Dave and I rode south to Coolidge,AZ, and visited the Casa Grande Ruins National Monument where the remains of an ancient Hohokam (meaning "all gone" or "all used up") farming village and great house are preserved. The Hohokam flourished from the 1100s to the early 1400s. When the Spanish missionaries arrived and "discovered" the ruins (and named them), all that was left was the empty shell of the village. The site was declared the nation's first archaeological reserve. It was first covered in 1903 and the current metal roof was built in 1932. Signs of vandalism (early taggers) are still visible. Dave tried to take a picture of a 1st Cavalry Sargent's name. I think it was dated 1872.
2 comments:
Ooooh, I remember visiting that place. IIRC, it was a very accurate astronomical observatory. I just love it that the preColumbians were doing this sort of thing centuries before the Pope threatened European astronomers with excommunication (not to mention torture and death) for saying antireligious things like the earth goes around the sun not vice cersa.
From the brochure: "It's walls face the four cardinal points of the compass. A circular hole in the upper west wall aligns with the setting sun at the summer solstice. Other openings align with the sun and moon at specific times."
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