‘Olas Kii Pithouse: Background Information for Teachers and Archaeology Educators

from the Investigating an ‘Olas Kii Pithouse guide, no. 19 in our Shelter series

The pithouse featured in this shelter investigation is based on one that was excavated at Honey Bee Village, north of Tucson, Arizona. Honey Bee Village is one of the largest Hohokam villages in the northern Tucson Basin. Lying near the base of Pusch Ridge in the Rancho Vistoso development, the site was occupied from about 750 to 1300 CE/AD. This ancient village covers about 75 acres. The core area, which consists of approximately 12 acres, contains a ball court for social gatherings, a large walled compound, and a series of trash mounds containing artifacts that represent nearly 500 years of occupation.

The Tohono O’odham have been part of the Sonoran Desert – and vice versa – for centuries. Their traditional lands spread across much of what is today southern Arizona and northern Sonora, Mexico – from the Gulf of California to the San Pedro and Gila Rivers. That landscape – its plants, animals, climate, topography – has determined much of Tohono O’odham traditions and lifeways. The Tohono O’odham have found ways to survive and thrive in an environment that others find inhospitable today, with their beliefs, as well as their customs for daily life, developed in harmony with their homeland.

The Tohono O’odham use desert flora for multiple purposes. Wood from palo verde, ironwood, and mesquite is used to construct ramadas and pithouses. The seed-pods from the mesquite can be harvested, and the seeds dried and ground for food or stored for later use. Fiber from stripping yucca and bear-grass leaves can be used for cordage, sandals, sleeping mats, and incredible baskets, many with designs created from plant-based dyes. The fruit of several varieties of cactus can be cooked, eaten raw, or processed into beverages, jellies, and other staples.

Similarly, the Tohono O’odham make use of desert wildlife in diverse ways. Deer, bighorn sheep, rabbits, and various reptiles can be sources of food; their bones or antlers turned into needles for sewing and pressure tools for percussion flaking when knapping (making stone tools and points). Hides are used in clothing and for household purposes.

Just as important is their knowledge of the landscape, passed down across generations as part of Tohono O’odham beliefs through oral tradition. Above all, this historic cultural awareness provides access to water – which streams are flowing in different seasons, or where to find springs and tinajas (pools of water that collect in depressions in the bedrock). Indeed, the Tohono O’odham adapted the very earth underfoot – quarrying clay for pottery and ochre for dyes used on ceramics, baskets, and weaving.

Long ago, knowing the desert climate and its seasonal changes was critical to the development of agriculture – when to plant maize, squash, and beans; and how to use the intermittent rainfall to irrigate the crops. This knowledge was also reflected in their seasonal movement. During the summer, Tohono O’odham stayed in “field” villages along the watercourses and the bajadas (lower foothills of mountain ranges), close to their crops. In addition to pithouses, they built brush ramadas for shade while undertaking daily tasks and routines. Winters were spent in “well” villages at higher elevations where water was more available.

An important social and cultural tradition – the result of needing to work collaboratively to live in the desert – was sharing. Along with their seasonal movement, the Tohono O’odham lived by a largely communal system, with shared responsibilities and few personal possessions. Having cooperation as a bedrock cultural value naturally made food procurement and production, making everyday and ceremonial goods, security of the community, and many other social endeavors a group effort.

There is a difference between the people archaeologists call Hohokam and those that the O’odham call Huhugam/Hohokam. Hohokam is the term that archaeologists apply to the culture and people who lived in this area from about 450 to 1450 CE/AD, whereas Huhugam/Hohokam is the name of the O’odham ancestors who lived in this area since time immemorial. Sobaipuri is a name given to people who lived in this area during the period when the first Anglo-Europeans moved north from New Spain. Early Euro-American archaeologists did not fully understand the historical succession and the timeline associated with it. O’odham oral tradition, supported by archaeological evidence, points to a definite presence of all three groups over time.

Content adapted from Erikson, Sharing the Desert; Ferguson & Colwell-Chanthaphonh, History In The Land; and Fish & Fish, The Hohokam Millennium; and the Oro Valley Historical Society website.