Archaeological Investigations at Los Guanacos: Exploring Cultural Changes in Late Hohokam Society

Summary

This report describes archaeological investigations at the site of Los Guanacos, AZ U:9:116(ASM). The investigations involved a data recovery program, conducted by Northland Research, Inc. for the Salt River Project (SRP). Los Guanacos was a primarily Classic period Hohokam community. Only a portion of the site is contained in the approximately 103-acre land parcel owned by SRP in Tempe, Arizona. The archaeological investigations reported here document only a small portion of the total community of Los Guanacos. Through the use of backhoe trenches and stripped areas, 72 cultural features were identified and the vast majority were investigated. Two pit structures, seven complete or partial adobe-walled rooms, four adobe wall segments, six hornos, 16 inhumations, one cremation, and a large number of both thermal and nonthermal pits (both extramural and intramural) were investigated. Chronometric evidence obtained from the site indicates an occupation ranging from the late Sedentary (approximately A.D. 1100) through to the Polvoron phase (perhaps as late as A.D. 1500). Several research topics were investigated. Among the more important findings were 1) relatively intensive use of agave and cotton during the Classic period, 2) that obsidian use increased through time, particularly during the Polvoron phase, 3) the identification of free-standing, narrow-walled adobe rooms and pit structures as principal structure types at Los Guanacos during the Polvoron phase, and 4) tests supported a model implicating a collapse of the canal system as a prime cause for Hohokam site abandonment and decreased population levels after the A.D. 1350s.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Salt River Project Digital Library

Keywords

Temporal Coverage

Calendar Date: 1100 to 1500 (Dating for the site AZ U:9:116 (ASM))

Spatial Coverage

Individual & Institutional Roles

Contact(s): Salt River Project Cultural Resource Manager

Contributor(s): Kathleen A. Baker; Mark Brodbeck; J. Philip Dering; Jeffrey L. Eighmy; Cristi Assad Hunter; Johna Hutira; Elizabeth Miller; Charles Miksicek; Samantha Ruscavage-Barz

Principal Investigator(s): T. Kathleen Henderson

Project Director(s): Todd Howell

Prepared By(s): Northland Research, Inc.

Submitted To(s): Salt River Project

Record Identifiers

SRP Library Barcode No.(s): 00090556

File Information