How Changes in Subsistence Influenced the Health of the Hohokam Tribe By Alison Boll Submitted ...

32 Pages·2013·0.55 MB·English

by  Alison Boll

How Changes in Subsistence Influenced the Health of the Hohokam Tribe

By

Alison Boll

Submitted to the Faculty of

The Archaeological Studies Program
Department of Sociology and Archaeology

In partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of
Bachelor of Science

University of Wisconsin La Crosse

2013
Copyright 2013 by Alison Boll
All rights reserved

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HOW CHANGES IN SUBSISTENCE INFLUENCED THE HEALTH OF
THE HOHOKAM TRIBE

Alison Boll, B.S.

University of Wisconsin-La Crosse, 2013

ABSTRACT
This paper discusses how the change in subsistence patterns from the Sedentary Period to the
Classic Period affected the health of the Hohokam tribes of the North American Southwest.
Subsistence analysis along with 163 Hohokam inhumations from the time periods were analyzed
and compared to evaluate if there was a correlation between diet and health. Dental pathologies,
anemia, enamel hypoplasia, rickets, urolithiasis, and stature were examined to reveal patterns in
health during the time. The results found that childhood stress events were that most prevalent
health complication but overall the Hohokam maintained a rich and varied diet, despite their
heavy reliance on maize agriculture.

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I would like to thank my professor, Dr. David Anderson and my reader Dr. Christine Hippert for
their help and advice, along with my reading group Sarah Breiter and Jason Griffin. I would also
like to thank my friends and family for their support and encouragement during the semester.
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HOW CHANGES IN SUBSISTENCE INFLUENCED THE HEALTH OF THE
HOHOKAM TRIBE

From childhood, we are told what foods are healthy and what foods are not, but research is
indicating that our idea of healthy food may be more complex than previously thought. Most
agricultural populations rely on a limited variety of domesticated crops and have strayed away
from the wild resources that were a staple in pre-agricultural diets. The practice of limiting the
variety of foods eaten and depending on foods, such as maize, that are high in starch cause an
array of health problems. One of the most common health implications associated with the
introduction of agricultural maize is dental carries (Reinhard, Johnson, et al 2012).
I am interested in examining how the health of past societies was influenced by their
dietary choices. By switching from a high dependence on wild resources supplemented by
agriculture to a high dependence on intensive agriculture supplemented with wild resources,
health patterns have emerged that previously did not exist within the population. My belief is that
this is because of the types of foods being consumed. Similar to modern human populations,
previous cultures experienced fluctuations in health problems due to the assortments of foods
being consumed.
This paper explores what effect the change from low agricultural subsistence to high
agricultural subsistence had on the health of the Hohokam tribes in Southern Arizona. Hohokam
subsistence patterns were analyzed and compared to evidence of disease and malnutrition. To
show the changes in subsistence patterns my research is looking at mild agricultural subsistence
and intensive agricultural subsistence in Hohokam societies, as well as examining the outside
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factors influencing their dietary strategies. I then looked at evidence of health problems shown
from bone indicators during these periods and examined the possible causes. Examining the
correlation between subsistence and health is important because recognizing that food preference
had a major influence on the survival and wellbeing of early populations can help us understand
the health implications stemming from food in modern populations.

BACKGROUND
Along with Mogollon, Anasazi, and Patayan, the Hohokam tradition was one of four major
cultural manifestations that archaeologists recognize in the North American Southwest (Bayman
2001). Hohokam tribal territory was located in the Sonoran Desert in Southern Arizona. Their
primary accepted habitation area was in the Phoenix Basin located between the Gila River and
Salt River (Fish and Fish 1992). Also, excavations suggest that the Hohokam occupied extensive
areas on the periphery of the Phoenix Basin and settled on the streams and perennial rivers in the
area, including the Santa Cruz, the San Pedro, the Tonto Basin, the Verde, the Agua Fria, and the
Hassayampa River valleys (Bayman 2001).
The Sonoran Desert fluctuates between arid and fertile landscapes depending on the
seasons and weather patterns of the year, though it maintains a relatively consistent climate year
round. Relatively high temperatures and low rainfall characterize the Sonoran Desert and
perennial water is present in the major river valleys. Annual precipitation averages less than
fifteen inches and rainfall is seasonal and bimodal with the greatest concentrations falling during
summer and winter. The desert overall is a resource-dense area, which offered a wide variety of
storable food resources that helped the Hohokam accumulate surplus (Bayman 2001). The warm
desert environment and river resources offered an ideal atmosphere for Hohokam irrigation-
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based agricultural production as well as providing wild resource harvesting. The temperate
climate provided a substantial growing season with the opportunity for two or more growing
cycles per year (Rice and Redman 1993). Some of the main subsistence resources in the area
include wild ground cherry, spurge, plantain, indian wheat, gob mallow, purslane, tansy mustard,
cactus pads and fruit, mesquite pods, deer, and rabbits (Gasser and Kwiatkowski 1991). The
Hohokam tribes exploited all wild resources, utilized river resources, and employed different
farming techniques throughout their habitation within the area.
Southwestern archaeologists have come to a general consensus that Hohokam culture
developed from the indigenous archaic populations that achieved a sedentary to semi-sedentary
lifestyle in optimal areas in the region. Early ceramics lacking decoration and bearing significant
resemblance to material culture traits of the preceding archaic populations have been identified at
Hohokam sites (Wallace, Heidke, and Doelle 1995). Hohokam occupation is thought to have
begun prior to A.D. 200 and lasted until at least A.D. 1450 though there is much debate about the
exact chronology of the Hohokam sequence. The Hohokam history is generally accepted to be
split into five periods: the Pioneer Period, the Colonial Period, the Sedentary Period, the Classic
Period, and the Post-Classic Period (Crown 1990), though many archaeologist debate how the
phases of the timeline should be split. Table 1 shows the complete chronology that I will be
using for this paper of Hohokam occupation as interpreted by Crown, with a division between
the two time periods this paper will discuss.

