Habitat: Hohokam Indian Hill Forts

Use this forum to discuss matters relating to Agave, Beschorneria, Furcraea, Hesperaloe, Hesperoyucca, Manfreda, Polianthes, Yucca and related species. This is where one posts unknown plant photos for ID help.
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Habitat: Hohokam Indian Hill Forts

#1

Post by Gee.S »

While searching for A. murpheyi, more times than not we seem to come up empty, but do occasionally encounter some pretty spectacular Hohokam Indian ruins. Today we visited two hilltop forts, where we found some 6'+ walls, lots of pottery shards, and a couple of interesting glyphs. These forts are estimated to be no more recent than 13th Century. There are other forts in the area as well, but most require hikes too strenuous to attempt in 100°F weather, so we'll place those on the back burner until autumn rolls in.
Hill Forts 005.JPG
Hill Forts 005.JPG (88.88 KiB) Viewed 5328 times
Hill Forts 006.JPG
Hill Forts 006.JPG (95.47 KiB) Viewed 5328 times
Pottery shards
Pottery shards
Hill Forts 012a.jpg (273.39 KiB) Viewed 5328 times
Hill Forts 013.JPG
Hill Forts 013.JPG (94.31 KiB) Viewed 5328 times
Petroglyph
Petroglyph
Hill Forts 016.JPG (116.48 KiB) Viewed 5328 times
Another hill fort site locale
Another hill fort site locale
Hill Forts 021.JPG (60.31 KiB) Viewed 5328 times
Hill Forts 029.JPG
Hill Forts 029.JPG (113.39 KiB) Viewed 5328 times
Peter + big wall
Peter + big wall
Hill Forts 031.JPG (96.83 KiB) Viewed 5328 times
Pottery shard
Pottery shard
Hill Forts 036.JPG (141.3 KiB) Viewed 5328 times
Hill Forts 038.JPG
Hill Forts 038.JPG (86.21 KiB) Viewed 5328 times
Another hill fort site locale
Another hill fort site locale
Hill Forts 042.JPG (73.45 KiB) Viewed 5328 times
Agave
"American aloe plant," 1797, from Greek Agaue, proper name in mythology (mother of Pentheus), from agauos "noble," perhaps from agasthai "wonder at".

"Some talk the talk, others walk the walk, but I stalk the stalk"
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Re: Hohokam Hill Forts

#2

Post by Gee.S »

And the second site...
Hill Forts 059.JPG
Hill Forts 059.JPG (140.96 KiB) Viewed 5327 times
Hill Forts 060.JPG
Hill Forts 060.JPG (127.17 KiB) Viewed 5327 times
Petroglyph
Petroglyph
Hill Forts 064.JPG (146.31 KiB) Viewed 5327 times
Hill Forts 066.JPG
Hill Forts 066.JPG (101.56 KiB) Viewed 5327 times
Hill Forts 069.JPG
Hill Forts 069.JPG (119.88 KiB) Viewed 5327 times
Hill Forts 073.JPG
Hill Forts 073.JPG (119.39 KiB) Viewed 5327 times
Collapsed wall section has tumbled down the hillside
Collapsed wall section has tumbled down the hillside
Hill Forts 077.JPG (117.24 KiB) Viewed 5327 times
Peter + big wall
Peter + big wall
Hill Forts 081.JPG (107.83 KiB) Viewed 5327 times
"Where are the stalks?"
"Where are the stalks?"
Hill Forts 084.JPG (84.61 KiB) Viewed 5327 times
F. cylindraceus
F. cylindraceus
Hill Forts 096.JPG (159.82 KiB) Viewed 5327 times
Hill Forts 101.JPG
Hill Forts 101.JPG (81.12 KiB) Viewed 5327 times
Agave
"American aloe plant," 1797, from Greek Agaue, proper name in mythology (mother of Pentheus), from agauos "noble," perhaps from agasthai "wonder at".

