[3] Long before Euroamericans moved into the area that is now Phoenix, it was home to a thriving civilization called Huhugam by the culturally affiliated O’odham and the Hohokam by archaeologists.

[4] The Hohokam archaeological culture developed some of the largest and most advanced canal systems in all of pre-Columbian North America.

The site of Pueblo Grande is situated at the headgates of multiple large canals on the north side of the Salt River.

The longest Hohokam canal originated near Pueblo Grande and carried water for over 16 miles into the area of modern-day Glendale.

This likely gave Pueblo Grande a prominent role among the many Hohokam villages on the north side of the Salt River.

[5] These were publicly accessible sites likely used for ceremonial purposes, possibly ritual ball games, and periodic markets.

These were expanded over time with stone-walled cells that were filled with trash and capped with caliche plaster to create a platform upon which structures were built.

One room had doors that may have, at the winter and summer solstice, aligned with Hole-in-the-rock, a natural feature in the Papago Buttes to the northeast.

[3] Pueblo Grande Museum and Archaeological Park continued to expand and was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1964.