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Table 1. Hohokam Timeline (adapted from Crown 1990)

Hohokam Culture
In the periods before the Colonial Period, the four regions of the North American Southwest had
not been fully established and Hohokam culture included many aspects of the three surrounding
cultures. No material culture identifiable as uniquely Hohokam emerged until the start of the
Snaketown Phase around A.D. 775 (Wallace, Heidke, and Doelle 1995). Beginning around that
time in the Colonial Period, Hohokam culture begins to reflect differences in ceramic
technology, architectural forms, and modes of subsistence and settlement, marking the
introduction of the primary symbols of Hohokam culture. These four main hallmarks include,
red-on-buff pottery, monumental buildings, large-scale canal irrigation agriculture (Bayman
2001), and cremation burial practices (Fink and Merbs 1991). The one characteristic of
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Hohokam culture that remained true for their entire existence was farming. Evidence of
Hohokam agricultural practices goes as far back as can be seen in the archaeological record
(Purdue, Miles, et al 2009). The diverse Hohokam culture covered a wide expanse and included
long distance trade covering areas exceeding 73,000 square kilometers (Bayman 2001).

Material Culture
The Colonial Period marks the introduction of the Hohokam tradition as an individual culture in
the Sonoran Desert region. Pottery, lithics, baskets, clothes, and shell beads are manufactured
with features that become distinctly Hohokam characteristics. Both Hohokam and Mogollon
traditions manufactured undecorated brown ware ceramics during early periods. The red-on-buff
pottery, indicative of Hohokam culture, did not emerge until around A.D. 775 (Bayman 2001).
The original design focused on simple geometric layouts and the use of parallel lines then
transitioned into the addition of life forms as ceramic technology was refined (Wallace, Heidke,
and Doelle 1995). The Hohokam used a combination of chipped and ground stone tools. Chipped
stone tool assemblage includes scrapers, choppers, knives, and projectile points (Curtis and
Wright 2012). Dart points, popular in periods before large-scale agriculture, are not seen after the
introduction of large-scale agriculture (Bayman 2001). The most common ground stone tools
found are grinding slabs used for grain processing (Curtis and Wright 2012). Baskets were made
from the fibrous leaves of yucca, cattail, and bear grass for storage and lightweight
transportation. Typical clothing worn by the Hohokam includes breechcloths and aprons made
from animal skins and plant fibers such as cotton, milkweed, yucca, and agave. Buckskin shirts,
and cloth ponchos would have also been warn in winter (Crown 1990). Marine Shell ornament
production and circulation was developed around this time, likely for use with ritual and
ornamental usage (Bayman 2001).
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Ritual and Burial Practices
The Hohokam performed a variety of ritual and burial activities, their most prevalent being the
cremation burial practice. Evidence of ritual and religious behavior is shown from caches of fire-
clay figurines, marine shell ornaments, quartz crystals, stone pipes, fossils from Pleistocene
fauna, painted artiodactyl bones, and nonlocal minerals and stones (Bayman 2001:269). Ball
courts, usually located in the central area of the village, were large mud-plastered shallow pits
resembling football fields and functioned as community centers for public ceremonies, rites of
passage, and ceremonial exchange. Other buildings located in the centers of town also served as
communal centers for religious rituals, among other things. Some central buildings were found
with small ceramic bowls that researchers believe could have been used for consuming
ceremonial beverages (Bayman 2001). Cremations were the main burial method for Hohokam
populations, though inhumations are also present to a lesser extent. Elaborate mortuary rituals
involved cremating the remains and interring stylized craft goods such as palettes, censers, and
carved shell (Wallace, Heidke, and Doelle 1995).

Structures and Settlement Patterns
One of the cultural characteristics the Hohokam are known for are their monumental buildings,
many of which are still surviving today. Although wood for fires and housing structures was
scarce in the Sonoran Desert, ironwood, paloverde, mesquite, and cottonwood trees were
concentrated in areas along river drainage systems. This allowed for building materials for many
of the structures associated with Hohokam culture. Hohokam buildings include ball courts,
towers, platform mounds, and Great Houses (Bayman 2001). Hohokam society was centered on
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