Tucson Basin (Geographic Keyword)

DOCUMENT Full-Text Jeffrey Altschul. Martin R. Rose.

During the course of the San Xavier Archaeological Project over 18 square miles in the southern Tucson Basin were intensively surveyed. This work resulted in the recording of 150 sites, of which 147 contained components dated to either the prehistoric or protohistoric periods. In a previous study (Altschul and Rose, Statistical Research Technical Series 3) block cluster analysis was used to derive a site classification. Each site with a prehistoric and/or protohistoric component was classified...

DOCUMENT Full-Text Mark Slaughter. Heidi Roberts.

This volume summarizes data recovered from the Gibbon Springs site, AZ BB:9:50 (ASM), located in the northeastern Tucson Basin. This large Classic period site had a central compound surrounded by houses. Data and materials were obtained from 24 structures and hundreds of other features (e.g., pits, cremations, middens). Materials from Gibbon Springs suggest that either a non-indigenous population inhabited the site or there was another social arrangement between the Tucson Basin Hohokam and...

DOCUMENT Full-Text Michael W. Lindeman.

This report details archaeological investigations at AZ BB:13:74 (ASM), a Middle Rincon phase (A.D. 1000¬ 1100) hamlet. The excavations discussed in this report are part of a larger project related to the expansion of the Desert Vista Campus, Pima Community Colleges. The other portion of this project focused on the site of Valencia Vieja (AZ BB:13:15 [ASM]), a large Tortolita phase village located south and west of BB:13:74. The results of those excavations are reported in a separate volume...

DOCUMENT Full-Text Michael W. Lindeman.

This report details the results of excavations at the Sunset Mesa Ruin, AZ AA:12:10 (ASM). The predominant occupation of Sunset Mesa Ruin was during the Middle Rincon phase (A.D. 1000-1100). However, limited use of the area was identified during the Early Agricultural period (800 B.C.-A.D. 100) and the later Tucson phase (A.D. 1300-1450). Evidence of Historic period use, first as a turn-of-the-century homestead and later as a dairy, has also been documented (Ciolek-Torrello, Huber, and Neily...

DOCUMENT Full-Text Michael W. Lindeman.

The slopes of the Avra Valley, lacking perennial water sources, would seem an unlikely place for a large prehistoric community. Yet during the Hohokam Colonial period (ca. A.D. 750-950), a community sprang up along the western slopes of the Tucson Mountains. Centered on the ballcourt village of Water World, AZ AA:16:94 (ASM), numerous households thrived in the area, both in the primary village and in outlying farmsteads (Czaplicki and Ravesloot 1988, 1989a, 1989b, 1989c; Dart 1994; Downum et....

DOCUMENT Full-Text Uploaded by: Rachel Fernandez

The Southern Avra Valley Storage and Recovery Project (SAVSARP) project examined three sites, AZ AA:16:312 (ASM), AZ AA:16:468 (ASM), and AZ AA:16:469 (ASM), and a non-site artifact concentration, Locality A, on the floor of the Avra Valley. The surface manifestations of the sites mirrored those of other sites in the valley bottom, low-density artifact scatters covering broad expanses. Locales of higher artifact density were defined as archaeological sites, but surface artifacts continued...

DOCUMENT Full-Text Gary Huckleberry. Michael W. Lindeman.

In this document, the results of data recovery at AZ BB:13:794 (ASM) are reported. The work was done prior to construction by Pima County of a paved multiuse path along the western bank of the Santa Cruz River. BB:13:794 was recommended to be eligible for inclusion in the National Register of Historic Places (National Register) under Criterion D, based on the potential of Feature 32 to yield significant information about prehistoric irrigation and farming in the Santa Cruz floodplain....

DOCUMENT Full-Text J. Homer Thiel.

What lies beneath the vacant lots of the Barrio Libre? This old barrio lies on the south side of the downtown core of Tucson and has been occupied as a primarily Mexican- American neighborhood for 100 years. During the Historic period, the Barrio Libre has been home to thousands of people, many of whom have left behind the physical traces of their lives in the form of architectural remains and artifacts. Archaeological excavations of homes, businesses, and the trash created and disposed of by...

DOCUMENT Full-Text Michael W. Diehl.

