A Wealth of Archaeological Sites in the City of Phoenix
Phoenix is an ever expanding city, with construction projects underway each day of the year, from some of the finest and best Phoenix hotels, to the building of sports arenas and new housing developments. Before a new project is underway however, the archaeologists are called into to excavate and survey the land on which these new buildings are being constructed. The reason for this is the vast array of archaeological sites that have been found in the city and the surrounding areas.
This region of the Southwest is rich with the history of Native American cultures, and whether it is scholastic study in the Anthropology Department of Arizona State University, or a whether it is an interest of hobby, many people travel to this city to discover the wealth of information that lies buried in the dry Arizona desert. There are digs and research projects that have been underway for many years, and these are great locations to visit as tours are offered, however many of the digs have raised more mysteries than solved answers.
One such site and museum, is located in downtown Phoenix close to the airport, Pueblo Grande. This is just one of the more than twenty Hohokam sites throughout the Valley of the Sun. It dates back to the twelfth and thirteenth centuries and offers a bit of insight into one of the earliest known cultures to have settled along the Gila River. Casa Grande is a site located just to the Southeast of Phoenix near the town of Coolidge. Mystery surrounds this site, as many scientists have speculated that not only was it a settlement, but that in the carefully constructed, multi-level pueblo construction, it may have also been an observatory, an early base for the study of Astronomy.
This area was flooded in 1911, by the construction of the Roosevelt Dam, and many of the remains were destroyed, leaving much of this site and the people who inhabited it, an enigma. This is the reason for the research done now by anthropologists and archaeologists throughout the city, to protect these remains, the artifacts, and the history before new construction begins. Touring the archaeological sites and the museums of the Southwest desert city of Phoenix opens one’s eyes to those who have been here before, and to those living in the city today. Those whose ancestors lived here more than 500 years.