Tucson Basin (Geographic Keyword)
Tucson, Basin , Tucson Basin, Arizona
176-200 (263 Records)
Burial assemblage 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 Plan (ROMP)....
Las Capas: Early Irrigation and Sedentism in a Southwestern Floodplain (2008)
In 1998, Desert Archaeology, Inc., personnel conducted archaeological data recovery fieldwork at the request of the Arizona Department of Transportation (ADOT) for a redesigned on-ramp to the Interstate 10 (I-10) highway in the western Tucson Basin, southern Arizona. The investigated areas were within the boundaries of Las Capas, AZ AA:12:111 (ASM), a 50-hectare (123-acre) stratified site buried in the former floodplain of the Santa Cruz River. Radiocarbon dates from 46 samples of maize and...
A Late Archaic Occupation at AZ AA:12:105 (ASM) (1990)
In August, 1990, archaeologists from Desert Archaeology, Inc. monitored the excavation of a water pipeline trench through the northeastern edge of a multiple-occupation archaeological site sitting upon and buried within an alluvial fan at the western edge of the Santa Cruz River terrace. Several prehistoric cultural features in a buried occupation horizon were identified. Mesquite wood charcoal from the floor of a pithouse yielded a conventional radiocarbon date of 3040 ± 1 1 0 B.P. (radiocarbon...
Letter Report: Archaeological Survey of 20 acres in the Old Fort Lowell Neighborhood (1984)
Letter report from the Institute for American Research to Cella Barr Associates detailing the completion of archaeological survey of 20 acres in the Old Fort Lowell Neighborhood, on March 26, 1984. The entire project area had been previously developed for agricultural purposes. These land modifications included land grading, plowing and cultivation of fields, construction of water ditches, a reservoir, three houses, a horse barn, two silage pits, silos, and corrals. As a result of the...
Life in the Foothills: Archaeological Investigations in the Tortolita Mountains of Southern Arizona (2008)
The Dove Mountain sites are situated on the southern flanks of the Tortolita Mountains in the northern Tucson Basin. The parcel is bounded by Cochie Canyon on the west and contains Wild Burro Canyon and Ruelas Canyon within its boundaries. The project was conducted for Cottonwood Properties prior to residential development. Thirty-three sites were investigated during one of three testing and data recovery phases. An additional 15 sites were recorded, although no additional archaeological...
Life in the Valley of Gold: Archaeological Investigations at Honey Bee Village, a Prehistoric Hohokam Ballcourt Village Part 1 (2012)
Approximately 61 percent (74 percent if only the extant portions of the site are considered) of the 60.5-acre Hohokam settlement known as Honey Bee Village, AZ BB:9:88 (ASM) (Arizona State Museum site files designation) was mechanically tested and horizontally exposed during excavations in 2006-2007 by Desert Archaeology, Inc., under contract with Pima County and Rancho Vistoso Partners, LLC. Honey Bee Village is located in the Town of Oro Valley north of Tucson. The core of the village was...
Life in the Valley of Gold: Archaeological Investigations at Honey Bee Village, a Prehistoric Hohokam Ballcourt Village Part 2 (2012)
Approximately 61 percent (74 percent if only the extant portions of the site are considered) of the 60.5-acre Hohokam settlement known as Honey Bee Village, AZ BB:9:88 (ASM) (Arizona State Museum site files designation) was mechanically tested and horizontally exposed during excavations in 2006-2007 by Desert Archaeology, Inc., under contract with Pima County and Rancho Vistoso Partners, LLC. Honey Bee Village is located in the Town of Oro Valley north of Tucson. The core of the village was...
Limited Archaeological Testing at Site AZ EE:2:50 In the Pima County Cienega Creek Preserve, Arizona (1996)
Between December 1 and 13, 1995, SWCA, Inc., Environmental Consultants (SWCA), conducted archaeological monitoring on a 9.7-ha (24-acre) parcel of land in the Pima County Cienega Creek Preserve. The Pima County Flood Control District, which administers the preserve, proposes to restore the mesquite bosque and sacaton plant communities that formerly dominated the parcel, in order to provide wildlife habitat. A grant (FWS No. 1448-00002-95-__) from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service will support...
Limited Excavation at the Eastern Margin of the Hodges Site (1996)
The excavations conducted on the fire station parcel for the Flowing Wells Fire District were situated on the eastern margin of the Hodges site, AZ AA:12:18 (ASM). During the testing phase, 24 features were identified in backhoe trenches, and the eastern boundary of the Hodges site, AZ AA:12:18 (ASM), was defined. The limited excavation phase focused solely on features that would be impacted by construction. Two pit-houses and two trash concentrations were excavated or sampled. Although the...
