This three-page undergraduate paper examines agriculture in the prehistoric American Southwest and analyzes how the advent of agriculture was affected by the desert climate. The author notes that due to dry desert conditions, ancient peoples such as the Hohokam and Anasazi had to dig canals or water channels to irrigate their crops. The climate of this region was relatively harsh and the growing season fairly short, but Anasazi and Hohokam agriculture were generally efficient even though they developed under the perpetual threat of drought.
