Hohokam culture

Late Archaic Stage agricultural communities occupying the drainage basins of the Salt and Gila Rivers in the Arizona desert of North America during the period c.300 bc to ad 1400. Characterized by small villages of rectangular pit-houses, cremation of the dead, and plain grey or brown pottery, sometimes painted red on buff. Influences from Mesoamerica can be seen throughout the life of these cultures, but especially after about ad 500 when maize cultivation makes an appearance and elaborate patterns of canals are constructed for irrigation. At the same time, platform mounds and ball courts begin to be built, and material culture expands to include copper bells, mosaic mirrors, and a range of imported luxury goods. The end of the Hohokam Culture seems to arise from the absorption of these communities into broader cultural groupings.