Complex of North American Indian peoples who lived 0441; 300 BCAD 1400 in the Sonoran Desert (Arizona, U.S.), especially along the Gila and Salt rivers.
The Hohokam Indians developed intricate networks of canals for irrigation, an agricultural engineering feat unsurpassed in pre-Columbian North America. Some 14th-century canals have been restored for use. Corn was the major crop; beans and squash were added after contact with the Anasazi . For unknown reasons, Hohokam culture disintegrated in the early 15th century. The Pima and Papago peoples are probably direct descendants.