"Some talk the talk, others walk the walk, but I stalk the stalk"
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Re: Hohokam Indian Hill Forts

#3

Post by Peterthecactusguy »

this was a fun trek. The forts are amazing in person :)
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Spination
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Re: Hohokam Indian Hill Forts

#4

Post by Spination »

Nice thread and great pictures! I had never heard of the Hohokam before, and I was inspired to learn about them thanks to this thread. I found this link from the Arizona Museum of Natural History fascinating and informative:
http://www.azmnh.org/arch/hohokam.aspx" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Some eye-opening facts of which I'm quite shocked I never heard of in history classes during my education back in the 60's and 70's are for one, a rather complex agricultural societal structure that appeared in southern Arizona as far back as 2000BC! ? A culture that engineered a mind-boggling canal system for irrigation, using a gradient of 1-2' per mile - one prehistoric canal discovered that was 15' deep and 45' wide. Ball Courts, Temple Mounds, trade, village structure, craftsmanship (stone, copper, shells, bone, pottery, baskets, and ???) and an important connection with mesoamerican cultures (Toltec, Aztec, Maya) strongly evidence this as a major ancient civilization here in America. Interesting is that ceramics studied by researches can actually determine origin by the temper, and that such study identifies the villages of manufacture and gives evidence to trade, providing information on the "interaction between villages and helps to understand trade networks and to reconstruct social, political and economic ties." Although maize might have been their #1 crop, agave was an important part of their sustenance as well, and large ovens in the village central open area were used as well to bake agave plant hearts.
This gives me some additional insight as to the cultivation and horticulture of agave in SW america, and makes me wonder as to the similarity of several agave species as I noted for instance in the Aquarius Mountain habitat thread. I would think that DNA studies of the various current agave species and their genetic relations noting habitat locations could also provide clues as to the ancient american cultures, given that this plant was so important to them, and that in all likelihood, the plants may well have been brought with them from their origins in Mesoamerica (both the people and their plants). I had always assumed that US agave species evolved over millennias naturally, and now it appears far more likely that the plants were brought here as cultivated plants, and only later on with the mysterious disappearance of american ancient civilizations became feral, and then perhaps evolved into more distinctive separate species populations. In any case, very interesting to speculate on and I wonder if these plants are being scientifically studied more regarding genealogy considering their apparent ties and importance to ancient american civilization, at least in the SW?
Anyway, Thank You Very Much for this thread!
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Re: Hohokam Indian Hill Forts

#5

Post by Gee.S »

The most important aspect of Hohokam culture (from my warped perspective) is its association with A. murpheyi. We have spent a lot of time in the great outdoors recently chasing Agaves associated with Hohokam, Salado, and Sinagua cultures -- there are five named domesticate species to date (A. delamateri, A. murpheyi, A. phillipsiana, A. verdensis, A. yavapaiensis), and other unnamed presumed cultigens as well. You'll find many threads in the Agavaceae Talk section that address that very subject, including two each Domesticates south of Sedona and Domesticates north of Roosevelt Lake (parts 1 & 2). You may also enjoy the Ledge House thread. We have found impressive numbers of these rare Agaves and agree completely with those theories that hold them as domesticates. Another fine thread I would highly recommend for perusal is Finding the Hidden Garden. In fact, you may want to find that first. There are two excellent articles within.
Agave
"American aloe plant," 1797, from Greek Agaue, proper name in mythology (mother of Pentheus), from agauos "noble," perhaps from agasthai "wonder at".

"Some talk the talk, others walk the walk, but I stalk the stalk"
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Spination
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Re: Hohokam Indian Hill Forts

#6

Post by Spination »

Thank You! Ron. I absolutely will be reading them all. What a fantastic resource this site is regarding the lesser considered aspects of agave enthusiasm/collecting/admiration... history and the intertwined ancient civilizations' use and dependence of this important plant.

As a side note, I have had numerous visitors to my modest agave collection, and far and away the most common comment/question that starts out the tour of my plants is "Agave? What are those?" to which my standard quick reply is - "What are Agave? Only possibly one of the single most important plants depended on by indigenous cultures of the Americas for a variety of the plant's unique characteristics dating back 10,000 years!!!!!". That usually stimulates the desired jaw-drop effect and immediate interest that I never get tired of seeing. D))

Many have heard of agave use as beverage (tequila, etc.), but not many are much aware of the plant's importance for fiber (textiles), food, even terminal spines as needles and tips for tools and weapons. I know even in more remote (even current) areas of Mexico for instance that the plants are used as very effective hedge-rows, and even massive leaves have been used for emergency livestock feed. Depictions of agave in Aztec glyphs certainly are evidence of such ancient dependence and import.

