Snaketown

Large, important Hohokam site in the lower Gila River valley of Arizona with 1400 years of continuous occupation beginning c 300 BC. It is the best documented of all Hohokam villages, with 60 mounds (some rubbish heaps, others platforms) and a ball court, as well as fields, irrigation canals, and more than 200 excavated pithouses. The pottery and shell show craft specialization and contact with Mesoamerican cultures. At its peak, c 1100, the village had about 1,000 inhabitants, but was abandoned then or soon after. Snaketown followed the standard sequence of Hohokam development, with Mexican influence becoming marked during the final centuries.

An important Hohokam site in the lower Gila River valley, Arizona, USA, excavated by Emil Haury in 1964-5. A strong Mesoamerican influence is apparent throughout its occupation and architectural features include both the platform mound and the ball court. The site, occupied from the beginning of the Pioneer period to the end of the Sedentary (c300 bc to ad 1100), supported an average of 100 dwellings at any one time. Some time in the 12th century it was abandoned in favour of scattered village sites elsewhere in the valley.