Spanish Additions to the Agriculture of the Sonoran Desert

摘要

Prehistoric farming began around 2100 B.C. in and around southern Arizona according to recent archaeological discoveries. The first crops planted were corn and squash. The prehistoric residents of the Sonoran Desert, including the Hohokam of SouthernArizona, maintained a much richer inventory of domesticated agricultural crops than the two original cultivars. These arid land adapted crop varieties were both dry farmed and irrigated with live water drawn from local rivers and streams such as the Santa Cruz, Rillito, Gila and Salt Rivers. The Sonoran Desert's original crops included several varieties of corn, squash, common bean, tepary bean, jack bean, tobacco, amaranth, gourds, and panic grass. In addition, cotton was widely grown for its fiber that was spun and woven into intricate clothing and blankets. The food crops produced enough food for the various Native American groups living across the Sonoran Desert to live in fairly large villages and create complex societies with rich material cultures.