Anyway, I'm really looking forward to plowing through all the available material here! Thank you again.
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Re: Hohokam Indian Hill Forts

#7

Post by Gee.S »

We returned to this area today, still searching for A. murpheyi. Had we been successful, we might have moved this thread to the Agavaceae section. Oh well. :frown:

Still, we were quite pleased to find more Hohokam Indian ruins, this time in the form of petroglyphs, which were nearly absent from the pueblos we had visited previously. One other item of note, this area is an absolute haven for Cylindropuntia. We saw five species from a single spot during our trek at one point. These include C. acanthocarpa, C. arbuscula, C. bigelovii, C. fulgida, and C. leptocaulis. We also came upon a spectacular and very old crested Echinocereus engelmannii.
Hohokam glyphs
Hohokam glyphs
New River 001.JPG (166.48 KiB) Viewed 5237 times
Hohokam glyphs
Hohokam glyphs
New River 004.JPG (141.83 KiB) Viewed 5237 times
Hohokam glyphs
Hohokam glyphs
New River 006.JPG (124.24 KiB) Viewed 5237 times
Hohokam glyphs
Hohokam glyphs
New River 010.JPG (134.95 KiB) Viewed 5237 times
Hohokam glyphs
Hohokam glyphs
New River 014.JPG (126.83 KiB) Viewed 5237 times
Hohokam glyphs
Hohokam glyphs
New River 018.JPG (171.37 KiB) Viewed 5237 times
Ferocactus cylindraceus
Ferocactus cylindraceus
New River 020.JPG (186.49 KiB) Viewed 5237 times
Crested Echinocereus engelmannii
Crested Echinocereus engelmannii
New River 024.JPG (197.95 KiB) Viewed 5237 times
Crested Echinocereus engelmannii
Crested Echinocereus engelmannii
New River 025.JPG (210.39 KiB) Viewed 5237 times
Immense C. arbuscula + Peter
Immense C. arbuscula + Peter
New River 042.JPG (174.68 KiB) Viewed 5237 times
C. arbuscula
C. arbuscula
New River 032.JPG (144.26 KiB) Viewed 5237 times
C. fulgida
C. fulgida
New River 035.JPG (158.08 KiB) Viewed 5237 times
C. acanthocarpa
C. acanthocarpa
New River 039.JPG (174.54 KiB) Viewed 5237 times
C. bigelovii
C. bigelovii
New River 041.JPG (132.04 KiB) Viewed 5237 times
Agave
"American aloe plant," 1797, from Greek Agaue, proper name in mythology (mother of Pentheus), from agauos "noble," perhaps from agasthai "wonder at".

"Some talk the talk, others walk the walk, but I stalk the stalk"
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Re: Hohokam Indian Hill Forts

#8

Post by MsWhipplei »

Great thread and great photos. I'll echo what Spination said up above: "What a fantastic resource this site is regarding the lesser considered aspects of agave enthusiasm/collecting/admiration... history and the intertwined ancient civilizations' use and dependence of this important plant."
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Re: Hohokam Indian Hill Forts

#9

Post by Gee.S »

Back to this area one final time in a search for A. murpheyi -- no joy. If that elusive domesticate Agave is taking up residence here, it is doing a fabulous job of remaining incognito, as we left no stone unturned at a time when this species should be blooming and at its most visible.

