What made them do it? Casa Grande 3/4/18
That is the question. We visited Casa Grande today and had the fortune of getting Joe as our tour guide. He is a retired Cinema & Video professor from Wright State University in Dayton, OH. Dayton being a town near and dear to my heart -- my alum was the University of Dayton.
Joe lead us through the possibilities of what could have, would have or may have happened at this place in the flood plain just south of Phoenix. According to history, many Native Americans inhabited this area over a period of 1000 years, beginning in 500 AD. They apparently taught themselves how to cultivate crops here with the help of the Gila River which (before it was diverted) flowed nearby, and provided mucho water. The indigenous population had figured out how to build irrigation canals in order to bring the water from that river to the crops (a distance of 1 mile) and they had actually constructed 220 miles of canals. Joe reminded us that these people were, just that, people! They were obviously intelligent. They could engineer this water system and figure out how to make the land work for them. They prospered here!
Okay, so The Big House -- Casa Grande. Here it is.
What was it for? We don't know. They were also planners. There were materials that needed to come from somewhere else, miles away (wood). They had no wheels, no horses, only themselves to find and carry these. Once all of the needed materials were assembled and the man power was on site, The Casa Grande or the Big House, was built, from start to finish, within 12 weeks. Kinda mind blowing huh? What would they think of us with all of our heavy equipment and tools? Of course, they didn't have the permit process to hold them up.
Besides wood, the homes, including the Casa Grande, were built out of just plain local mud. Fashioned with human hands and dried, it is amazing to see how it has withstood the test of time and weather. Of course now, Casa Grande is protected by a huge ramada.
Now we get to the meat of the matter: Why did they build the Casa Grande? No one knows why or what it was for but speculation is that it was some religious leader that either inspired the indigenous folks or talked them into it. Maybe an ancient Jim Jones type?
The other question is: "Where did they go and why?" No one knows the answer to this either but our tour guide Joe speculates that there may have been a flood that drove the folks out of the area. The flood would have destroyed their crops and their irrigation system, thus leaving 2000 inhabitants without food.
As you can see this was a really great tour. Wish you all could see it -- amazing.
We journeyed on and came back to our petroglyph site campground where we paid $4 to enjoy a beautiful sunset.
Tomorrow, onto Yuma and some old friends.
Joe lead us through the possibilities of what could have, would have or may have happened at this place in the flood plain just south of Phoenix. According to history, many Native Americans inhabited this area over a period of 1000 years, beginning in 500 AD. They apparently taught themselves how to cultivate crops here with the help of the Gila River which (before it was diverted) flowed nearby, and provided mucho water. The indigenous population had figured out how to build irrigation canals in order to bring the water from that river to the crops (a distance of 1 mile) and they had actually constructed 220 miles of canals. Joe reminded us that these people were, just that, people! They were obviously intelligent. They could engineer this water system and figure out how to make the land work for them. They prospered here!
Okay, so The Big House -- Casa Grande. Here it is.
the original, under the ramada compliments of the park service
those walls inside are original -- look how smooth they are
Sort of hard to tell but these walls were put together in about 18" vertical layers with wood in between layers. The walls were rectangular and the plan was 60' x 40'. The walls slanted inward toward each other -- again these folks were smart -- early engineering.
Besides wood, the homes, including the Casa Grande, were built out of just plain local mud. Fashioned with human hands and dried, it is amazing to see how it has withstood the test of time and weather. Of course now, Casa Grande is protected by a huge ramada.
Now we get to the meat of the matter: Why did they build the Casa Grande? No one knows why or what it was for but speculation is that it was some religious leader that either inspired the indigenous folks or talked them into it. Maybe an ancient Jim Jones type?
The other question is: "Where did they go and why?" No one knows the answer to this either but our tour guide Joe speculates that there may have been a flood that drove the folks out of the area. The flood would have destroyed their crops and their irrigation system, thus leaving 2000 inhabitants without food.
As you can see this was a really great tour. Wish you all could see it -- amazing.
We journeyed on and came back to our petroglyph site campground where we paid $4 to enjoy a beautiful sunset.
Tomorrow, onto Yuma and some old friends.
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