  Current models of Solar System evolution posit that the asteroid populations
in resonance with Jupiter are comprised of objects scattered inward from the
outer Solar System during a period of dynamical instability. In this paper, we
present a new analysis of the absolute magnitude and optical color distribution
of Hilda asteroids, which lie in the 3:2 mean motion resonance with Jupiter,
with the goal of comparing the bulk properties with previously published
results from an analogous study of Jupiter Trojans. We report an updated power
law fit of the Hilda magnitude distribution through H=14. Using photometric
data listed in the Sloan Moving Object Catalog, we confirm the
previously-reported strong bimodality in visible spectral slope distribution,
indicative of two sub-populations with differing surface compositions. When
considering collisional families separately, we find that collisional fragments
follow a unimodal color distribution with spectral slope values consistent with
the bluer of the two sub-populations. The color distributions of Hildas and
Trojans are comparable and consistent with a scenario in which the color
bimodality in both populations developed prior to emplacement into their
present-day locations. We propose that the shallower magnitude distribution of
the Hildas is a result of an initially much larger Hilda population, which was
subsequently depleted as smaller bodies were preferentially ejected from the
narrow 3:2 resonance via collisions. Altogether, these observations provide a
strong case supporting a common origin for Hildas and Trojans as predicted by
current dynamical instability theories of Solar System evolution.
