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Water storage reservoirs were an important feature of economic organization among ancient societies in the North American Southwest. Analyses of reservoir sediments from a Hohokam archaeological site in the Sonoran Desert yielded taxonomic species of ostracodes (microscopic crustaceans) and pollen grains that are indicative of a past water-rich environment. The discovery that this reservoir was capable of storing water on a long-term basis indicates that archaeological models for the region, which have relied on direct historic analogy, must be reexamined. In contrast to the local ethrrographric record, paleoecological data generated by this study imply that the Hohokam could establish permanent desert settlements with water storage reservoirs away from perennial rivers and streams. Moreover, residents of these areas were geographically positioned to facilitate the circulation of marine resources (i.e., salt and shell) from the Gulf of California to territories within and beyond the Hohokam region. (C) 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.