Their work was not yet complete, for the fields had to be cleared. Brush was cut, and fires were built at the base of large trees to burn the trunks until they weakened and fell.
Aerial view showing Montezuma Well and Beaver Creek.
Rocks which were cleared from the farm areas were lined up to mark the edges of small plots. Dirt was thrown over these rocks so water would not escape when the plots were irrigated. Some of the brush was saved for making dams to divert water from the main ditch to each of the farm plots. Small limbs from fallen trees were fashioned into digging and planting sticks. The fields were leveled with their stone hoes and tree limbs were dragged over the soil in a final smoothing process.
Yucca-fiber sandal made by prehistoric Indians of Montezuma Castle.
Finally they were ready for their planting. They had brought seeds of food crops—corn, beans, and squash—which were planted in these plots. Cotton was also planted. Then the water was turned onto the fields to complete their labor.
During the course of their pioneering work, this small group of Indians probably lived on the edge of the bluff above the fields and in three small caves along the bluff bordering their ditch. Food was not lacking, as the plants in the area provided them with many essentials. Mesquite beans, a common staple among the Indians, were plentiful in the late summer and autumn, as were walnuts, berries, wild gourds, and sunflower seeds.
Other plants, particularly yucca, supplied necessary fibers for making sandals, matting, cordage, baskets, and other articles. Reeds and hardwoods were available to make bows and arrows and other wooden implements for hunting rabbits and ducks around the Well. Hunting parties no doubt went to the foothills for larger game such as deer.
At about the same time that the Hohokam were in the valley, another group of Indians whom we call the “Sinagua,” lived in the forested foothills to the north and east, and on the plateau above. Their small villages were located in open areas that could be dry farmed, as they depended on rain water for their crops. Their houses, like those of the Hohokam, were made of poles, brush, and mud; however, they were dug into the ground, with just a small portion of the walls and the roof projecting above the ground level.