Legacies on the Landscape

Part of: Existing tDAR Resources

Legacies on the Landscape was a collaborative, interdisciplinary project led by Arizona State University from 2004 to 2016. Working closely with the U.S. Bureau of Land Management and the U.S. Forest Service, the Legacies project undertook archaeological and ecological research at a number of prehistoric sites in the Perry Mesa region of central Arizona. Studies were focused on understanding the long-term human impacts on the landscape. The project's research area fell largely within the Agua Fria National Monument and Tonto National Forest.

Site Name Keywords
Perry Mesa

Site Type Keywords
Domestic Structure or Architectural Complex • Resource Extraction / Production / Transportation Structure or Features • Funerary and Burial Structures or Features • Non-Domestic Structures • Archaeological Feature • Rock Art • Water-Related • racetrack

Other Keywords
racetracks, race tracks, racing, ritual, religion

Culture Keywords
Ancestral Puebloan • Hohokam • Perry Mesa Tradition • Mogollon

Investigation Types
Architectural Survey • Methodology, Theory, or Synthesis • Systematic Survey • Consultation • Reconnaissance / Survey • Site Evaluation / Testing • Site Stabilization • Ethnographic Research • Architectural Documentation • Ethnohistoric Research

Material Types
Ceramic • Chipped Stone • Dating Sample • Fire Cracked Rock • Ground Stone • Building Materials

Temporal Keywords
Pueblo IV • Perry Mesa Tradition • Pueblo III • Early Postclassic • Late Postclassic

Geographic Keywords
Perry Mesa • Agua Fria National Monument • Yavapai County (County) • Arizona (State / Territory) • United States of America (Country) • North America (Continent) • USA (Country) • Tonto National Forest • Agua Fria River • Maricopa County (County)

Resources Inside This Collection (Viewing 101-145 of 145)

