In the presence of the past at Besh-Ba-Gowah, by John Stanley, The Arizona Republic<\/p>\n
A thriving community<\/p>\n
In its heyday, from about 1225 to 1400, the village of Besh-Ba-Gowah was home to 350 people – hunters, gatherers and remarkably sophisticated farmers who grew corn, squash, beans and cotton and other crops, irrigating when possible and dry farming when not. They understood flood-plain farming techniques.<\/p>\n
Archaeological evidence suggests the site was occupied from about A.D. 750, perhaps even earlier, as the thriving Hohokam<\/span> culture established villages across the region. Over time, the residents of Besh-Ba-Gowah were influenced by the Ancestral Puebloans to the north and developed their own distinctive culture. (Ancestral Puebloans were formerly known as the Anasazi, a term now considered inexact and – to the modern descendants of the Puebloan tribes – offensive.)<\/p>\n Generation upon generation of Salado<\/span> people lived here, more or less in peace with their neighbors, tending their crops and making ever more sophisticated pottery, including the intricate geometric designs of Gila polychrome.<\/p>\n Besh-Ba-Gowah was part of a loose-knit trade network that reached from tropical Mexico to the Pacific Coast and the Gulf of Mexico.<\/p>\n All that changed in the 14th century, when widespread drought brought increasing competition for food and water, spurring widespread social upheaval, war and large-scale migrations.<\/p>\n By 1400, Besh-Ba-Gowah was effectively a ghost town. …<\/p>\n Besh-Ba-Gowah Archaeological Park http:\/\/www.azcentral.com\/news\/articles\/1025beshbagowah1026.html<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" In the presence of the past at Besh-Ba-Gowah, by John Stanley, The Arizona Republic A thriving community In its heyday, from about 1225 to 1400, the village of Besh-Ba-Gowah was home to 350 people – hunters, gatherers and remarkably sophisticated farmers who grew corn, squash, beans and cotton and other crops, irrigating when possible and … Continue reading Besh-Ba-Gowah Archaeological Park, Globe, AZ<\/span>
\nWhere: 1324 Jesse Hayes Road, Globe, AZ<\/p>\n