Casa Grande National Monument, AZ

Casa Grande Ruins National Monument, Arizona
The monument preserves the remains of an ancient Hohokam farming village as well as the enigmatic “Great House.” The natives in this area, as well as in the Four Corners, were to be called, “The First Masters of the American Desert.” They were the first to be believed to be hunter gatherers who traveled as their food source traveled. As we have learned there are many edible food sources in the desert and these people took advantage of what was at their disposal. It is believed that as their population grew, they needed constant food sources that were more reliable than what they could just gather. Their farming skills developed. They developed a technique to harness the Gila River through a series of clay dams and canals. They were able to irrigate a large area in which to farm. They dug, by hand, miles of canals. It was an elaborate canal and water field which stood for many years. They developed trade since the village stood in the natural routes between present day CA, the Great Plains, the Colorado Plateau and Northern Mexico.
As with many natives, in this area and the Four Corners, no one is quite certain why they actually moved on. Their existence and their movement from hunter gatherers to farmers has been well established by archeologists but no one has pin pointed the reason or reasons why they moved or where exactly they moved to. We have seen this at a number of sites throughout the Southwest. The “Great House” was a 4 story structure made out of clay.
Its walls faced the 4 cardinal points of the compass. A center hole in the upper west wall aligned with the setting sun during the summer solstice. Other openings also aligned with the sun and moon at specific times. Apparently, the builders of the Great House, people who knew very well the ways of the land, gathered inside to ponder the heavens, knowing the changing positions of celestial objects meant knowing times for planting, harvesting and celebration. These people had to know how to live off of the land or would not have survived living so well until they left.