THE SEDENTARY HOHOKAM
During the Sedentary period, which lasted from about 900 to 1200 A. D. there was some withdrawal from the outlying districts and a greater concentration of population in a smaller area, although there was also some northward extension of the [culture]. There was some regional specialization during the latter part of the period, for the inhabitants of the upper or eastern portion of the Gila Basin developed somewhat differently from those of the central area. This was possibly the result of the influence of Pueblo people who lived in the Tonto Basin about one hundred miles to the northwest, and it presaged the changes which were to occur in the next period when some of these people moved into the Hohokam area, bringing with them their distinctive culture.
Houses in the main area were roughly rectangular in outline, but the ends were somewhat rounded and the sides slightly convex. Floors were encircled by low, mud rims, six inches or less in height, which were probably designed to keep water out of the houses. Some had parallel-sided entrance ways, but others had a bulbous vestibule with a low step at the end. Late in the period, in the eastern part of the Gila Basin, there were some rectangular surface houses with walls of adobe, containing sporadic stones, over a pole framework. In some cases, villages were enclosed by walls and are referred to as compounds. This name is taken from the term which is applied to the walled or fenced enclosure of a house or factory in the orient.
The irrigation system was enlarged and improved. Ball courts were still being built but they seem to have been considerably reduced in size by the end of the period. They were oriented north and south and the ends were closed. One interesting find, made in a Sedentary site with an estimated date of 1100 A. D., was a rubber ball buried in a jar.[52] Analysis showed the rubber to be of American origin, unvulcanized and unrefined. There is no way of proving that this ball was used in playing the game for which the courts were designed, but it seems entirely possible that it was.
At this time some Hohokam people moved north into the Flagstaff area. They introduced ball courts and other distinctive traits of their [culture].[86]
Fig. 47—Red-on-buff Hohokam jars of the Sedentary period. (Courtesy Gila Pueblo.)
In the field of pottery, forty per cent of all that was produced was of the red-on-buff variety. There was a great elaboration of designs and some appear to have been taken from woven fabrics. Panels, negative designs, and patterns tied together by interlocking scrolls, were all common. There was a great variety of shapes which included three and four-legged trays. Jars increased tremendously in size, and a few had a capacity of almost thirty gallons. Bowls were also quite large. Some plain buff ware was manufactured, but it was not common. Less than one per cent of the total pottery assemblage consisted of bowls with heavily slipped and polished reddish brown interiors and mottled brown or gray exteriors. From the eastern area come bright red bowls with smoke-darkened, black interiors.
Figurines were of two types. For the most part they consisted of heads which were apparently attached to bodies made of cord-wrapped fiber. These have not survived, but their presence is indicated by impressions in the clay of the heads. The faces are quite realistic and probably represent an attempt at portraiture. Other figurines, made of buff clay and painted with red, show full figures, seated, with hands resting on the knees.
It is most unfortunate that practically none of the textiles produced at this time have lasted through the centuries. A few fragments have been found which give us tantalizing glimpses of a highly developed craft. Apparently very fine cotton textiles with intricate weaves were produced. No baskets have survived the passage of the years, but ash casts have been found which show that the making of baskets was well developed.