Archaeological Testing at the Morocco Ruin and in a Portion of the Alkali Ruin on the Lakin Property in Goodyear, Maricopa County, Arizona

Summary

This document presents the results of archaeological testing prior to a proposed residential development in Goodyear, Arizona. The project proponent, Sonterra Partners, is planning to develop approximately 800 acres of private land in Goodyear, Arizona for single-family housing. Numerous surface artifacts were identified within the documented boundary of two previously identified large prehistoric Hohokam sites—Alkali Ruin (AZ T:11:24 [ASM]) and the Morocco Ruin (AZ T:11:106 [ASM]) (North 2005).

Alkali Ruin and the Morocco Ruin have been examined to varying degrees many times since the 1920s. Extant data available indicated the Alkali Ruin was a habitation area with pre-Classic and Classic period components. The Morocco Ruin appears to have been primary a Classic period village, although a pre-Classic period component is also suspected. Surface evidence of features at both sites has been obscured by decades of agricultural activity. When the sites were first documented in the late 1920s and 1930s, numerous trash mounds were noted at Alkali Ruin and habitation mounds, trash mounds, burial areas, and a prehistoric canal segment were noted at the Morocco Ruin. More recent work at these two sites, primarily on the fringes of areas that were mapped as containing substantial archaeological remains in the early 1900s, has identified a possible pithouse at Alkali Ruin, additional canal segments at the Morocco Ruin, and probable thermal features at both Alkali Ruin and the Morocco Ruin. Both sites are known to have contained human remains.

SWCA conducted test excavations in an area equivalent to approximately 1.5 percent of the portions of Alkali Ruin and the Morocco Ruin that are within the project area. Morocco Ruin contained nine prehistoric features reported in this report and 10 human burials to be documented in a separate report. Alkali Ruin contained two prehistoric and two historic features. The ceramics collected suggest a Classic period age for both sites. It appears that the majority of both sites were destroyed through agricultural activities and natural processes. SWCA recommends that data recovery be done on the features documented in the Morocco Ruin along the Cotton Lane right-of-way (ROW). No further work is recommended in the Alkali Ruin.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• SWCA DAHA Resources   •
• Digital Archive of Huhugam Archaeology (DAHA)

Keywords

Spatial Coverage

Individual & Institutional Roles

Contact(s): SWCA Environmental Consultants

Collaborator(s): Sonterra Partners

Sponsor(s): Due Diligence; Maricopa County Department of Transportation

Prepared By(s): SWCA Environmental Consultants

Submitted To(s): SD Construction

Record Identifiers

SWCA Project No.(s): 9208-031

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