![]() Provide a richer understanding of how the Hohokam developed and then sustained one of the American Southwest’s largest prehistoric populations. Our discovery emphasizes the importance of collaborative research between archaeologists and botanists whose distinctive data can The question of where and when this agave originated has implications for North American domestication centers. The extensive size and wide distribution of Hohokam agave fields that transformed the landscape and are still visible today indicates theĬrop’s importance in the Hohokam economy. 800‐1450 by the Hohokam, and thus represents a ‘lost crop’ as sought by archaeologists. Is a clonal, relictual crop grown from ca. Here we describe Agave sanpedroensis, provide a key to distinguish it from other agaves in south-central Arizona and propose that it Morphology, grow only with archaeological features and are unknown from natural settings: all characteristics expected in a domesticated crop. They are extremely rare, reproduce asexually via rhizomatous offsets with no apparent fruit set, have relatively uniform intra- and inter-population based on flower color but differ by their gray-green leaves with thick bases and conspicuous bud imprinting. Our work expands upon a recent publication noting several agaves growing in prehistoric dry-farmed fields on terraces overlooking the San Pedro River. The Hohokam people created an incredible society that shaped the practices of future peoples who lived in the. However, no archeologists reported finding living agaves growing in the rock-piled or gridded Hohokamįields, therefore researchers could only speculate about the species cultivated. For over thirty years archaeologists have provided evidence that southern Arizona pre-Columbian Native Americans, the Hohokam, extensively cultivated agave. ![]()
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