OTOH, we did manage to find the single most impressive and well-preserved Hohokam hill fort we have ever been privileged to lay eyes upon. Historians and anthropologists actually know very little about these ancient cultures, and one particularly enduring discussion/argument concerns "hill forts" (as opposed to pueblos or residences). For my part, I have always been skeptical of the hill fort argument, which purports that some of these structures seem designed as defensive positions -- specifically, to defend against human incursion. Today's find is IMHO, the single most compelling argument in favor of hill fort theory, which we have found. This particular ruin is strategically placed atop a high point in the region, maintains sight-to-sight contact with three other hill-forts (two are actually fairly large, but particularly well fortified pueblos), is extremely well fortified, and simply too small to house but a handful of individuals. One question remains of course, who were they holding these defensive positions against? We have no clue.

We will also examine one photo from a previous visit, taken very near the fort we managed to hike up to today. This is a shot of a nicely preserved petroglyph panel, and includes what may be the most extraordinary glyph we have chanced upon to date.
Echinocereus engelmannii
Echinocereus engelmannii
Hill_Fort 004.JPG (199.38 KiB) Viewed 5159 times
Perimeter wall looming ahead
Perimeter wall looming ahead
Hill_Fort 010.JPG (125.61 KiB) Viewed 5159 times
Hohokam hill fort
Hohokam hill fort
Hill_Fort 016.JPG (146.38 KiB) Viewed 5159 times
Hohokam hill fort
Hohokam hill fort
Hill_Fort 017.JPG (122.04 KiB) Viewed 5159 times
Hohokam hill fort
Hohokam hill fort
Hill_Fort 019.JPG (138.66 KiB) Viewed 5159 times
Hohokam hill fort + Peter
Hohokam hill fort + Peter
Hill_Fort 021.JPG (145.88 KiB) Viewed 5159 times
Hohokam hill fort
Hohokam hill fort
Hill_Fort 026.JPG (156.82 KiB) Viewed 5159 times
Hohokam hill fort + Peter
Hohokam hill fort + Peter
Hill_Fort 031.JPG (167.78 KiB) Viewed 5159 times
Hohokam hill fort
Hohokam hill fort
Hill_Fort 035.JPG (128 KiB) Viewed 5159 times
Hohokam hill fort
Hohokam hill fort
Hill_Fort 038.JPG (138.06 KiB) Viewed 5159 times
Hohokam hill fort
Hohokam hill fort
Hill_Fort 040.JPG (153.18 KiB) Viewed 5159 times
Dudleya saxosa
Dudleya saxosa
Hill_Fort 046.JPG (140.73 KiB) Viewed 5159 times
D. saxosa
D. saxosa
Hill_Fort 050.JPG (172.48 KiB) Viewed 5159 times
D. saxosa
D. saxosa
Hill_Fort 051.JPG (131.87 KiB) Viewed 5159 times
Mammillaria grahami
Mammillaria grahami
Hill_Fort 054.JPG (178.07 KiB) Viewed 5159 times
E. engelmannii
E. engelmannii
Hill_Fort 066.JPG (205.81 KiB) Viewed 5159 times
E. engelmannii
E. engelmannii
Hill_Fort 067.JPG (119.9 KiB) Viewed 5159 times
Cylindropuntia leptocaulis + Globemallow
Cylindropuntia leptocaulis + Globemallow
Hill_Fort 072.JPG (232.42 KiB) Viewed 5159 times
Agave
"American aloe plant," 1797, from Greek Agaue, proper name in mythology (mother of Pentheus), from agauos "noble," perhaps from agasthai "wonder at".

"Some talk the talk, others walk the walk, but I stalk the stalk"
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Re: Hohokam Indian Hill Forts

#10

Post by Gee.S »

This is the petroglyph panel referenced in the prior post. It appears to depict a man on a horse. This is of particular interest since these forts were abandoned at least 300 years before horses were introduced in North America. There are other possible explanations for the glyph, we will leave it to our readers to draw some semblance of reason from this peculiar incongruity.
Petroglyph panel
Petroglyph panel
Hill_Fort 77a..jpg (306.79 KiB) Viewed 5160 times
Agave
"American aloe plant," 1797, from Greek Agaue, proper name in mythology (mother of Pentheus), from agauos "noble," perhaps from agasthai "wonder at".

