Snaketown
Snaketown Hohokam Village (AZ U:13:1) · Schuk Toak
Hohokam Pioneer–Sedentary (300 BCE–1150 CE)·Hohokam (Sonoran Desert tradition)·🇺🇸 Arizona, Pinal County, United States
About
About Snaketown
Type site of Hohokam culture (c.300 BCE–1150 CE), on the Middle Gila River 30 km south of Chandler. 2 km² pithouse village with two oval ballcourts (Court 1: 32×17 m, Court 2: 44×20 m), platform mound, and extensive canal system irrigating 6 km of floodplain — among North America's earliest large-scale irrigation (300 BCE). Excavated by Emil Haury 1934–1964; produced Red-on-buff pottery, shell jewelry from Gulf of California 150 km away, and cremations. NHL; reburied for Gila River Indian Community protection; museum at Huhugam Heritage Center.
Why it mattersDefinitive Hohokam sequence (Haury 1976); documents Mesoamerican ballcourt diffusion and desert irrigation origins in US Southwest.
Open questions
Mysteries & theories
Mysteries
- 01How Hohokam engineered 6 km canals without metal or draft animals
- 02Ballcourt function — game vs exchange vs alliance ceremony
Theories
- 01Canal surplus financed ballcourt gatherings as regional integrators
- 02Salinization + flood triggered Classic-period platform-mound shift to Casa Grande
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.300 BCE–1150 CE (Pioneer to Sedentary)
- Period
- Hohokam Pioneer–Sedentary (300 BCE–1150 CE)
- Culture
- Hohokam (Sonoran Desert tradition)
- Builders
- Hohokam (Gila River Pima ancestors)
- Purpose
- Irrigated desert village with Mesoamerican ballcourt ceremonialism and long-distance shell trade
- Abandoned
- c.1150 CE (canal salinization)
- Rediscovered
- Recorded 1909 Russell; excavated 1934 Haury
- Excavation
- Partially excavated
c.300 BCE
Initial Pioneer pithouse settlement and canal excavation
c.500–900 CE
Ballcourt construction and shell-trade peak
c.1150 CE
Abandonment due to salinization and Gila flood shift
1934–1964
Haury excavations define Hohokam cultural sequence
On the ground
Structures & features
33.1500° N · 111.9170° W · 360 m · 2 mapped features
Ballcourt 1 (Early Hohokam)
ballcourt32×17 m oval earthen ballcourt with caliche floor, Pioneer period
33.1510° N · 111.9160° WBallcourt 2 and canal headgate
hydraulic44×20 m Sedentary ballcourt with adjacent Gila River canal intake and linear mounds
33.1489° N · 111.9178° W