Salado—Perspectives from the Middle Santa Cruz Valley

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Abstract
“The Salado” in the sense of an archaeological culture cannot be supported from existing archaeological evidence in the middle Santa Cruz Valley. A model of Hohokam cultural development is presented that seems to account for most of the variability in archaeological remains of the Classic period. Items of material culture traditionally ascribed to the Salado may now be interpreted in the context of (1) social and economic systems that emerged as the Hohokam adjusted themselves to riverine and adjacent environments, and possibly (2) the operation of a Hohokam interaction sphere. In this paper the events of the Tanq ue Verde phase (early Classic period) are viewed as crucial in developing an understanding of the Salado phenomenon.