The City of Tucson is considering plans to develop the Rio Nuevo South property, a roughly 36-acre parcel of land located along the west bank of the Santa Cruz River near the downtown area. Although the parcel is presently vacant, archaeological testing and historic document research indicate that it was first used around 1000 B.C., and that its use continued intermittently through the present day. Based on the results of preliminary testing (Ahlstrom et al. 1994; Elson and Doelle 1987; Thiel...

DOCUMENT Full-Text Stacy L. Ryan.

This report presents descriptions of features excavated during the 1998 investigations at the Central Cluster locus of the Los Pozos site, which was occupied during the Late Cienega phase (circa 400 B.C.-A.D. 50) of the Early Agricultural period. The project was conducted for the Arizona Department of Transportation (ADOT Contract 94-46) for the Interstate 10 Corridor Improvement project. Features were identified during the testing phase of the project and subsequently excavated by Desert...

DOCUMENT Full-Text C. Vance Haynes, Jr.. Bruce B. Huckell.

As part of the Santa Cruz Industrial Park Project, the City of Tucson planned to bridge and stabilize the banks of a large, deeply entrenched wash that flows into the Santa Cruz River approximately one-quarter mile south of Irvington Road on the right bank of the river. Airport Wash, as it is called, has cut deeply into the ancient sediments filling the valley at this point, exposing a long record of late Pleistocene and Holocene alluvium. Earlier examinations by archaeologists in the mid- to...

DOCUMENT Full-Text Uploaded by: Rachel Fernandez

Archaeological data recovery at the Gibbon's Ranch site (AZ BB:9:275 [ASM]) was the final phase of studies conducted by SWCA for Canoa Homes and Sunchase Holdings. The work was required to fulfill stipulations of Section 404 permitting (under the Clean Waters Act) and for a Pima County grading permit. Richard Perry of the Corps of Engineers, Los Angeles District, managed the 404 permit application and Linda Mayro, Pima County Archaeologist, oversaw archaeological documentation for the Pima...

DOCUMENT Full-Text Annick Lascaux.

On August 5 and August 6, 2002, two archaeologists from SWCA Inc., Environmental Consultants, conducted archaeological testing at AZ AA:12:679 (ASM) which was located on privately owned land in Marana, Arizona. The land will be part of a housing development by Gladden Farms L.L.C. and all work was conducted under contract with Hallcraft Homes. Under Town of Marana regulations concerning the treatment of cultural resources, archaeological investigations were required to determine the nature of...

DOCUMENT Full-Text William H. Doelle. Henry Wallace.

The intensive archaeological survey of over 18 square miles of the San Xavier Indian Reservation has produced a substantial body of new data regarding prehistoric utilization of this portion of the Tucson Basin. In this chapter a subset of the San Xavier Project data base is utilized to examine stability and change in the prehistoric settlement patterns within the study area. There are three major goals for the present study. The first goal is to describe the analysis methods employed. The...

DOCUMENT Full-Text J. Homer Thiel.

Archaeological testing was conducted at the Salvation Army property. Work identified 20 graves within the Improved Order of Red Men plot in the Court Street Cemetery, as well as eight prehistoric features. A portion of the property contained a single prehistoric pit and no Compliance Summary Page iii human burials. The pit was sampled. The area tested on the eastern side contained 20 graves from the Improved Order of Red Men plot, present in two separate clusters of 10 burials. Two pit houses...

DOCUMENT Full-Text Uploaded by: Rachel Fernandez

This volume presents data from large-scale archaeological excavations at the prehistoric site of Las Capas, AZ AA:12:111 (ASM). Data recovery was conducted by Desert Archaeology, Inc. and included investigations at both the site itself and a well-developed associated canal, AZ AA:12:753 (ASM), and agricultural field system. An Arizona Antiquities Act permit was obtained, as Pima County, the sponsoring agency, is a subdivision of the state and, as such, is subject to the Arizona Antiquites Act....

DOCUMENT Full-Text Jonathan B. Mabry.

As part of the archaeological mitigation program of the Arizona Department of Transportation's Interstate 10 Frontage Roads Project, the well-preserved remains of an early agricultural village were found buried in the floodplain of the Santa Cruz River during preliminary archaeological investigations at site AZ AA:12:746 (ASM) in 1993. A total of 32 prehistoric cultural features were identified, including 13 pithouses, 1 possible pithouse, 10 roasting pits, 1 trash pit, and 6 concentrations of...

