Topic: Pima

The conversation explores the Hohokam people, an ancient culture that inhabited the Phoenix basin between 300 BC and 1425 AD. Daniel details their sophisticated engineering, which included over 1,000 miles of canals dug to a perfect gradient for the Salt River, and their cultivation of high-quality cotton that was later hybridized with Egyptian strains.

The Salt River Indian Reservation in Arizona currently faces the highest amputation rate in the world, with 50% of adults requiring the procedure due to diabetes. Historically, these tribes were lean hunter-gatherers who subsisted on buffalo and meat. The transition to a government-provided diet of wheat, lard, and sugar on reservations led to a massive increase in obesity and metabolic disease.