Marana Mound — Hohokam Platform Mound and Ballcourt Community
Marana Mound · Marana Platform Mound · AZ AA:12:251
Hohokam Classic (1150–1450 CE)·Hohokam (Tucson / Marana community)·🇺🇸 Arizona, Pima County, Marana district, Santa Cruz River north, United States
About
About Marana Mound — Hohokam Platform Mound and Ballcourt Community
Marana Mound is a Classic-period Hohokam platform mound (1150–1450 CE) and ballcourt community excavated by Paul and Suzanne Fish (Arizona State Museum/U Arizona, 1980s–1990s). 3 m high platform 200×150 m supporting compound and ceremonial precinct, 2 adjacent ballcourts, 150-m agricultural terrace walls (rock piles) and massive Classic canal north. Demonstrates late Hohokam aggregation and hill-terrace water harvesting before valley canal failure.
Why it mattersExemplifies Classic-period shift from valley canals to piedmont terrace farming – adaptive response to flood irrigation failure.
Open questions
Mysteries & theories
Mysteries
- 01Did terrace agriculture produce enough for platform ceremonial surplus?
Theories
- 01Fish-Fish: Marana as resilient buffer after Snaketown–Pueblo Grande lowland salinization
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 Tucson phase)
- Period
- Hohokam Classic (1150–1450 CE)
- Culture
- Hohokam (Tucson / Marana community)
- Builders
- Classic Hohokam farmers
- Purpose
- Agricultural terrace platform center redistributing flood water to fields
- Abandoned
- c.1450 CE (Hohokam depopulation)
- Rediscovered
- 1976 Fish survey for I-10 corridor
- Excavation
- Partially excavated
1980–1995
Fish Arizona State Museum mapping & test trenches
c.1250 CE
Platform mural vault room construction
On the ground
Structures & features
32.4400° N · 111.2200° W · 620 m · 3 mapped features
Marana Platform Mound Compound
platformThree-meter caliche-faced platform with compound and vaulted room
32.4406° N · 111.2195° WMarana Ballcourt West
ballcourtWest I-shaped ballcourt 70×30 m with earthen embankments
32.4393° N · 111.2192° WMarana Rock-Pile Field System
hydraulic150 m herringbone terrace-field water-spreading rock alignments
32.4410° N · 111.2206° W