The Lower Verde Archaeological Project
The Lower Verde Archaeological Project (LVAP) was a four-year data recovery project conducted by Statistical Research, Inc. (SRI) in the lower Verde River region of central Arizona. The project was designed to mitigate any adverse effects to cultural resources from modifications to Horseshoe and Bartlett Dams. The Department of the Interior, Bureau of Reclamation, Arizona Project’s Office sponsored the research program in compliance with historic preservation legislation. The LVAP’s...
Maja Site: Archaeological Investigations at a Hohokam Ak-Chin Fieldhouse in the Southern Avra Valley, Arizona (1993)
This report details the excavation and analysis of the Maja Site (AZ AA:15:107 [ASM]), a Hohokam field house located on State Trust Land in the southern Avra Valley west of Tucson, Arizona. The site was completely excavated by SWCA, Inc., Environmental Consultants in December 1992 to mitigate impacts resulting from the construction and maintenance of a proposed transmission. Four cultural feature were identified, excavated, and recorded. Three features--a burned pit house, a roasting pit, and a...
Monitoring and Limited Data Recovery Results for the Construction of a Cellular Monopole Within the Boundaries of AZ BB:13:74 (ASM), Tucson, Pima County, Arizona (2004)
Monitoring within the boundary of AZ BB:13:74 (ASM) for the installation of a cellular monopole led to the discovery of a previously undocumented locus at the site. Subsurface features and artifact deposits were uncovered during the excavation of an electric line trench for the cellular monopole. Six features were identified in the trench-three pithouses, two possible pithouses, and a small pit. Test excavations were conducted in two of the pithouses, revealing artifacts and features dating to...
The Neighborhood 12 Data Recovery Project: Archaeological Investigations at AZ BB:9:148 (ASM), Oro Valley, Arizona (2000)
AZ BB:9:148 (ASM) was a Hohokam seasonal or temporary habitation and resource procurement and processing locale located in the northwestern Tucson Basin in the southern half of Neighborhood 12 of the Rancho Vistoso Property within the limits of the Town of Oro Valley, Arizona. Between August 25 and September 22, 1999, SWCA, Inc., Environmental Consultants conducted excavations at the site as a combined testing and data-recovery effort. Eighty-one features were identified during the project,...
On the Bajada: Archaeological Studies at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Tucson, Arizona (1993)
This report consists of three parts and documents Statistical Research, Inc.’s (SRI’s) work at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base (D-M AFB). Results of an intensive Class II archaeological survey of 4,675 acres at the base are presented in Part 1, Life Away from the River. The surveyed areas represent about 45 percent of the total air base and nearly 66 percent of all non-developed land at D-M AFB. Eight sites and 139 non-sites and isolated occurrences were recorded during the survey, ranging in age...
On the Banks of Big Wash: Archaeological Investigations at AZ BB:9:171 (ASM), Oro Valley, Arizona (2004)
A combined testing and data recovery program was undertaken by SWCA, Inc. between August 25 and September 22, 2000 at AZ BB:9:171 (ASM). Fourteen backhoe trenches totaling approximately 275 linear meters were cut during testing. Seventeen cultural features and six possible features were subsequently identified. Data recovery involved testing of all seven pithouses that were identified. This was followed by intensive excavation of four of the pithouses as well as four extramural features. The...
The Parque de Santa Cruz Project: Life on the Northern Margin of the Valencia Community (2009)
Prehistoric occupation of the Tucson Basin extends back at least 6,000 years. Not surprisingly, as a primary watercourse, the Santa Cruz River has been the focus of much of the prehistoric activity. Approximately 4,000 years ago, early agriculturalists began farming along the banks of the river, supplementing a diet composed primarily of wild foods. As agricultural technology developed, people built canals in the floodplain. The canals increased crop yields and reduced some of the risks...
The Petroglyphs of Black Mountain San Xavier Reservation, Arizona (1986)
During the portion of the San Xavier Survey which covered parts of Black Mountain, the petroglyphs reported by Fontana and others (1959) and Ferg (1979) were encountered, as were several new elements and localities. This report documents the petroglyphs found and provides limited interpretations of their significance, dating, and stylistic relationships to other petroglyphs in the Tucson area. Data gathered from the Black Mountain site (AA:16:12) contribute toward the development of a regional...