"Some talk the talk, others walk the walk, but I stalk the stalk"
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Spination
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Re: Hohokam Indian Hill Forts

#11

Post by Spination »

Fascinating regarding the Hill Forts. Interesting too that you note these forts are on high points within lines of sight of other forts. I'm just thinking out loud, but it seems to me that they could be outposts of sorts for purposes of communication, like a relay perhaps as some kind of warning system for outsider incursions into their territory. It seems feasible then that some sort of visual communication method could have been utilized between the forts relaying critical information much faster than any other possible method available at the time. An early warning system utilizing permanently manned outposts would have obvious value to early civilizations.
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Re: Hohokam Indian Hill Forts

#12

Post by Gee.S »

Certainly possible. :))

Image
Agave
"American aloe plant," 1797, from Greek Agaue, proper name in mythology (mother of Pentheus), from agauos "noble," perhaps from agasthai "wonder at".

"Some talk the talk, others walk the walk, but I stalk the stalk"
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Re: Hohokam Indian Hill Forts

#13

Post by Geoff »

did you ever find any arrow heads? As a kid growing up in New mexico, we spent nearly all of our free time wandering the mesas for arrowheads and all of us developed a rather extensive collection… ruins were all over the place… we never went beyond just wandering around, though… those others that really had huge collections would pilfer sites and dig them up illegally. Tempting sometimes but the three of us in our little group never did it knowing, mostly, that if we got caught, that was going to be big trouble.
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Re: Hohokam Indian Hill Forts

#14

Post by Gee.S »

No we haven't. Can't say I've been looking for them, though. One site we found in particular, was littered with pottery shards (even painted shards), obsidian, and another obsidian-like material, and this ruin was difficult to get to and really off the grid. I looked and couldn't find it referenced anywhere, so that might be a likely spot. In the end however, it is illegal to remove these types of artifacts from archeological sites in AZ. Do you still have your collection?
Agave
"American aloe plant," 1797, from Greek Agaue, proper name in mythology (mother of Pentheus), from agauos "noble," perhaps from agasthai "wonder at".

"Some talk the talk, others walk the walk, but I stalk the stalk"
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Re: Hohokam Indian Hill Forts

#15

Post by Geoff »

Yes… pretty sure it's the same legal situation in New Mexico, but none of the ruins were on the 'grid' and I lived in a town way away from the main stream archeological traffic. Finding a point sitting all by itself in the dirt on a mesa is a crime not to be picked up… so we collected a number of them. We could have had truckloads of pottery shards but those didn't interest us.
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Re: Habitat: Hohokam Indian Hill Forts

#16

Post by Gee.S »

Oh, life is funny sometimes. We had entered this general area five times prior looking for A. murpheyi amongst Hohokam Indian ruins, and came up empty each and every time. OTOH, we were thrilled to find the ruins we did both earlier in this thread and in our Habitat: Primitive Road thread. Toss in the area we visited today, and the three form a neat little two mile equilateral triangle in the heart of Hohokam central. The irony here is that we did manage to find an A. murpheyi patch today, but we really weren't looking for one. Instead we were chasing an odd out-of-range A. deserti v. simplex population similar to that which we found and documented here: Habitat: McDowell Madness. And while we did find the rumored site we were looking for, we were profoundly saddened to bear witness to a likely regional extinction. One stalk and one husk was all that remained of this little group; we looked long and hard and found no living plants. There may be some scattered seed that might germinate at some point, but that seems rather unlikely. In any case, we did manage to find more Hohokam ruins, and lots of other fun stuff, including tens of thousands of Dudleya absolutely dominating the region in a manner we had not previously encountered.
A. murpheyi
A. murpheyi
Elephant 003.JPG (147.75 KiB) Viewed 5065 times
A. murpheyi
A. murpheyi
Elephant 004.JPG (163.15 KiB) Viewed 5065 times
A. murpheyi
A. murpheyi
Elephant 005.JPG (133.25 KiB) Viewed 5065 times
A. murpheyi
A. murpheyi
Elephant 124.JPG (155.18 KiB) Viewed 5065 times
Dudleya saxosa
Dudleya saxosa
Elephant 011.JPG (216.12 KiB) Viewed 5065 times
Calochortus kennedyi
Calochortus kennedyi
Elephant 015.JPG (72.51 KiB) Viewed 5065 times
Calochortus kennedyi
Calochortus kennedyi
Elephant 019.JPG (133.71 KiB) Viewed 5065 times
D. saxosa + Wildflowers
D. saxosa + Wildflowers
Elephant 017.JPG (174.44 KiB) Viewed 5065 times
Crested Echinocereus
Crested Echinocereus
Elephant 022a.jpg (185.17 KiB) Viewed 5065 times
????
????
Elephant 028.JPG (153.71 KiB) Viewed 5065 times
????
????
Elephant 035.JPG (151.27 KiB) Viewed 5065 times
D. saxosa + Ferocactus cylndraceus
D. saxosa + Ferocactus cylndraceus
Elephant 031.JPG (214.86 KiB) Viewed 5065 times
D. saxosa
D. saxosa
Elephant 033.JPG (200.35 KiB) Viewed 5065 times
Hohokam ruin
Hohokam ruin
Elephant 039.JPG (79.16 KiB) Viewed 5065 times
Hohokam ruin
Hohokam ruin
Elephant 100.JPG (124.03 KiB) Viewed 5065 times
Hohokam ruin
Hohokam ruin
Elephant 111.JPG (132.21 KiB) Viewed 5065 times
Agave
"American aloe plant," 1797, from Greek Agaue, proper name in mythology (mother of Pentheus), from agauos "noble," perhaps from agasthai "wonder at".

