Mesa Grande

Not to be confused with Mesa Grande Band of Diegueno Mission Indians.

Mesa Grande
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
Entrance of the Mesa Grande Cultural Park
Nearest city	Mesa, Arizona
Coordinates	33°26′2.94″N 111°50′42.98″W
Architectural style	Hohokam
NRHP reference No.	78000549
Added to NRHP	November 21, 1978

Mesa Grande Cultural Park, in Mesa, Arizona, preserves a group of Hohokam structures constructed during the classical period. The ruins were occupied between AD 1100 and 1400 (Pueblo II - Pueblo IV Era) and were a product of the Hohokam civilization that inhabited the Salt River Valley. There the Hohokam constructed an extensive system of water canals. It is one of only two Hohokam mounds remaining in the metro Phoenix area, with the other being the Pueblo Grande Museum Archaeological Park. The site's central feature is a massive ruin of adobe walls and platforms.

It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1978 when it was owned by B-movie actress Acquanetta. The site was acquired from her in 1988 by the city of Mesa.

After the 2013 completion of the Mesa Grande Visitor's Center, the site is now seasonally open to the public from October, through May.

The Mesa Grande Cultural Park, as it is now known, is operated by the Arizona Museum of Natural History. The museum is currently undertaking archaeological studies at the site. The mound remains remarkably intact. The general site remains protected but undeveloped.

The ruins are located to the west and across the street from the former Mesa Lutheran Hospital, now a Banner Health corporate center housing billing and Information Technology employees.

Artifacts presumably associated with the ruins have been found in the neighborhood to the west. Axe heads, arrow heads, and pottery sherds were regularly uncovered and collected by residents during the 1960s and 1970s just under the surface of the earth in private property there.

Gallery

Mesa Grande Cultural Park

• 
  "Room D", a 1955 excavation by Arizona State University below the main Mesa Grande mound.
• 
  A member of the Southwest Archaeology Team excavates matrix materials from a test pit.
• 
  A view of test pits from Station 6 of the north end of the mound.
• 
  The Mesa Grande Temple Mound. Built by the Hohokam in 1100 AD. The walls are made of “caliche”, the calcium carbonate hardpan that forms under the desert soils. The mound is longer and wider than a modern football field (note: U.S. Football) and is 27 feet high.
• 
  Different view of the Mesa Grande Tempe Mound.
• 
  A large plaza in front of the Mesa Grande Temple mound which was enclosed by a large adobe wall.
• 
  Another view of the plaza.
• 
  One of the two largest networks of irrigation canals created in the prehistoric Americans by the Hohokams.
• 
  Replica of the Mesa Grande Hohokam Ballcourt . The ballcourt, which is located at 1000 N. Date St., is an open-air structure where the Hohokam played ballgames using a rubber ball made from a local plant.

See also

• Casa Grande Ruins National Monument
• Oasisamerica cultures

References

• Groff, Garin (April 22, 2012), "Mesa Grande ruins to open visitors center this fall", East Valley Tribune, retrieved 2012-11-02
• Nelson, Gary (September 4, 2012), "Construction kicks off on center to showcase Mesa Grande site", The Arizona Republic
• Nelson, Gary (January 18, 2013), "The park showcases Mesa Grande, where it is believed the Hohokam civilization once existed", The Arizona Republic
• Sakal, Mike (September 5, 2012), "Officials break ground on long-awaited Mesa Grande Visitors Center", East Valley Tribune, retrieved 2012-11-02

External links

• Official website
• Arizona Museum of Natural History: Mesa Grande