Theodore Roosevelt Dam: Roosevelt Community Development Study

The Roosevelt Community Development Study (RCD) was one of three data recovery mitigative studies that the Bureau of Reclamation funded to investigate the prehistory of the Tonto Basin in the vicinity of Theodore Roosevelt Dam. The series of investigations constituted Reclamation's program for complying with historic preservation legislation as it applied to the raising and modification of Theodore Roosevelt Dam. Reclamation contracted with Desert Archaeology, Inc. to complete the research for this investigation. As specified by the Bureau of Reclamation, the RCD was designed to investigate the temporal and developmental sequence of the prehistoric populations within the project area.

Desert Archaeology's work under the RCD involved the testing and excavation of 27 sites in the Lower Tonto Basin of central Arizona. To meet project goals, Desert Archaeology intensively examined 6 sites through full-scale excavation, and gathered an extensive data set on the remaining 21 sites.

Project results are reported in a series that consists of four sets of report volumes: the Center for Desert Archaeology's Anthropological Papers No. 12, 13, and 14. Anthropological Papers No. 12 is a single report volume entitled Research Design for the Roosevelt Community Development Study. Anthropological Papers No. 13 consists of two reports. These reports present project background and provide descriptive information on the excavation and testing of sites in the project area. They includes site and feature descriptions, site and feature maps, general artifact data, and preliminary interpretations of individual sites. Volume 1: Introduction and Small Sites discusses the project and describes work at the small sites in the project area. Volume 2: Meddler Point, Griffin Wash and Pyramid Point Sites describes investigations at the large villages. Oversized maps of the Meddler Point are published in a separate bound map supplement. Anthropological Papers No. 14 includes three report volumes that describe artifact data and specialized analyses. Volume 1: Stone and Shell Artifact Analyses, Volume 2: Ceramic Chronology, Technology, and Economics, and Volume 3: Paleobotanical and Osteological Analyses discuss the material results and analyses that were part of the RCD. Finally, Anthropological Papers No. 15 is a single report that concludes the RCD series. The Roosevelt Community Development Study: New Perspectives on Tonto Basin Prehistory integrates the RCD data to provide a more inclusive view of the prehistoric occupation of the RCD project area and the Tonto Basin.