A Case for Yuman Participation in the Hohokam Regional System

Abstract

Linguistic and archaeological data indicate that for two or more centuries near A.D. 1000, some Yuman groups lived in close association with speakers of Upper Piman, a language unrelated to the Yuman language family. An examination of archaeological, ethnographic, and linguistic information leads to the inference that Yuman-Piman bilingualism developed within the Hohokam culture area of southern Arizona. Comparison of Yuman and Hohokam burial practices strongly supports the linguistic analysis. The study also explores the cultural-historical implications for Hohokam development within the framework of the regional system concept.