False Causality in the Hohokam Collapse

Abstract

Water-logging and salinization of agricultural lands are often cited as factors contributing to the collapse of Hohokam society. The interaction of these two factors is reviewed and their impact on historic Anglo agricultural production is evaluated. Data indicate that water-logging and salinization begin to affect agricultural production within 50–100 years following the start of canal use. Assuming that analogous processes affected prehistoric Hohokam agricultural production, the rapid emergence of these factors is incompatible with their use as devices to explain the collapse of Hohokam systems using a gradualist model of irrigation development. However, water-logging and salinization have potential interpretive significance using a cyclical model of agricultural development.

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