PHOENIX — Just minutes from downtown, one of the Valley’s oldest stories is still being told.
The S’edav Va’aki Museum — formerly known as the Pueblo Grande Museum — sits on a preserved archaeological site more than 1,500 years old. Designated as a National Historic Landmark and a Phoenix Point of Pride, the museum offers a unique view into the lives of the ancient Hohokam people.
“You’re standing right next to the platform mound at the site of S’edav Va’aki,” said Christopher Schwartz, archaeologist with the City of Phoenix. “Va’aki is the term for platform mound, and this is the largest and most centrally located one in the city.”
Visitors can walk the grounds and explore the remnants of rooms and courtyards, once part of a multi-level structure believed to reach up to 30 feet tall.
The Hohokam were also master engineers, building an extensive canal system that forms the foundation of nearly half of Phoenix’s current irrigation infrastructure.
Inside the museum, guests can learn more about Hohokam culture — from tools and pottery to farming techniques and daily life.
More than a thousand years later, their legacy remains etched into the land beneath our feet.
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