Pueblo la Pato Agave Analysis (2005)
DOCUMENT Full-Text Legacies on the Landscape Project, Arizona State University.
A data table pertaining to 100 agave plants at Pato Pueblo, Perry Mesa.
Pueblo la Plata Agave Analysis (2005)
DOCUMENT Full-Text Legacies on the Landscape Project, Arizona State University.
A data table pertaining to 231 agave plants at Pueblo la Plata, Perry Mesa.
Pueblo La Plata Site 1 Agave Data, with Means and Medians (2005)
DATASET Legacies on the Landscape Project, Arizona State University.
Measurements taken from agave plants at Pueblo la Plata, Site 1, Perry Mesa.
Pueblo La Plata Site 2 Agave Data, with Means and Medians (2005)
DATASET Legacies on the Landscape Project, Arizona State University.
Measurements taken from agave plants at Pueblo la Plata, Site 2, Perry Mesa.
Pueblo la Plata Site 3 Agave Data, with Means and Medians (2005)
DATASET Legacies on the Landscape Project, Arizona State University.
Measurements taken from agave plants at Pueblo la Plata, Site 3, Perry Mesa.
Pueblo la Plata Site 4 Agave Data, with Means and Medians (2006)
DATASET Legacies on the Landscape Project, Arizona State University.
Measurements taken from agave plants at Pueblo la Plata, Site 4, Perry Mesa.
The Racetrack Project
PROJECT Will Russell. Katherine Spielmann. David Abbott. Arizona State University (ASU).
Between A.D. 1250 and 1450, a large number of ceremonial racetracks were built at and between villages in north-central Arizona. This assemblage began as a relatively dispersed collection, stretching from the Sedona area down to Cave Creek and from the Bradshaw Mountains to the Mazatzal Wilderness. Over time, the racetrack network grew in intensity but became spatially focused atop Perry Mesa, along the middle Agua Fria River. In conjunction with the Legacies on the Landscape Project and...
References for the Agua Fria National Monument Area (2012)
DOCUMENT Full-Text Legacies on the Landscape Project, Arizona State University.
Bibliographic references for research in the Agua Fria National Monument area
Report of the 2007 Archaeological Survey of Northwestern Portions of Perry Mesa within the Agua Fria National Monument, Yavapai County, Arizona (2005)
DOCUMENT Full-Text Melissa Kruse-Peeples. Will Russell. Hoski Schaafsma. Colleen Strawhacker. JoAnn Wallace.
In the Spring and Summer of 2007 Arizona State University (ASU) conducted pedestrian survey of approximately 300 hectares of the northwestern portion of Perry Mesa region in Yavapai County, Arizona. All survey areas were located within the Agua Fria National Monument (AFNM) managed by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM). All survey areas and located archaeological features are within the Perry Mesa National Register District. During this field season, archaeological survey efforts were focused...
Report of the Spring 2005 Field Season (2005)
DOCUMENT Full-Text Melissa Kruse-Peeples. John Briggs. Katie Johnson. Leshana Leslie. Todd Passick. Angela Ruggles. Hoski Shaafsma. Karen Schollmeyer.
The document begins with an overview of the Legacies Project spring 2005 fieldwork. Subsequent chapters include: Agave Types and Distributions, Agricultural Impacts on Soil Compaction and and Settlement Size at Agua Fria National Monument, Legacy Effects on Herbaceous Plants on Agua Fria National Monument, Transect Survey Report at Richinbar, Architectural Studies at Richinbar Ruin, and an Agricultural Site Survey.
Report of the Spring 2005 Field Season: Legacies on the Landscape: Archaeological and Ecological Research at Agua Fria National Monument (2005)
DOCUMENT Full-Text Katherine A. Spielmann. John Briggs. Katie Johnson. Melissa Kruse. Leshana Leslie. Todd Passick. Angela Ruggles. Hoski Schaafsma. Karen Schollmeyer.
The Legacies project is a long-term, collaborative research and teaching project between archaeology and ecology faculty and students at Arizona State University. The goal of the project is to document and understand the long-term ecological impacts of the prehistoric occupation of the semi-arid landscape of Agua Fria National Monument in central Arizona. The field research is organized through a seminar in which ecology and archaeology faculty jointly engage students in the collection and...
Report on the 2009 Legacies on the Landscape BLM Scope of Work (2009)
DOCUMENT Full-Text David Abbott. Sophia Kelly. Melissa Kruse-Peeples. Dana Nakase. Katherine Spielmann.
Report on the 2009 Legacies on the Landscape BLM Scope of Work
Richinbar Agave Analysis (2005)
DOCUMENT Full-Text Legacies on the Landscape Project, Arizona State University.
A data table pertaining to 75 agave plants at Richinbar Ruin, Black Mesa.
Richinbar Ruin Agave Data, with Means and Medians (2005)
DATASET Legacies on the Landscape Project, Arizona State University.
Measurements taken from agave plants at Richinbar Ruin, Black Mesa.
Rock and Artifact Data from Transects at Pueblo la Plata (2004)
