We first visited Casa Grande Ruins National Monument 10 years ago. As the store where we will shop for groceries this winter is right across the road, it seemed natural to go back and refresh our memories.
Usually there are regularly scheduled tours several times during the day. Although we could go out and look (we did), we were encouraged to come back another day (and we will) to take the guided tour. The volunteer docent thought the day quite an unpleasant winter day - only 61F and windy! Are they spoiled or what?
Casa Grande (Great House) was completed by the Hohokam about 1350 AD and is four stories high and 60 feet long. It took 3,000 tons of caliche carried by hand, most likely in pottery bowls or dishes, to build. It was laid in successive courses four feet thick at the base and tapered at the top. Each layer had to be allowed to dry before another was added.
Hundreds of trees, 60 ft long or more, were carried or floated at least 65 miles down the Gila River. These were used for ceiling and roof support. They were anchored in the walls then covered with saguaro ribs, reeds and more caliche.
It's estimated that the entire process took three years to complete.
The canopy above was built in 1932 to protect Casa Grande from the elements.
"It's walls face the four cardinal points of the compass. A circular hole in the upper west wall aligns with the setting Sun at the summer solstice. Other openings align with the Sun and moon at specific times." This understanding of those changing positions would have helped with knowing when to plant and harvest.
Another fact we find interesting is that this was the largest four-story freestanding building in the world until the 1860s.
This 'olla' or water jar was found buried at the site by an archaeologist in 1906.
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