Sobaipuri facts for kids

The Sobaipuri were an indigenous group who lived in what is now Arizona and Sonora, Mexico. They were part of the O'odham people, also known as the Pima. The Sobaipuri lived in this area from the 1400s to the 1800s. Today, their descendants include members of the Tohono O'odham Nation and the Akimel O'odham.

Scientists often discuss if the Sobaipuri and other O'odham groups are connected to the ancient Hohokam people. The Hohokam lived in the same area until about the 1400s. Recent discoveries show that Sobaipuri people were living in the area even before the 1400s, possibly as early as the 1200s. This means the land was not empty after the Hohokam. Old stories also suggest that the arriving O'odham, including the Sobaipuri, mixed with the groups already living there, like the Hohokam.

Sobaipuri History and European Contact

The Sobaipuri people were living in the area when the first Europeans arrived in the mid-1500s. This made them important in the early history of European settlement in Arizona.

In 1539, Marcos de Niza, an early European explorer, likely met the Sobaipuri along the San Pedro River. A year later, Francisco Vázquez de Coronado and his group explored the region, but they might not have reached the Sobaipuri villages.

Father Kino's Visits

When Father Eusebio Kino, a Spanish missionary, first arrived in 1691, Sobaipuri leaders welcomed him. They traveled from villages like San Cayetano del Tumacacori to ask Kino to visit them.

Kino traveled north along the Santa Cruz River to San Cayetano del Tumacacori. There, the Sobaipuri had built special structures for him: a house, a kitchen, and a place for church services. This Sobaipuri village became the first mission in southern Arizona. The original village location has been found by archaeologists. It was a large, well-planned village that was lived in for a long time.

Kino also visited Guevavi, another Sobaipuri settlement along the Santa Cruz River. He later built a church there in 1701. This native village eventually became the main mission for the area.

Relationships with Neighbors

The Sobaipuri were at first friendly with their neighbors, including the Apache, Jocome, and Jano tribes. They traded goods and sometimes even went on raids together. They also married into each other's groups, which made the Sobaipuri unique. Later, when the Sobaipuri sided with the Europeans, their relationships with other tribes became difficult. This led to battles between them.

Studying the Sobaipuri Through Archaeology

The Sobaipuri are one of the most studied groups from the "protohistoric" period in southern Arizona. This period is when written history was just beginning, but we still rely a lot on archaeological finds.

Early Discoveries

The first archaeological work on the Sobaipuri was done by Charles C. Di Peso in the 1950s. He wanted to understand how life changed from ancient times to when Europeans arrived. While some of his ideas about specific sites were later found to be incorrect, Di Peso was important for identifying the first Sobaipuri archaeological site. This helped future researchers.

Modern Research

Archaeologist Deni Seymour has spent 30 years studying the Sobaipuri. She has found more than 80 Sobaipuri archaeological sites along the San Pedro and Santa Cruz rivers and their smaller streams.

Seymour has mapped parts of their large irrigation systems, which were ways they brought water to their farms. She also learned that their farming villages moved along the rivers over time as communities grew or split up. Her work has helped to update what we know about the Sobaipuri, adding to what was learned from old written records.

Other archaeologists have also contributed. In the 1980s, Bruce Masse excavated Sobaipuri sites on the lower San Pedro River. Bruce Huckell found Sobaipuri sites in the Santa Rita Mountains. These mountain sites were likely used for hunting, gathering food, or as safe places to hide from Spanish soldiers or Apache groups.

See also

In Spanish: Sobaipuri para niños