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Builders found construction material in the
subsoil beneath their
feet: caliche (cuh-LEEchee), a concrete-like
mixture of sand, clay,
and calcium carbonate
(limestone). It took
3,000 tons to construct
the Great House. Caliche mud was piled in
successive courses to
form walls 4 feet thick
.at the base, tapering toward the top. Hundreds
of juniper, pine, and fir
trees were carried or
floated 60 miles down
the Gila River to tho village. Anchored in tho
walls, the limbers
formed ceiling or floor
supports. This illustration shows how saguaro
ribs were laid perpendicular across the
beams, covered with
reeds, and topped with
a final layer of caliche
mud. The best efforts
ol Its bulldors could not
protoct tho houso afl or
It loll Into dlsuso. Dospi le conturles of
woathering and neglect, the Great House
stands today as the most
prominent example of
Hohokam technology
and social organization.
Because much of the
cropland lay on natural
terraces above the Gi la
River floodplain , canal
heads had to be far
enough upstream (east)
to establish a downhill
flow. Distribution canals
branched off at major
settlements. These in
turn flowed into a web
of smaller channels
connected by lateral
ditches that opened
directly into fields.
Strung along the main
canals were villagesabout one every three
miles-that united to
build and maintain the
system .
