The word Patayan is a Quechan language word meaning Old People, and this word has been used by archaeologists to discuss the people who inhabited the Colorado River region of southwestern US in the states of California, Arizona and Baja California, an area knowm today as the hottest and driest region of this continent.

The archaeological record of the Patayan is poorly understood. Most Patayan people appear to have been highly mobile and did not build large structures or accumulate numerous possessions.

The Patayan lived in the areas along the Gila River, Colorado River and in the Lower Colorado River Valley, the nearby uplands, and north to the vicinity of the Grand Canyon. However, many of the separate families moved south into the lower California region.

The Patayan culture, known by some as the Hakataya culture is a prehistoric culture dating from 700 CE to 1550 CE. Their nearest cultural neighbors were the Prescott culture to the north and the Hohokam culture to the east, both in Arizona. This culture was known as skilled warriors and active traders, maintaining exchange networks with the Hohokam in southern Arizona and with the upper Californian Pacific Coast tribes.

Patayan lived in parts of modern-day west Arizona, southern California, northern Sonora and most of Baja California. This included areas along the Gila River, Colorado River and in the Lower Colorado River Valley, the nearby uplands, and north to the vicinity of the Grand Canyon.

The Patayan appear to have been a nomadic people who did not build large structures or accumulate possessions, and many of the sites discovered most recently were often primarily used to raise crops. Because many sites are along rivers, and at these site, metates and manos have been found, this culture appeared to have practiced floodplain agriculture. Also, at these sites, other stone tools such as spear and arrow points have been found and together, all these tools suggest an economy based on agriculture as well as hunting and gathering.

The earliest Patayan sites have shallow pithouses and surface log houses, many consisting of a series of rooms in a straight line. The early log houses would have a pit room at the east end, most likely used for food storage.

The people of the Patayan culture spoke the Cochini language and their descendants speak the languages of the Cochimí-Yuman family Group.