Petrographic and Qualitative Analysis of Tanque Verde Red-on-brown Sherds from the Northern Tucson Basin and Avra Valley (1995)
Ceramic vessels produced in the prehistoric southwest often contain abundant temper such as sand, disaggregated rock, and crushed sherd. Both sand and disaggregated rock tempers can be used as indicators of the provenance of archaeological ceramics when their geological sources are identified (Arnold 1985; Miksa 1995; Miksa and Heidke 1995; Schaller 1994; Shepard 1936, 1942). The goal of the present study is to identify the provenance of Tanque Verde Red-on-brown ceramics recovered from a...
Phase I Data Recovery at Eight Sites along the Estrella-Stockham Segment of the Union Pacific Railroad in Pima, Pinal, and Maricopa Counties, Arizona (2008)
The Union Pacific Railroad (UPRR) has planned a major construction effort within its 200-foot-wide right-of-way (ROW) throughout much of Arizona. The UPRR Sunset Accelerated Capacity Project includes construction of a second rail line running from Tucson (in Pima County) to Yuma (in Yuma County), as well as renovations to the existing line, such as construction of new bridges and culverts. A Section 404 permit requires that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) consider the cultural resources...
Phase I Data Recovery at the Villages of Tortolita, Town of Maraña, Pima County, Arizona (2007)
In April 2007, SWCA Environmental Consultants (SWCA) completed archaeological testing of seven sites on 1,896 acres of privately owned land for the proposed Villages of Tortolita development. The proposed development area is located north of the Town of Marana in Pima and Pinal counties. This testing was conducted that followed a treatment plan developed at the request of Mr. Shane Graser of TMR Investors, LLC. The total proposed Villages of Tortolita development area has been previously...
Phase II Data Recovery at AZ EE:1:145 (ASM), AZ EE:1:146 (ASM), and AZ EE:1:149 (ASM), Arizona School Facilities Board Property, Town of Sahuarita, Pima County, Arizona (2006)
Between July 18 and August 15, 2005, SWCA Environmental Consultants conducted Phase II archaeological data recovery at AZ EE:1:145 (ASM), AZ EE:1:146 (ASM), and AZ EE:1:149 (ASM), on the Arizona School Facilities Board (ASFB) property in Rancho Sahuarita, Town of Sahuarita, Pima County, Arizona. The project was conducted through a contractual agreement with ASFB and AMEC Earth & Environmental, Inc., and the Phase II data recovery work plan and subsequent analysis and reportage subject to review...
Phased Data Recovery in the Right-of-Way through the Tanque Verde Wash Site, AZ BB:13:68 (ASM), Tucson, Pima County, Arizona (2012)
The Road Improvement Project (City of Tucson Project No. 07 32) intersected a portion of the Tanque Verde Wash site located in the eastern Tucson Basin, Pima County, Arizona. The affected right-of-way was investigated with Phase 1 and Phase 2 data recovery projects. Archaeological monitoring in both the right-of-way and was conducted during subsurface construction activities within the site. Phased data recovery was conducted between May and June, 2011, while monitoring on an as needed basis...
The Pima County Archaeological Inventory Project (1988)
The Pima County Inventory Project was carried out by the Institute for American Research under a contract with the Arizona State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO). Three major tasks were called out in the original scope of work. They are briefly summarized here. 1. Compile all existing data on archaeological surveys and archaeological sites in Pima County. These data are to be plotted on USGS maps of Pima County, and any sites not already in AZSITE are to be coded on appropriate forms....
Pit House, Presidio, and Privy: 1,400 Years of Archaeology and History on Block 180, Tucson, Arizona (1997)
This report details the results of archival research and archaeological testing and data recovery on the historical Block 180 of the original townsite of Tucson. This work was conducted by Statistical Research, Inc., for the Pima County Facilities Management Department due to the planned construction of the Pima County Public Works Center and YMCA complex on the block. The investigations uncovered extensive evidence of human occupation of the block from the prehistoric Hohokam to the historical...
A Plan for Archaeological Testing along the A-Mountain Drainage System (1995)
The A-Mountain drainage system is being designed by Parsons Brinkerhoff, Inc., for the City of Tucson to alleviate flooding in the residential neighborhood between A-Mountain and the Santa Cruz River. As part of the planning process, Desert Archaeology, Inc., performed an archaeological survey and archival study of the parcel of land on which the drainage system will be placed (Thiel 1993a). On the basis of this preliminary work, Desert Archaeology recommended that an archaeological testing...