"Some talk the talk, others walk the walk, but I stalk the stalk"
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Re: Habitat: Hohokam Indian Hill Forts

#17

Post by Gee.S »

Continued from previous post...
E. engelmannii + D. saxosa + Cylindropuntia bigelovii
E. engelmannii + D. saxosa + Cylindropuntia bigelovii
Elephant 043.JPG (166.54 KiB) Viewed 5065 times
Fouquieria splendens + Yucca baccata + C. acanthocarpa + E. engelmannii
Fouquieria splendens + Yucca baccata + C. acanthocarpa + E. engelmannii
Elephant 058.JPG (155.1 KiB) Viewed 5065 times
E. yavapaiensis + Opuntia engelmannii + D. saxosa
E. yavapaiensis + Opuntia engelmannii + D. saxosa
Elephant 059.JPG (138.9 KiB) Viewed 5065 times
Hohokam ruin
Hohokam ruin
Elephant 063.JPG (107.57 KiB) Viewed 5065 times
Look real hard to spot a Hohokam ruin near the top we visited not long ago. We are two miles distant from the ruin here.
Look real hard to spot a Hohokam ruin near the top we visited not long ago. We are two miles distant from the ruin here.
Elephant 065.JPG (93.09 KiB) Viewed 5065 times
A. deserti v. simplex RIP
A. deserti v. simplex RIP
Elephant 070.JPG (121.98 KiB) Viewed 5065 times
A. deserti v. simplex RIP
A. deserti v. simplex RIP
Elephant 075.JPG (198.15 KiB) Viewed 5065 times
A. deserti v. simplex RIP
A. deserti v. simplex RIP
Elephant 082.JPG (151.53 KiB) Viewed 5065 times
E. yavapaiensis
E. yavapaiensis
Elephant 073.JPG (143.83 KiB) Viewed 5065 times
E. boyce-thompsonii + D. saxosa
E. boyce-thompsonii + D. saxosa
Elephant 074.JPG (177.39 KiB) Viewed 5065 times
Orobanche fasciculata (clustered broomrape)
Orobanche fasciculata (clustered broomrape)
Elephant 095.JPG (135.26 KiB) Viewed 5065 times
???? + E. engelmannii
???? + E. engelmannii
Elephant 096a.jpg (215.96 KiB) Viewed 5065 times
Mammillaria grahami
Mammillaria grahami
Elephant 098.JPG (165.3 KiB) Viewed 5065 times
Fouquieria splendens
Fouquieria splendens
Elephant 104.JPG (164.22 KiB) Viewed 5065 times
Primitive road
Primitive road
Elephant 120.JPG (131.96 KiB) Viewed 5065 times
Agave
"American aloe plant," 1797, from Greek Agaue, proper name in mythology (mother of Pentheus), from agauos "noble," perhaps from agasthai "wonder at".

