(??-100B.C.)

The ancestors of the Pueblo people moved to the Southwest at a very early date. They were probably one of the first groups that migrated from Asia. In the Archaic time period, people were nomadic foragers and hunters. They could not make permanent dwellings, but rather they would move whenever the food supplies moved or died off. Agriculture was unknown since the harsh weather of the area required reliable irrigation almost everywhere that cultivated crops could be planted.

The Hohokam civilization of Southcentral Arizona was an ancient culture with many similarities to the Central Mexican civilizations. The Hohokam were either descendants of peoples that moved north from Mexico or a group of locals that eventually banded together. The Hohokam traded heavily with neighboring tribes. Goods from the Hopis, Sinaguas, and Aztecs have been found at Hohokam excavation sites. Well into their development, the Hohokam began constructing extensive irrigation systems for which they are well noted. Sunken ritual ball courts and pyramidal structures similar to the Aztec's have been unearthed at Hohokam archaeological sites. These tend to suggest that the Hohokam either descended from the Aztecs or had extensive trade and religious relationships with the more southerly Indians. It is widely accepted that the Hohokam are ancestors of the modern Pima and Tohono O'Odham (Papago) tribes that live on reservations in the Phoenix, Arizona area.

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[Archaic][Basketmaker][Pueblo][Present]
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