Wednesday, September 16, 2009

Pueblo Grande Museum Part 2


Is It Better In The Modern Age?

After attending the Native American craft class at the Pueblo Grande Museum I decided to stroll through its outdoor exhibits to learn a bit more about the Hohokam culture. As I walked the grounds alone I was the struck by three things:
  1. THE HEAT: How did the Hohokam's survive the summer without air conditioning? I was instructed, by one of the museum's volunteers, to take an umbrella on my walk. Not because it was raining, but because there was no shade outside. However the umbrella did little to offset the 100+ degree temperature that day. I am well aware that all the concrete and asphalt we have added to the city has increased the temperatures, but I'm sure the summers were still hot 1,000 years ago. I doubt the Hohokams escaped the heat by heading to San Diego each August the way Phoenicians do today. Instead, I learned that they stayed deep within their adobe structure where it was cool, only coming outside after the sun went down. Sound familiar? It should. Today we go from our air-conditioned home, in our air-conditioned car, to our air-conditioned workplace and never venturing outside until night time - maybe.


  2. THE CONSTRUCTION: If you live in the Valley there's a good chance your house is made of stucco. Mine is. An efficient building material, stucco is touted as a durable, attractive and weather-resistant wall covering. But those of you who have owned your stucco home for a number of years know it's not completely indestructible. Our searing summer heat can crack its finish and a variety of Arizona-pecking birds can leave it riddled with holes. How many years can we expect our stucco homes to stand? Will they last 1,000 years like those of the Hohokam's? True, only parts of their original structure still stand at the Pueblo Grande Museum. But I'll bet it's still more than you'll find of my house after 1,000 years in the Arizona desert.


  3. THE SOUNDS: As I stood on top of the Platform Mound, I tried to imagine what it was like
    to live there thousands of years ago. I closed my eyes and quickly noticed the sounds of the city. Today this former Hohokam village sits in the middle of a metropolis. Tall buildings surround it, a freeway passes by and planes from Sky Harbor International Airport fly over head. These are things that the Hohokams never could have imagined, and perhaps were better off without. They heard the breeze blowing through the Palo Verde trees, rabbits and quail rustling in the brush and thunder from a storm on the horizon. None of which I could hear, for sound of the cars and planes, and even the bell on the Light Rail train, were much louder.

So comparing our lifestyle today to that of the Hohokam's, very few things are the same and a lot of things are different. But are we really better off?

Monday, September 14, 2009

Pueblo Grande Museum Part 1

Hohokam for the Holidays

Is it too early to start preparing for Christmas? It's not, if you are the State of Arizona.

For the first time, our state will provide the United States Congress with the Christmas tree placed in front of the Capital building in Washington, D.C. A 75-foot, nearly 125-year-old spruce has been selected from the forest in Northern Arizona. It will take about 10,000 lights and more than 5,000 ornaments to decorate the tree. Most of the ornaments will be made by Arizona school children, but a few opportunities to create decorations for the tree are available to the public. That's why I'm at the Pueblo Grande Museum early on a Saturday morning, to make Native American Gourd Ornaments for the Capital Christmas tree.

Twenty other crafters filled the community room at the Pueblo Grande Museum, including my friend, Jeanne Olcott. We were each given a gourd, a variety of paint markets and went to work. Most of the group transformed their gourds into birds. Mine, I thought, looked more like a whale. But whales aren't native to Arizona , so I painted a lizard instead.

But the lizard only covered one side of my gourd, so on the back I painted a prickly pear cactus.

Nearly three hours later, all the gourds were finished and drying outside. There were birds of all varieties and colors, a snake or two and even a hot air balloon with the the Arizona state flag.

As the Capital Christmas Tree travels across the U.S., each ornament will promote the state of Arizona -- its diverse culture and rich history. You can follow its progress at the interactive website: http://www.capitolchristmastree2009.org/.

Be sure to keep an eye out for a yellow and orange lizard hanging in the tree. When you see it, I hope you will think of me.