DOCUMENT Full-Text Sam Baar.

Between January 24 and 30, 1996, archaeologists Sam Baar, Rob Ciaccio, Allison Cohen, and Jon Shumaker of Desert Archaeology, Inc., conducted testing of the parcel of land. The archaeological testing was requested by the Arizona Department of Transportation (ADOT) to determine if any subsurface cultural resources would be impacted by the construction of a new interstate on-ramp and was carried out under the Arizona Department of Transportation Blanket Permit No. 71343. Specifically, previous...

DOCUMENT Full-Text David A. Gregory.

The project discussed in this report is part of the Arizona Department of Transportation (ADOT) Improvement Plan for the entire Interstate 10 corridor. A general plan for treatment of cultural resources potentially affected by the overall project has been developed by Desert Archaeology, including a project-wide research design (Mabry 1993a). Ultimately, ADOT plans to construct new frontage roads along both sides of the 1-10 freeway alignment. The current project includes the east side frontage...

DOCUMENT Full-Text Timothy W. Jones. Masa Tani. Kathy Cisco. Wilson Hughes.

Two primarily historic period sites were tested within the 1-10 corridor improvement right-of- way. The Embankment site, AZ BB:13:159 (ASM), is literally eroding out of the 1-10 embankment on the east side of the interstate. It was found to contain a basalt foundation with a possible preserved basement, and it may be the remains of a historic habitation. The El Dumpé site, AZ BB:13:110 (ASM), is a large mounded trash deposit located on both sides of the interstate, dating from the 1930s through...

DOCUMENT Full-Text Bruce B. Huckell. Lisa W. Huckell. Suzanne K. Fish.

This report presents the results of archaeological excavations undertaken as part of a land exchange between Pima County and Magna Investment and Development, Ltd. A portion of this right-of-way included a prehistoric archaeological site known as Milagro (AZ BB:10:46), parts of which had been investigated previously. Pima County indicated that prior to completion of the land exchange, archaeological investigations must be performed along the route of a proposed sewer line, and the cutting of a...

DOCUMENT Full-Text Gregory J. Whitney. George L. Tinseth. Barry Price-Steinbrecher. Jessica M. Smith. Robert J. Sinensky.

Field methods and extramural feature descriptions are presented in this report from archaeological investigations at the prehistoric site of Las Capas, AZ AA:12:111 (ASM), situated in the Tucson Basin of southern Arizona. Testing and data recovery excavations at Las Capas were conducted by Desert Archaeology, Inc., from August 2008 through September 2009, with smaller phases of fieldwork in 2012 and 2013, as part of Pima County's Regional Wastewater Reclamation Department Regional Optimization...

DOCUMENT Full-Text Jenny L. Adams. Joyce Skeldon Rychener. Allen J. Denoyer.

In this report, experimental ground stone and maize processing experiments are described. These experiments stem from archaeological investigations at the prehistoric site of Las Capas, AZ AA:12:111 (ASM), situated in the Tucson Basin of southern Arizona. Testing and data recovery excavations at Las Capas were conducted by Desert Archaeology, Inc., from August 2008 through September 2009, with smaller phases of fieldwork in 2012 and 2013, as part of Pima County's Regional Wastewater Reclamation...

DOCUMENT Full-Text Robert J. Sinensky. Jessica M. Smith. Barry Price-Steinbrecher. George L. Tinseth.

House and extramural feature descriptions from archaeological investigations at the prehistoric site of Las Capas, AZ AA:12:111 (ASM), situated in the Tucson Basin of southern Arizona, are provided in this report. Testing and data recovery excavations at Las Capas were conducted by Desert Archaeology, Inc., from August 2008 through September 2009, with smaller phases of fieldwork in 2012 and 2013, as part of Pima County's Regional Wastewater Reclamation Department Regional Optimization Master...

DOCUMENT Full-Text Tyler S. Theriot. Catherine B. Gilman.

In this report, maps are provided from archaeological investigations at the prehistoric site of Las Capas, situated in the Tucson Basin of southern Arizona. Testing and data recovery excavations at Las Capas were conducted by Desert Archaeology, Inc., from August 2008 through September 2009, with smaller phases of fieldwork in 2012 and 2013, as part of Pima County's Regional Wastewater Reclamation Department Regional Optimization Master Plan (ROMP). This massive project involved major upgrades...