Video Surveillance Technology Protects Ancient Native American Cultural Site
At the Mesa Grande Cultural Park in Mesa, Ariz. (part of the Arizona Museum of Natural History), history is revealed daily for the many archaeologists, historians and visitors who explore the active excavation site each year. The ancient Hohokam people built and used the Mesa Grande platform mound between AD 1100 and 1450. It served as the public and ceremonial center for one of the largest Hohokam villages, a residential area that extended for over a mile along the terrace overlooking the Salt River. Mesa Grande was one of the two largest temple mounds of the Hohokam, and offers a rich look into the life and traditions of an important native group in what is now the American Southwest.
Though preservation efforts protected the Mesa Grande mound from the ravages of modern development, the site is tightly situated amidst a residential subdivision, healthcare center, and an industrial development, posing a variety of safety and security challenges for the active archaeological site and the staff and visitors who spend time there. In recent years, the semi-seclusion of the walled and fenced site, and the nature of the priceless cultural mounds and excavated water canals have proven a lure to trespassers, including dirt bikers inflicting immeasurable damage to the ancient site.