Desert Messenger

July 12, 2017 www.DesertMessenger.com 15 For those who slow down from the hustle and bustle of city life and ven- ture into the wilder parts of the Phoe- nix Basin, treasure awaits. Here are memories and stories about the an- cient peoples who once called this desert landscape home. Not too far from the Phoenix met- ropolitan area, in Carefree, lie the Sears-Kay ruins. This site holds the remains of a fortifi ed hilltop community, originally occupied by the Hohokam peoples around 1050 AD. This complex originally housed about 100 people within a structure comprised of about 40 rooms. A few miles north of the Sears-Kay site is another ruin called Juans Can- yon, where an abundance of pottery shards and tools have been found. A third un-named site, containing ruins of several rooms and a wall is found just north of Sears-Kay. There are also ruins found near Gold Can- yon. Two of the largest Hohokam ceremonial Temple Mounds, Mesa Grande and Pueblo Grande, are found in Mesa, AZ, and were used be- tween 1100 and 1450 AD. Remains of a pit house village with irrigation canals and terraces can be found in the White Tank Mountains. In addition to ruins and temple mounds, petroglyphs abound in the mountains within the Phoenix area. The Deer Valley Petroglyph Pre- serve, just off I17 in north Phoenix is a 47 acre archeological site con- taining over 1500 Hohokam petro- glyphs between 500 and 7000 years old. Petroglyphs can also be found along several trails within the North Mountain and South Mountain Preserves. Within the White Tank Mountains, 11 sites have been identi- fi ed containing several types of cul- tural artifacts. A total of 340 basalt boulders bearing glyphs have so far been recorded, as well as grinding holes, tools, pot shards, rock align- ments, and other important features like archeoastronomy sites. There are also several rock art sites found within the Estrella Mountain Park that are accessible only by a ranger- led hike. While at fi rst glance Phoenix seems to be nothing more than a hectic modern day metropolis, with some preparation and willingness to explore, an abundance of an- cient treasures can be discov- ered. While some sites may require hiking or 4-wheel drive to access, there a several sites, like the Deer Valley Rock Art Site and the Temple Mounds in Mesa, that are located right in the city and are easily ac- cessed by a short drive in any type of vehicle. With so much cultural history here, the next time you have some free time while you are in Phoenix, take some time to explore the beautiful Mountain Preserves and other sites. You will be richly rewarded. To view PhotoJournals of the White Tank Mountains petroglyph site, as well as other sites around Phoenix, visit our website www.Adventure- sWithRocks.com. We have great stuff for kids, plus amazing articles and PhotoJournals of all our latest adventures. We also have fabulous rocks, fossils, minerals, gemstones and lots of great resources for lapi- dary and prospecting at discounted prices in our Ebay and Etsy stores. They can be accessed through the links on www.AdventuresWith- Rocks.com. Please also Like Us on Facebook to follow us in all our ad- ventures. Happy Travels. ADVENTURES WITH ROCKS ™ By Jenn Jedidiah Free • www.AdventuresWithRocks.com Looking down from North Moun- tain's summit, the sprawling city of Phoenix spreads out across the des- ert in every direction as far as the eye can see. To the south, downtown's skyscrapers stretch up from the hori- zon. The streets below are crammed with cars, while all manner of vehi- cles speed up and down the freeways from one end of the city to the other. The 101 and 202 loops carry travel- ers and commuters around the heart of the city, past the peaks of North Mountain, South Mountain, and the White Tanks. Along I10, at the Southwest edge of town, the rugged Estrellas rise up from the desert fl oor while the McDowell Mountain peaks provide a scenic backdrop for the Northeast corner of the 202 loop. On any given day, motorists whiz by the dramatic peaks of Phoenix sever- al times. Most do not give them any thought, while some may appreciate them merely as pretty scenery on their commute. But only those who stop and explore these mountains truly understand the treasures that they hold. Long before the desert fl oor around those peaks was smoth- ered with all the trappings of mod- ern urban life, these mountains were home to the ancient pueblo people called the Hohokam. The Hohokam inhabited an extend- ed region of the four corners area from about 100 AD to around 1500 AD and are recognized as one of the four major civilizations of the an- cient desert southwest. Extending from the Colorado River in the west to the eastern part of New Mexico, as far north as central Colorado and Utah, and as far south as Tucson, Hohokam culture inhabited a cen- Canals, mountains, and pretty pictures tral trade position between the des- ert southwest and Mexico. Its core area was located along the Salt and Gila Rivers in the part of the desert we now call Phoenix. In addition to signifi cant trading centers, the Hohokam established elaborate agricultural systems and stable urban centers specifi cally adapt- ed to the arid desert environ- ment of the Phoenix area. The Hohokam cultivated vari- eties of cotton, tobacco, maize, beans, squash, and agave, and also harvested a vast assortment of wild plants. They developed elaborate agricultural strategies that enabled them to create prosperous villages and settlements throughout the Phoenix Basin. The Hohokam perfected extensive dry-farming techniques and built a complex as- sortment of canals to utilize the wa- ters of the Salt and Gila Rivers. As early as 2000 BC, the Hohokam or their ancestors, were the fi rst North American culture to rely on irriga- tion canals to water their crops, and by 1300 AD their irrigation systems supported the largest population in the desert southwest . The Ho- hokam canal system was so intricate it rivaled those used in the ancient Near East, Egypt, and China, and portions of it are still in use today as part of the modern irrigation system in the Phoenix metropolitan area. But the Hohokam left us much more than an elaborate irrigation canal system. They left us a part of them- selves. Throughout the mountains, canyons, washes, and mesas in and around Phoenix, there are petro- glyphs, ruins of ancient urban cen- ters, houses, and ceremonial sites. Read Desert MESSENGER E-edition online @ www.MyQuartzsite.com

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