The San Tan Chapter of the Arizona Archaeological Society is inviting the public to join them at the San Tan Historical Society Museum in Queen Creek on Wednesday, April 10 for a special presentation on "Ancient Water Management in the Arizona Desert."
At 6:30 p.m. on April 10, Dr. Gary Huckleberry, adjunct research associate and lecturer at the University of Arizona, will conduct the presentation in person at the museum and it will also be available via Zoom at https://us06web.zoom.us/j/86555543042?pwd=1XTFM3SuSkVT9OlCpW86E0ZOOatqmt.1; Meeting ID: 865 5554 3042; Passcode: 003103.
Arizona has a long history of people managing water for agriculture and human consumption. Evidence for ancient water management is found across the state and includes canals, reservoirs and wells. The earliest irrigation canals and reservoirs thus far identified are in the Tucson area and date to around 1500 and 500 BC, respectively. Through time, canal systems expanded in size, culminating in the impressive network of channels built by the Hohokam (AD 450–1450) along the lower Salt and middle Gila rivers. The Hohokam also constructed canals and reservoirs in areas of seasonal surface water, such as in the Queen Creek area. Huckleberry will review the diversity of evidence, focusing on archaeological discoveries made in the Sonoran Desert region of central and southern Arizona, and discuss what lessons we might gain by studying these ancient features with respect to our current water challenges.
Contact Marie Britton at mbrit@cox.com for more information.
