Vanishing River: Attached Report: Petroglyphs in the Horseshoe Reservoir Area of the Lower Verde Valley, Central Arizona

Part of the Lower Verde Archaeological project

Author(s): Henry D. Wallace

Year: 1997

Summary

This report is focused on the rock art present at a small ridge top agricultural locality in the

lower Verde Valley near Horseshoe Dam known as the Crash Landing site, AZ U:2:78/01-278.

Four boulders that exhibited over 24 petroglyph design elements were found at this site, as well

as numerous other cultural features including a two-room isolated masonry field house and a large

agricultural complex with rock piles, contour terraces, and boundary walls.

The research design for the Lower Verde Archaeological Project (LVAP) (Ciolek-Torrello et al.

1992) presented three primary research questions pertaining to the rock art at the Crash Landing

site:

1. Can the petroglyphs be characterized according to a specific known style or tradition of

petroglyph art?

2. Can the petroglyphs be provisionally dated?

3. What is the context of the petroglyphs? That is, what are the locational, archaeological, and

environmental parameters?

In addition to the desire to classify the rock art, the research design focuses on the issue of

cultural affiliation. Who made the petroglyphs? Can the styles present provide the necessary clues

to help elucidate this issue? This report will document the rock art at the Crash Landing site, and

discuss it in relationship to rock art reported elsewhere in southern and central Arizona.

Discussion of three other nearby rock art sites — Horseshoe Mesa (AZ U:2:27/01-187), AZ

U:2:96/01-259, and AZ U:2:188/01-73 — is also provided to help assess rock art in the study area

and how it may bear on issues of cultural identity and rock art function.

Cite this Record

Vanishing River: Attached Report: Petroglyphs in the Horseshoe Reservoir Area of the Lower Verde Valley, Central Arizona. Henry D. Wallace. In Vanishing River: Landscapes and Lives of the Lower Verde Valley: The Lower Verde Archaeological Project. Pp. 1-32. Tucson, AZ: Statistical Research, Inc. Press (Tucson, AZ). 1997 ( tDAR id: 372155) ; doi:10.6067/XCV8KP80N0

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Keywords

Culture
Hohokam • Salado • Sinagua

Site Name
01-259 • 01-73 • AZ U:2:188 • AZ U:2:96 • Crash Landing Site (01-278) • Crash Landing Site (AZ U:2:78) • Horseshoe Mesa (01-259) • Horseshoe Mesa (AZ U:2:96)

Site Type
Agricultural Field or Field Feature • Agricultural or Herding • Archaeological Feature • Artifact Scatter • Domestic Structure or Architectural Complex • Domestic Structures • Funerary and Burial Structures or Features • Hamlet / Village • Petroglyph • Pit House / Earth Lodge • Resource Extraction / Production / Transportation Structure or Features • Rock Alignment • Rock Art • Room Block / Compound / Pueblo • Settlements • Shade Structure / Ramada • Water Control Feature

Investigation Types
Methodology, Theory, or Synthesis • Reconnaissance / Survey • Site Evaluation / Testing • Systematic Survey

Geographic Keywords
Central Arizona • lower Verde River

Temporal Keywords
Hohokam Early Classic period • Hohokam Late Classic period

Spatial Coverage

min long: -111.845; min lat: 33.804 ; max long: -111.591; max lat: 34.082 ;

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