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23-07-2015, 13:21

Cultural Decline

But what happened to the great Hohokam and Anasazi centers of civilization? Why did the Indians of the region abandon their homes, starting about 1300, and move to smaller settlements? It is not known for certain. Scientists do know that starting in 1276, a prolonged drought struck the entire Southwest. With no rain whatsoever, the Indians had to leave their villages and farmlands and track game in small hunting bands. Another contributing factor might have been invasions by other nomadic Indian peoples, such as the ATHAPASCANS who arrived from the north and became known as the Navajo and APACHE. Or perhaps the various pueblos began fighting among themselves for food. Growing archaeological evidence indicates that some among the Anasazi, perhaps descendants of the Toltec or other peoples who entered the region, practiced cannibalism as a means of social control of neighboring communities. The depletion of the wood supply might have been an additional reason to move.

Even though the great villages died out, the ancient Southwest peoples passed on much of their knowledge to later generations. Many SOUTHWEST INDIANS remained farmers, and many continued to live in pueblos. They also sustained their high level of craftsmanship. It is thought that Mogollon Indians were some of the ancestors of the ZUNI; the Hohokam Indians, the ancestors of the present-day Akimel O’odham (Pima) and TOHONO o’odham (papago); and the Anasazi Indians, the ancestors of the KERES, TEWA, TIWA, TOWA (JEMEZ), HOPI, and some among the ZUNI.



 

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