"Some talk the talk, others walk the walk, but I stalk the stalk"
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Re: Habitat: Hohokam Indian Hill Forts

#18

Post by JonConga »

Single orange flower is Calochortus kennedyi per fireflyforest.com.
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Gee.S
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Re: Habitat: Hohokam Indian Hill Forts

#19

Post by Gee.S »

Good man, thanks! ID added.
Agave
"American aloe plant," 1797, from Greek Agaue, proper name in mythology (mother of Pentheus), from agauos "noble," perhaps from agasthai "wonder at".

"Some talk the talk, others walk the walk, but I stalk the stalk"
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Peterthecactusguy
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Re: Habitat: Hohokam Indian Hill Forts

#20

Post by Peterthecactusguy »

Ron, the yellow flowered might be a parasite is Orobanche fasiculatus var lutea according to plants of AZ
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Gee.S
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Re: Habitat: Hohokam Indian Hill Forts

#21

Post by Gee.S »

Yeah, had sorted that out just a little bit ago.
Agave
"American aloe plant," 1797, from Greek Agaue, proper name in mythology (mother of Pentheus), from agauos "noble," perhaps from agasthai "wonder at".

"Some talk the talk, others walk the walk, but I stalk the stalk"
MJP
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Re: Habitat: Hohokam Indian Hill Forts

#22

Post by MJP »

Thank you for the link to Paul Nabhon's article, Finding the Hidden Garden. It is appreciated, perhaps, more than you can imagine. A real gem.
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Gee.S
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Re: Habitat: Hohokam Indian Hill Forts

#23

Post by Gee.S »

Another incursion into the heart of Hohokam Indian country in search of ruins and A. murpheyi yielded a fair-sized hilltop pueblo and plenty of glyphs, as well as an encounter with one of our all time favorite herps. A. murpheyi as usual, seems in short supply.
Cylindropuntia leptocaulis
Cylindropuntia leptocaulis
Chalk 002.JPG (146.14 KiB) Viewed 4998 times
Opuntia engelmannii crest
Opuntia engelmannii crest
Chalk 003.JPG (126.28 KiB) Viewed 4998 times
A. chrysantha -- interesting how similar it appears to A. murpheyi
A. chrysantha -- interesting how similar it appears to A. murpheyi
Chalk 004.JPG (223.16 KiB) Viewed 4998 times
A. chrysantha
A. chrysantha
Chalk 009.JPG (193.9 KiB) Viewed 4998 times
A. chrysantha
A. chrysantha
Chalk 015.JPG (247.24 KiB) Viewed 4998 times
Hohokam glyphs
Hohokam glyphs
Chalk 022.JPG (179.18 KiB) Viewed 4998 times
Hohokam pueblo
Hohokam pueblo
Chalk 024.JPG (148.97 KiB) Viewed 4998 times
Hohokam glyphs
Hohokam glyphs
Chalk 034.JPG (156.52 KiB) Viewed 4998 times
Hohokam glyphs
Hohokam glyphs
Chalk 038.JPG (151.35 KiB) Viewed 4998 times
Hohokam pueblo
Hohokam pueblo
Chalk 049.JPG (143.86 KiB) Viewed 4998 times
Hohokam glyphs
Hohokam glyphs
Chalk 057.JPG (178.29 KiB) Viewed 4998 times
Hohokam glyphs
Hohokam glyphs
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Hohokam glyphs
Hohokam glyphs
Chalk 063.JPG (227.64 KiB) Viewed 4998 times
Hohokam country
Hohokam country
Chalk 068.JPG (163.35 KiB) Viewed 4998 times
Hohokam pueblo
Hohokam pueblo
Chalk 077.JPG (138.83 KiB) Viewed 4998 times
Agave
"American aloe plant," 1797, from Greek Agaue, proper name in mythology (mother of Pentheus), from agauos "noble," perhaps from agasthai "wonder at".

