Traditionally the area of southern Arizona, roughly from the Phoenix region to the international border with Mexico, and extending west to the Colorado River, has been seen as being occupied by a prehistoric group called the Hohokam. The designation of Hohokam is fundamentally based on similarities of artifacts - especially pottery, architecture, and agricultural technologies. The Hohokam, though regionally different, are generally seen as existing from about 200 BC to around 1450 AD, when they inexplicable disappear - or change their archaeological appearance. One person has referred to the Hohokam as becoming “extinct,” a concept that I reject. My belief has been that the Hohokam did not vanish, but merely changed and adapted, becoming in the historic period (after 1450-52 when Coronado ventured through) a group the Spanish would later incorrectly call the Pima, and within the Pima a subgroup called the Papago. In their own language these "Papago" referenced themselves as Tohono O’odham – meaning Desert People. The The Tohono O'odham and Pimeria Alta covers a wide area of discussion, but through the use of 189 images (photographs and antique maps), made available by the Arizona Historical Society in Tucson, the Tohono O’odham and the Spanish Pimeria Alta landscape are explored and interpreted.           

            In spirit I have been thinking about the subject of the Hohokam to O’odham continuum for a number of years and have been putting that information into the back of my mind while continuing to observe and gather additional knowledge from a variety of sources. With the possibility of putting some of this information together as an Arcadia publication I immediately approached the Arizona Historical Society, Southern Division, in Tucson, about using their collections to develop the book. Through their fine collections and the aid of the Library and Archives Department I was given complete access to their library, photographs, maps, etc. It was a truly satisfying situation!   

I think that readers will find the images intriguing and the history of the Tohono O’odham fascinating. As mentioned above, many Arizona citizens know very little about these people. The general population knows that they run tribal casinos, and that, unfortunately, is probably the extent of their knowledge. Few people realize that the Tohono O’odham Nation has the second largest tribal land holding in the United States – covering approximately 2.8 million acres. Very few people know their history simply because so little has been written or produced for the general market – this is the first photographic history book written on these amazing people.    

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