Ancient History {Living History}

This year we decided to make HISTORY come alive. I love history.... my kiddos.... yeah not so much. I spend hours reading and watching historical documentaries... they want the cliff note version and then they are off to whatever new and awesome adventure awaits them.

We live in a history rich area, as I'm sure most of you do as well. Our history in just our little area spans from ancient American Indian civilizations to the CORONA Satellite Project that helped to end World War II. Over the last year we have visited several sites in our exploration of ancient history and the people that lived during that time. Here are 3 of my favorites.

Photo Credit: US Park Service

Casa Grande Ruins - Coolidge, Arizona

We have visited the Casa Grande Ruins National Monument twice to learn about how a once thriving Sonoran desert people's cultural. They had developed a massive wide-scale irrigation farming system and extensive trade connections that thrived for nearly 1000 years.

This massive structure (for its time) is made from hand mixed adobe, and is believed to have had significant ceremonially importance for the tribe members that inhabited the area. A cool feature of the "Big House" is it has ports along the east facing wall that align with with the spring and fall equinoxes, while one hole on the west wall aligned with the setting sun at the summer solstice. Interestingly it also has port that marks a rare lunar event that only occurs once every 18.6 years, where the moon appears to "stand still".

No one knows why, but the structure and surrounding area were abandon sometime in the 1400's.

Neat Fact: The Casa Grande Ruins was the first prehistoric and cultural reserve established in the United States.

Photo Credit: Ak-Chin Him-Dak Eco-Museum

Ak-Chin Him-Dak Eco-Museum - Maricopa, Arizona

Just a short 20 minute drive from our home town, on the northern edge of the Sonoran desert , lies the Ak-Chin Indian Community. This Native American Reservation is one of the smallest with just 600 people. The Ak-Chin people have lived and cultivated this area for thousands of years.

As with most tribal peoples in this area, they had no written language. Information was pasted down from generation to generation through verbal means. In the 1970's artifacts, discovered from prior archaeological excavations needed to be stored with a curator and the idea of creating a museum was born. I found it incredibly interesting that the written accounts of this tribe really only start around the 1920's. The Ak-Chin community along with a grant from the Division of Parks and Recreations are now documenting the stories and experiences of their elder community for their future generations.

Neat Fact: This was the first eco-museum in the United States.

Buttercup participating in the archaeological dig presentation at Mesa Grande Cultural Park.

Mesa Grande Cultural Park - Mesa, Arizona

Another visit to one of our areas ancient sites, was a homeschool community field trip to the Mesa Grande Cultural Park in Mesa, Arizona. This incredibly preserved site is smack dab in the middle of the City of Mesa. Inhabited by the Hohokam (yes, that is a real word) from around 1100AD to 1400DAD. The village surrounding the site was home to roughly two thousand people and was situated near the head gates of one of the two largest networks of irrigation canals created in the prehistoric New World.

Like most ancient communities in the area there was no written language, and like the Ak-Chin peoples information was past down through verbal traditions. This is rather fascinating due to the advanced technical systems they used for both building & the cultivation of crops.

Neat Fact: There are two Hohokam "great mounds" in the Salt River Valley (also know as Phoenix).

If you ever get the chance to visit the southern region of Arizona I highly recommend a visit to these sites.

Do you have a favorite Arizona location that is worth a visit? Comment below and tell us all about it!