"Some talk the talk, others walk the walk, but I stalk the stalk"
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Gee.S
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Re: Habitat: Hohokam Indian Hill Forts

#24

Post by Gee.S »

Continued from previous post...
Hohokam pueblo
Hohokam pueblo
Chalk 082.JPG (132.96 KiB) Viewed 4999 times
Hohokam glyphs -- Gila Monsters?
Hohokam glyphs -- Gila Monsters?
Chalk 087.JPG (179.5 KiB) Viewed 4999 times
Gila Monster
Gila Monster
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Gila Monster
Gila Monster
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Gila Monster
Gila Monster
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Hohokam metates
Hohokam metates
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Hohokam metate
Hohokam metate
Chalk 112.JPG (145.18 KiB) Viewed 4999 times
Hohokam metates
Hohokam metates
Chalk 115.JPG (129.34 KiB) Viewed 4999 times
Hohokam glyphs
Hohokam glyphs
Chalk 121.JPG (139.28 KiB) Viewed 4999 times
Hohokam glyphs
Hohokam glyphs
Chalk 122.JPG (139.3 KiB) Viewed 4999 times
Hohokam glyphs
Hohokam glyphs
Chalk 123.JPG (206.09 KiB) Viewed 4999 times
Hohokam glyphs
Hohokam glyphs
Chalk 124.JPG (158.87 KiB) Viewed 4999 times
Hohokam glyphs
Hohokam glyphs
Chalk 132.JPG (139.6 KiB) Viewed 4999 times
Skull Mesa
Skull Mesa
Chalk 138.JPG (125.19 KiB) Viewed 4999 times
Desert duck
Desert duck
Chalk 143.JPG (75.12 KiB) Viewed 4999 times
Dodder
Dodder
Chalk 146.JPG (199.19 KiB) Viewed 4999 times
Agave
"American aloe plant," 1797, from Greek Agaue, proper name in mythology (mother of Pentheus), from agauos "noble," perhaps from agasthai "wonder at".

"Some talk the talk, others walk the walk, but I stalk the stalk"
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Gee.S
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Re: Habitat: Hohokam Indian Hill Forts

#25

Post by Gee.S »

Another rare A. murpheyi find in the general vicinity of the Hohokam hill forts. This site is significant on two fronts. First and foremost, it is by far, the largest, healthiest A. murpheyi site found to date, boasting 60 plants plus pups. Also, the site is located about halfway up a summit that plays host to another Hohokam ruin.

An additional point of interest involves the stalks/blooms/bulbils. As you'll see in ensuing photos, several of the stalks seem infested with what presents as arboreal cauliflower. No idea what this substance is, but a couple of these odd gall-like features seem to have blooms of their own. Never seen anything like it.
A. murpheyi
A. murpheyi
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A. murpheyi
A. murpheyi
murph_3 001.JPG (180.35 KiB) Viewed 4945 times
A. murpheyi
A. murpheyi
murph_3 002a.jpg (87.48 KiB) Viewed 4945 times
A. murpheyi
A. murpheyi
murph_3 003a.jpg (73.4 KiB) Viewed 4945 times
A. murpheyi
A. murpheyi
murph_3 006.JPG (167.36 KiB) Viewed 4945 times
A. murpheyi
A. murpheyi
murph_3 011.JPG (179.83 KiB) Viewed 4945 times
A. murpheyi
A. murpheyi
murph_3 016.JPG (203.68 KiB) Viewed 4945 times
A. murpheyi
A. murpheyi
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A. murpheyi
A. murpheyi
murph_3 020a.jpg (67.64 KiB) Viewed 4945 times
A. murpheyi
A. murpheyi
murph_3 021a.jpg (79.76 KiB) Viewed 4945 times
A. murpheyi
A. murpheyi
murph_3 026.JPG (151.06 KiB) Viewed 4945 times
Agave
"American aloe plant," 1797, from Greek Agaue, proper name in mythology (mother of Pentheus), from agauos "noble," perhaps from agasthai "wonder at".

"Some talk the talk, others walk the walk, but I stalk the stalk"
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