DATASET Legacies on the Landscape Project, Arizona State University.
Rock and Artifact Data from Transects at Pueblo la Plata
Rock and Artifact Data from Transects at Richinbar Ruin (2004)
DATASET Legacies on the Landscape Project, Arizona State University.
Rock and Artifact Data from Transects at Richinbar Ruin
Rocks in Space (2004)
DOCUMENT Full-Text Steven Metzger.
Data tables pertaining to rock coverage along transects at Pueblo la Plata, Perry Mesa
Satellite Image of Perry Mesa, Showing Locations of Pueblo la Plata, Pueblo Pato, and Richinbar Ruin (2005)
IMAGE Legacies on the Landscape Project, Arizona State University.
Satellite Image of Perry Mesa, Showing Locations of Pueblo la Plata, Pueblo Pato, and Richinbar Ruin
Seasonality and Ecosystem Response in Two Prehistoric Agricultural Regions of Central Arizona (2011)
DOCUMENT Full-Text Jolene Trujillo.
Around the globe, prehistoric agriculture has impacted the environment in ways that are observable today. Prehistoric farmers in the Southwestern US modified the landscape with rock alignments to support rain fed agriculture in this semi-arid region. Numerous studies have shown that former agricultural fields are ecologically different than areas that have not been farmed. This thesis explores the independent effects of the manipulation of rocks into alignments, prehistoric farming, and season...
Series of Plan Maps Showing Construction Episodes at Pueblo la Plata (2005)
IMAGE Sara Mapes.
Series of plan maps showing construction episodes at Pueblo la Plata
Small Site Analysis in the Southwest: A Comparative Analysis of Two Communities on Perry Mesa, Arizona (2007)
DOCUMENT Full-Text Colleen Strawhacker.
Landscapes across the American Southwest are littered with prehistoric structures of less than 10 rooms used for a variety of functions – from seasonal field houses, to storage, to year-long residences, to boundary markers. These structures, while largely ignored in much of the archaeological literature, can provide information on the human impact across an entire landscape, instead of simply focusing on the pueblo itself or on the agricultural fields. How, then, can these small architectural...
Soil Compaction Data from Pueblo la Plata, Pueblo Pato, and Richinbar Ruin (2004)
DATASET Legacies on the Landscape Project, Arizona State University.
Soil Compaction Data from Pueblo la Plata, Pueblo Pato, and Richinbar Ruin
Soil Sediment Data from Pueblo la Plata, Pueblo Pato, and Richinbar Ruin (2004)
DATASET Legacies on the Landscape Project, Arizona State University.
Soil Sediment Data from Pueblo la Plata, Pueblo Pato, and Richinbar Ruin
Soils Data from Excavations at Site 04-761 (Note: UTM Coordinates are Incorrect) (2004)
DATASET Legacies on the Landscape Project, Arizona State University.
Soils Data from Excavations at Site 04-761 (Note: UTM Coordinates are Incorrect)
A Spatial Analysis of the Level of Constructedness of the Small Sites around Pueblo la Plata and Pueblo Pato (2007)
DOCUMENT Full-Text Colleen Strawhacker.
The level of constructedness of archaeological sites can provide insight into the amount of planning, labor and time invested into building structures. Further understanding into the time, labor and planning invested into architecture can allow for inferences to made on the residential mobility of the population, intensity of surrounding land use and social importance assigned to each pueblo (Cameron 1999). This paper will explore and compare the architectural constructedness of small sites...
Spring 2004 Architecture Studies at Pueblo La Plata (2004)
DOCUMENT Full-Text Karen Schollmeyer.
Studies of the architecture of Pueblo La Plata, particularly room construction sequences, formed one component of the Legacies on the Landscape project research in 2004. The goals of this portion of the project were to improve our understanding of how the pueblo was built, and to gain a sense of population size and changes over time. In particular, we wished to determine whether a sizeable core area of rooms (representing the first construction phase of the pueblo) was visible, and whether the...
Summary of Extant Collections from Excavations on the Agua Fria National Monument (2012)
DOCUMENT Full-Text Legacies on the Landscape Project, Arizona State University.
Basic data concerning collections from excavations by various projects on the Agua Fria National Monument
Topographic Map of Agricultural Areas and Units on Control Mesa (2008)
IMAGE Melissa Kruse-Peeples.
Topographic map of agricultural areas and units on Control Mesa, which is the interfluve south of Pueblo la Plata
Topographic Map of Agricultural Units on Control Mesa (2008)
IMAGE Melissa Kruse-Peeples.
Topographic map of agricultural units on Control Mesa, which is the interfluve south of Pueblo la Plata
Topographic Map of Pueblo Pato, Outlying Structures, and Survey Boundary (2008)
IMAGE Legacies on the Landscape Project, Arizona State University.
