reclamation. This long-term study was facilitated by archival and ethnographic research, intensive archaeological survey and excavation projects, as well as oral history interviews.

These efforts have provided a wealth of new information on ancient Hohokam canal systems and irrigated fields. Principal contributions of these studies are a greatly clarified canal system map; an increased number of excavated canal segments; and new understandings of the layout, size, and capacity of the canal systems, as well as their development through time. Soil studies of irrigated fields within the systems, along with experiments in traditional corn production, have greatly augmented our knowledge of Hohokam irrigated agriculture. Other studies have focused on the social organization of irrigation management and canal labor.

In sum, these investigations have led to many new insights, and they have even influenced some water-rights issues for the Community.

Archaeology Café is an informal forum where adults can learn more about the Southwest’s deep history and speak directly to experts. We have based Archaeology Café on the science pub or science cafe model that developed in Europe and quickly spread to major American cities. At Archaeology Café, we break down the static, jargon-laden dynamic of traditional lectures, and have an expert share some ideas with the group in ways that get discussion going. (Food and drink make things a little livelier, too.)

The program is free, but participants are encouraged to order their own refreshments. Although kids may attend with adult supervision, Archaeology Cafés are best for adults and young adults.

If accommodation is needed due to disability, please contact Linda Pierce by email or phone, (520) 882-6946, ext. 23.

Place: We meet in the Aztec Room of Macayo’s Central, 4001 N. Central Ave., Phoenix, near the Indian School light rail stop.

Time: Presentations begin after 6:00 p.m. It is best to arrive at about 5:30 p.m. in order to get settled, as seating is open and unreserved, but limited. Share tables and make new friends!

Cost: Archaeology Café is free, but guests are encouraged to order their own refreshments from the menu. Enjoy happy hour prices!

The 2015–2016 season is made possible, in part, by Arizona Humanities.

Arizona Humanities Logo

 

+ Google Calendar+ iCal Export
Venue
Macayo’s Central
Organizer
Archaeology Southwest
Phone:
(520) 849-6474
Email:
sanderson@archaeologysouthwest.org
Website:
www.archaeologysouthwest.org

Details

Date
Jan
2016
19
05:30pm - 07:30pm

Want to help us? Make a donation

or take action

Cyber SouthwestRespect Great BendHands-On ArchaeologySave History

© 2025 Archaeology Southwest

520.882.6946
Contact
  • My Store Account
  • Contact Us
  • Terms of Use
  • Privacy Policy
  • Press Room