Archaeologist Charles Adams has conducted 15 years of research at Homol’ovi, a cluster of five Hopi villages and related sites on the Little Colorado River near Winslow, Arizona, some 60 miles south of the present Hopi villages. Established about A.D.1260 by the Hopis, Homol’ovi was augmented by migrations from the collapsing Four Corners. It soon became the center of a robust trade in cotton between the Hopis and the diverse peoples of the region. Attracted by the river’s resources and the ideal climate, the Hopis developed a thriving community that lasted only until about 1400. Floods, drought, and soil depletion may have forced them to move elsewhere.
The katsina (kachina) religion reached Homol’ovi around 1350, and the power and beauty of its ceremonies must have had a profound impact on the entire region. At about the same time, large, enclosed plazas with big kivas with murals appeared. Some of the villages grew to more than 1,000 surface rooms.
Adams deftly uses the results of 15 years of fieldwork to tell the story of Homol’ovi, presenting hypotheses that take us well beyond the immediate archaeological record. Homol’ovi: An Ancient Hopi Settlement Center is the fascinating story of the rise and fall of a very important settlement at a critical time for the people of the Southwest. Well written in a narrative style, it will appeal to the archaeologist and the layman with an interest in the people of the Southwest and the Hopi in particular. It is a fine example of how archaeology can make an ancient place and people come alive.
Today, most of the ruins are preserved in Homol’ovi Ruins State Park just off busy I-40, where Adams’s research is being developed and interpreted for the visitor. Homol’ovi II is open to the public. For more information see www.pr.state.az.us/parkhtml/homolovi.html.
