Archaeological Testing of Site AZ EE:9:91, Patagonia Lake State Park, South-Central Arizona

Author(s): Kurt Dongoske

Year: 1981

Summary

On June 8 and 9, 1981, Richard Ervin, Annick George, and Kurt Dongoske of the Arizona State Museum, Cultural Resource Management Section, conducted archaeological testing at AZ EE:9:91 (ASH). This work was done under contract with the Arizona State Parks (P.O. #S-81-02). Testing of AZ EE:9:91 was carried out to better determine the nature and extent of the site, and to aid in determining what impacts proposed campground development might have upon the site.

The site is at an elevation of approximately 3800-4000 feet and is in the Chihuahuan Desert Scrub life zone. On site vegetation is dominated by mesquite and various grasses. The site is located on the southeastern edge of Patagonia Lake and extends from the shore of the lake up to the first terrace of the canyon side. The first terrace, where the majority of the cultural material is located, is sparsely vegetated due to vehicle, pedestrian, and camping activities that have occurred over the past 10 or more years. The site is restricted to the area between a dirt road and the shore of Patagonia Lake, and extends approximately 70 m in an east-west direction.

Surface evidence of the site is moderate, and is comprised primarily of lithic material (see surface collection material list). The highest density of cultural material appears to be concentrated in the water drainage areas. This may be the result of secondary deposition during periods of runoff, or exposure of the buried cultural material resulting from runoff erosion.

The site was surface collected using 2 m wide transects spaced 20 m apart with Test Trench 1 as the base line for running transects north and south. Transect placement was determined by placing a meter tape along Trench 1 across the site, starting at the west end of the site, moving toward the east end, and marking off transect intervals every 20 m. These transects were walked until cultural material was no longer evident. Collections were separated within transects by tape measured 10 m intervals. This form of collection was used because it offered a fast and effective collection method that was systematic and would show artifact clustering within the site.

Test Trenches I and 2 were surface collected prior to excavation; Trenches 3 and 4 were collected prior to excavation, during site surface collection.

Cite this Record

Archaeological Testing of Site AZ EE:9:91, Patagonia Lake State Park, South-Central Arizona. Kurt Dongoske. Tucson, AZ: Arizona State Museum; University of Arizona. 1981 ( tDAR id: 399311) ; doi:10.6067/XCV8J1050R

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

Temporal Coverage

Calendar Date: 1100 to 1300 (Temporal placement of the site.)

Spatial Coverage

min long: -110.868; min lat: 31.484 ; max long: -110.847; max lat: 31.499 ;

Individual & Institutional Roles

Contact(s): Arizona State Parks

Contributor(s): Richard Ervin; Annick George

Prepared By(s): Arizona State Museum

Submitted To(s): Arizona State Parks

Record Identifiers

Arizona State Parks Purchase Order No.(s): S-81-02

File Information

  Name Size Creation Date Date Uploaded Access
Arch-Testing-at-Patagonia-Lake.pdf 1.07mb Jun 29, 1981 Sep 16, 2015 12:36:44 PM Confidential
This file is unredacted.
Arch-Testing-at-Patagonia-Lake_Redacted.pdf 1.05mb Jun 28, 1981 Feb 29, 2016 3:26:42 PM Public
Figure 2 and text on pages 1, 10, and 11 have been redacted in this file.

Accessing Restricted Files

At least one of the files for this resource is restricted from public view. For more information regarding access to these files, please reference the contact information below

Contact(s): Arizona State Parks