Marana Hohokam Mound Phoenix Basin
Marana Mound · Los Robles Platform
Classic Period Hohokam (1150–1450 CE)·Hohokam Classic Period (Marana community)·🇺🇸 Arizona, Pima County, Santa Cruz Valley, Marana, United States
About
About Marana Hohokam Mound Phoenix Basin
Marana Hohokam Mound Phoenix Basin is the Los Robles platform mound community on the Santa Cruz River north of Tucson — Fish's Marana community (1150–1450 CE) showing Classic Hohokam platform aggregation outside the Salt–Gila core. South-trench exposes a caliche-adobe platform (4 m) with cobble facing, Civano-phase redware houses and a Santa Cruz canal lateral with rock-lined headcut — documenting Santa Cruz Classic village–platform integration that mirrored Casa Grande but in the Tucson Basin, before the 1450 CE Santa Cruz–Gila general collapse.
Why it mattersTucson Basin Classic platform — Los Robles platform 1250 CE on Santa Cruz, Marana community 1150–1450 CE
Open questions
Mysteries & theories
Mysteries
- 01Marana as Casa Grande periphery or independent Tucson core?
- 02Santa Cruz canal water source — river or groundwater?
Theories
- 01Fish Marana community model — platform periphery Tucson Basin
- 02Classic collapse Santa Cruz vs. Salt–Gila synchrony
Theories are interpretations, not findings. The seal above tells you how much scholarly weight the place carries.
History
How it came to be
- Built
- c.1150 CE Classic founding; platform 1250 CE
- Period
- Classic Period Hohokam (1150–1450 CE)
- Culture
- Hohokam Classic Period (Marana community)
- Builders
- Santa Cruz Hohokam platform builders, Classic farmers
- Purpose
- Marana platform mound community — Classic Period Hohokam platform village on Santa Cruz River north of Tucson, Marana community platform (Los Robles)
- Abandoned
- c.1450 CE Classic collapse
- Rediscovered
- Excavated 1979–83 Fish et al. (Arizona State Museum) Marana community study
- Excavation
- Partially excavated
1979
Fish opens Marana Los Robles platform, Classic platform found
1985
Marana community 20 ha mapping Civano redware published
1994
Santa Cruz canal lateral Marana synthesis monograph
On the ground
Structures & features
32.4400° N · 111.2200° W · 610 m · 3 mapped features
Los Robles Platform Mound (4 m caliche)
platform moundCaliche-adobe platform 4 m high with cobble facing, Classic 1250 CE Santa Cruz
32.4408° N · 111.2194° WCivano Redware Compound South
settlementCivano redware compound houses below platform 1250–1450 CE
32.4393° N · 111.2209° WSanta Cruz Canal Lateral
hydraulicRock-lined canal lateral feeding Marana platform from Santa Cruz River
32.4411° N · 111.2193° W