Topographic Map of Pueblo Pato, Outlying Structures, and Survey Boundary
Topographic Map of Recorded Archaeological Sites Adjacent to Bull Tank Farm (2008)
IMAGE Melissa Kruse-Peeples.
Topographic map section showing Bull Tank Farm as well as archaeological sites that had previously been recorded in the immediate area
Topographic Map of Survey Locations Adjacent to Pueblo la Plata, Control Mesa, Bull Tank Farm/Fortified Garden, and Pueblo Pato (2008)
IMAGE Legacies on the Landscape Project, Arizona State University.
Topographic Map of Survey Locations Adjacent to Pueblo la Plata, Control Mesa, Bull Tank Farm/Fortified Garden, and Pueblo Pato
Topographic Map of Survey Locations within the Agua Fria National Monument (2009)
IMAGE Legacies on the Landscape Project, Arizona State University.
Topographic Map of Survey Locations within the Agua Fria National Monument
Topographic Map Showing 2004 Survey Transects near Pueblo la Plata and on Control Mesa (2004)
IMAGE Legacies on the Landscape Project, Arizona State University.
Topographic Map Showing 2004 Survey Transects near Pueblo la Plata and on Control Mesa
Topographic Map Showing 2005 Transects Adjacent to Richinbar Ruin (2005)
IMAGE Legacies on the Landscape Project, Arizona State University.
Topographic Map Showing 2005 Transects Adjacent to Richinbar Ruin
Topographic Map Showing Agave Fields near Pueblo la Plata (2005)
IMAGE Legacies on the Landscape Project, Arizona State University.
Topographic Map Showing Agave Fields near Pueblo la Plata
Topographic Map Showing Results of 2007 Survey of Control Mesa (2007)
IMAGE Melissa Kruse-Peeples.
Topographic map showing results of 2007 survey on Control Mesa, which is the interfluve south of Pueblo la Plata
Toward Common Ground: Racing as an Integrative Strategy in Prehistoric Central Arizona (2011)
DOCUMENT Full-Text Will Russell. Hoski Schaafsma. Katherine Spielmann.
Throughout the Southwestern United States and Mesoamerica, indigenous peoples have used running and racing as means of religious expression, environmental control, personal sacriﬁ ce, and community cohesion. In such contexts , the physical location of racing w as often unimportant, and manufactured facilities were relatively rare. In the Perry Mesa region of Central Arizona, ho wever, constructed racetracks were highly formalized and elaborated. Along with their associated plazas, they represent...
Wall Orientation for Outlying Structures at Pueblo la Plata (2007)
IMAGE Will Russell.
When project personnel recorded the outlying structures at Pueblo la Plata, reference was made to walls running "north/south" and walls running "east/west". This graph illustrates the variability in precise wall orientation, with black arrows corresponding with walls running "north/south" and red arrows corresponding with walls running "east/west". Results suggest there was no consistent attempt to orient outlying structures to the cardinal directions.
The Walls Still Stand: Reconstructing Population at Pueblo la Plata (2005)
DOCUMENT Full-Text Sara Mapes.
The Agua Fria National Monument, a 71,000-acre parcel of land encompassing two mesas and a river valley, is a region rich with human prehistory. The landscape is freckled with sites dating to the 13th and 14th centuries, ranging in size from a single agricultural field to pueblos of one hundred or more rooms. One particular Pueblo, Pueblo La Plata, was the focus of my research as I attempted to reconstruct its changing population through the remains of its residential structure.
Woody Plant Data Collected from Transects at Richinbar Ruin (2004)
DATASET Legacies on the Landscape Project, Arizona State University.
Woody Plant Data Collected from Transects at Richinbar Ruin
Woody Plant Frequency Data from Transects at Pueblo la Plata (2004)
DATASET Legacies on the Landscape Project, Arizona State University.
Woody Plant Frequency Data from Transects at Pueblo la Plata
Woody Plant Morphological Data from Transects at Pueblo la Plata (2004)
DATASET Legacies on the Landscape Project, Arizona State University.
Woody Plant Morphological Data from Transects at Pueblo la Plata
Woody Species Diversity (2005)
IMAGE Legacies on the Landscape Project, Arizona State University.
Graph showing woody species diversity along several pedestrian survey transects at Richinbar Ruin (Black Mesa)
Woody Vegetation Expansion in a Desert Grassland: Prehistoric Human Impact? (2007)
DOCUMENT Full-Text John Briggs. Hoski Schaafsma. Demitar Trenkov.
Woody plant encroachment into grasslands and savannas is a global phenomenon with undisputed environmental and economic consequences. In central Arizona, the location of our study, it is well known that mesquite, juniper, and cacti account for the majority of the woody plant expansion into arid grasslands. Using aerial photographs (1940 and 2001), we quantiﬁed an increase in woody vegetation in this area. We estimated that from 1940 to 2001, the amount of woody vegetation at our study site...