Snaketown Revisited: A Partial Cultural Resource Survey, Analysis of Site Structure and an Ethnohistoric Study of the Proposed Hohokam-Pima National Monument

Description

Authors: Wilcox, David R. (1943-2022); McGuire, Thomas R., and Sternberg, Charles

Publisher: Arizona State Museum

Pub Date: 1981

Binding: Paperback

Condition: Fair to Good.  Binding tight.  No tears, bends or folds.  Previous owner’s name stamped on all three text blocks and inside front cover.  Light corner and edge wear.  2 fold out maps in text and 2 folded maps tipped in.  Appears unused.

Notes: Arizona State Museum Archaeological Series No. 155.  Three separate reports.  The first, “Snaketown: Life and Death of the Pima Community” is an ethnohistorical examination and comparison of prehistoric Hohokam Snaketown, and Piman Snaketown Ska’kaik (1877-1937).  Why did the Hohokam Snaketown last for centuries and the Piman Ska’kaik give up the ghost after approximately 60 years? (Hint: The Gila River, the water source for the Hohokam, was choked off far upstream, shortly after the Pima established Ska’kaik).  That’s not the only reason, but it sure is a major one.  The second report is a partial archaeological survey of the northern edge of prehistoric Snaketown.  Wilcox, the primary author, argues that the “spatial limits” of the prehistoric Snaketown were much greater than originally thought, and their relationships with Hohokam villages in the Salt River Valley were more prolific.  That study was cut short when there were Piman objections to the survey.  The final report by Wilcox and Sternberg is a restudy of the architecture of Snaketown, examining house length, width, floor area, long-axis and doorway orientations, shape class, repairs and fire destruction.  This lead to the identification of a large central plaza and large and small ballcourts, with an indication that the site may have been abandoned as “a planned social event.”  I don’t think the tipped in maps are (or were) a part of the original printing.  They are based on Haury’s work and ASM files.  RARE.  No copies available for sale.