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Gisela Ruins

These ruins are a hilltop fortification near the town of Gisela, Arizona. The ruins are composed of a main circle surrounded by quite a few individual rooms. This is a common configuration for Southwestern native societies, with daily activities occurring in a central, communal area and rooms being primarily used for sleep and storage. Many of the walls were still at chest height. The location seemed to be a good choice, with a commanding view of the surrounding area and an accessible water source.

This ruin was made even more exciting by the discovery of a grinding stone among the rooms.

Included in this gallery are 3 panoramas and 33 regular images of the ruin.

Painted Rock Petroglyph Site

Painted Rocks is a collection of hundreds of ancient petroglyphs in Maricopa County, Arizona near the town of Theba. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The petroglyphs are located within the Painted Rock Petroglyph Site which includes an improved campground as well as an informative walking trail showcasing the petroglyphs. The site is operated and maintained by the United States Bureau of Land Management.

An awe-inspiring sight, petroglyphs etched in multiple styles across thousands of years completely cover the North-East side of a pile of boulders. This is an interesting juxtaposition to the South-East side, which is almost entirely empty of rock art.

Petroglyphs in South Mountain, Part II

This large boulder, covered in petroglyphs, is easily accessible from the Pima Canyon Entrance to South Mountain Park. It can be found by parking at the end of East Pima Canyon road and taking the Desert Classic Trail south for a couple hundred feet.

The boulder has a wide variety of geometric and anthropomorphic shapes competing for space. In the center, a vertical, three-tiered structure points to a spiral pattern at the very top.

Coordinates: 33.361694, -111.984469


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Henry Wallace – “Hohokam Cults and Sodalities: A New Perspective on the Hohokam”

Henry D. Wallace, Desert Archaeology, Inc. – As a result of refined ceramic dating, we now know that a host of major changes in styles of decoration, and the appearance of new ceremonies, ritual architecture, and ballcourts with raised embankments, show up in what was likely an ethnically diverse range of populations all across southern and central Arizona within the span of a generation around A.D. 800. Discussed here is how this came about through a revitalization movement and the creation of sodalities that bound the region together with a common ideology and ritual framework, fostering economic interrelationships and population growth.