While the foregoing refers to the Hohokam who lived in the river valleys, there was another group who lived farther to the south in the desert region known as the Papagueria.[57] Here agriculture was more limited, for the only form of irrigation was by ditches designed to divert rain water to the fields. With a less favorable environment, the standard of living was lowered and the reduction of leisure time resulted in a poorer development of arts and crafts. Although the material [culture] was not as rich as in the more favored river valleys, any loss is more than compensated for, from the archaeological point of view, by the fact that the greater aridity of this region has made possible the preservation of much normally perishable material. The ancient desert dwellers further endeared themselves to archaeologists by forsaking cremation about the beginning of the eleventh century.
A remarkable site, known as Ventana Cave,[55] which lies in the Papago Indian Reservation, has yielded great quantities of very fine material, including some forty burials, and the final report of this valuable discovery is eagerly awaited. Preliminary reports indicate that the ancient inhabitants of this region strongly resembled the Papago Indians who still occupy it. The early people were fine weavers and made cotton cloth which, together with rabbit-fur blankets and sandals, provided them with clothing.
Fig. 52—Child’s cotton poncho from Ventana Cave. Desert Hohokam, eleventh or twelfth century. (Courtesy Arizona State Museum.)
One strong difference between the Hohokam of the river valleys and those of the desert area lies in the fact that the Salado people did not penetrate into the desert section and the [culture] of this region accordingly remained relatively untouched. This isolation seems to have been deliberately achieved by the desert dwellers who erected strings of forts of rough laid stone on volcanic hills to protect their domain. Environment may well have played a strong part in the reaction of the two groups of Hohokam to new people. With their meager resources the people of the Papagueria could hardly accept additions to the population, while the more prosperous group to the north, blessed with the water which means so much in the Southwest, could afford to be friendly.
THE RECENT HOHOKAM
About 1400 A.D., the Salado people left the Gila country. It is thought that some may have moved east as far as eastern New Mexico and southeast into Chihauhua. Others from the Upper Gila may have drifted north into the Zuñi area. We cannot be sure of the reason for their departure, but one theory, which has been advanced, is that they may have been forced out by the arrival of the Apaches.[27] What happened to the Hohokam themselves we do not know. Possibly they remained in the same district and eventually sites belonging to the period after 1400 may be found. It is also possible that they may have moved to the inhospitable reaches of the Papagueria which would have afforded greater protection against an enemy.
Although there is a gap in our information, the belief is widely held that the Hohokam may have been the ancestors of the present Pima Indians and possibly the Papago, related tribes who speak mutually intelligible dialects of the Piman language. The most convincing argument for this theory is that the Pimas were well established in the Gila Basin, the old Hohokam homeland, when they were discovered by the Spaniards in 1530. The Papago still occupy the desert region of the Papagueria. In general, the way of life of these people was not too different from that of the Hohokam. They were agriculturists, dependent on irrigation, lived in one-room houses, and their pottery was somewhat similar to that of the Hohokam. Quite possibly, other racial strains are present and other groups contributed to the Pima and Papago [culture], but it seems highly probable that the Hohokam was one of the most important elements.
Fig. 53—Pima House in 1897. (Courtesy National Park Service.)