The Casa Grande is the most prominent remnant of an ancient civilization that once occupied the Salt and Gila River valleys from A.D. 300-1450. Archeologists call these people Hohokam, a Pima word meaning "those who are gone."
The Hohokam were farmers and well adapted to desert living. In prehistoric times, as today, irrigation was the key to desert farming. With simple tools and manual labor, the Hohokam dug hundreds of miles of canals. They maintained extensive trade routes in all directions, receiving goods from hundreds of miles away.
The first European to observe the ruins was Father Kino, a Jesuit missionary. When he visited in 1694, the Casa Grande (Big House), as he named it, had been abandoned for over 250 years. It is not known what happened to the Hohokam. Some archeologists believe that the Hohokam are the ancestors of present day Indian groups. Others believe that the Hohokam gradually left the area due to periods of flooding, decrease in soil productivity, a break up of trade routes, or some combination of these and other events.
Much remains to be known about the Hohokam. Even the purpose and use of the Casa Grande are uncertain, but some of its features suggest that it was an observatory, dwelling of a village leader or a religious building. You are invited to explore the mysteries of this ancient Hohokam village at Casa Grande Ruins National Monument, open daily from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m.
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