Archaeological Survey in Catalina State Park with a Focus on the Romero Ruin

Author(s): Mark D. Elson; William H. Doelle

Year: 1987

Summary

Catalina State Park is situated approximately 22 km (14 miles) north of Tucson, Arizona. Within this beautiful and pristine desert area lie a large number of relatively undisturbed archaeological sites. The park has witnessed a long and varied history. Sometime after 5000 B.C. Archaic period hunters and gatherers first roamed through the park area in their search for game and edible plants. During the following Hohokam period the park area was intensively occupied. A wide range of sites are present, including isolated bedrock mortars, rockshelters, and small sherd and lithic scatters, as well as major habitation and village sites with well-developed agricultural field systems. The Romero Ruin (AZ BB:9:1), which was settled early in the Hohokam Pioneer period, is the largest and most significant village site within the park, and one of the most significant sites within the Tucson Basin in general. The site contains two ballcourts, a large Classic period compound, and at least 17 trash mounds, some of which reach a height of more than two meters above the ground surface. Finally, during the historic period Francisco Romero built his ranch house on top of the remains of the Romero Ruin sometime around 1844, when Tucson and much of Arizona were still a part of Mexico, and raids by roving bands of Apaches were commonplace.

This report describes the results of an archaeological survey of Catalina State Park conducted by archaeologists from the Institute for American Research between February 16 and March 11, 1987. The survey intensively covered roughly 2.65 square miles, centering around the Romero Ruin. Twenty-nine previously unrecorded archaeological sites were discovered, while additional information was collected from thirteen known sites. These data were used in conjunction with the mapping and intensive surface collection of the Romero Ruin to reconstruct the settlement patterns within the park area.

Cite this Record

Archaeological Survey in Catalina State Park with a Focus on the Romero Ruin, 4. Mark D. Elson, William H. Doelle. Institute for American Research Technical Report ,87. Washington, DC: Institute for American Research. 1987 ( tDAR id: 399317) ; doi:10.6067/XCV8FX7C92

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Keywords

Culture
Anglo • Archaic • Euroamerican • Historic • Hohokam • Mexican • Middle Archaic

Material
Andesite • Aravaipa Variety Buffware • Azurite • Basalt • Black-on-Whiteware • Bone • Brass • Brownware • Buffware • Building Materials • Cañada del Oro Red-on-Brownware • Ceramic • Chama sp. • Chert • Chipped Stone • Classic Redware • Colonial Redware • Decorated Ware • Dragoon Ware • Early Rincon Red-on-Brownware • Estrella Buffware • Galiuro Red-on-Brownware • Gila Butte Buffware • Glass • Glycymeris sp. • Gneiss • Granite • Grayware • Ground Stone • Igneous Rock • Jasper • Laevicardium sp. • Late Rincon Red-on-Brownware • Limestone • Malachite • Masonry • Metal • Middle Rincon Red-on-Brownware • Mineral • Papago Redware • Phoenix Basin Buffware • Pinto Polychrome Ware • Pioneer Redware • Plainware • Polychrome Ware • Pteria sterna • Quartz • Quartzite • Red-on-Brownware • Red-on-Buffware • Red-on-Grayware • Redware • Reserve Black-on-Whiteware • Rhyolite • Rillito Red-on-Brownware • Rincon Polychrome Ware • Rincon Redware • Sacaton Buffware • Sacaton Red-on-Buffware • San Carlos Red-on-Brownware • San Simon Red-on-Brownware • Santa Cruz Buffware • Santa Cruz Red-on-Buffware • Schist • Sedimentary Rock • Shell • Silicified Limestone • Snaketown Buffware • Snaketown Red-on-Brownware • Snaketown Red-on-Buffware • Sweetwater Buffware • Sweetwater Red-on-Grayware • Tanque Verde Red-on-Brownware • Tin • Tucson Basin Red-on-Brownware • Tucson Polychrome Ware • Tularosa Black-on-Whiteware • Vahki Redware • Vesicular Basalt • Whiteware • Wood Show More

Site Name
AZ AA:16:187 • AZ BB:9:1 • AZ BB:9:120 • AZ BB:9:121 • AZ BB:9:122 • AZ BB:9:191 • AZ BB:9:192 • AZ BB:9:193 • AZ BB:9:194 • AZ BB:9:195 • AZ BB:9:196 • AZ BB:9:197 • AZ BB:9:198 • AZ BB:9:199 • AZ BB:9:200 • AZ BB:9:201 • AZ BB:9:202 • AZ BB:9:203 • AZ BB:9:204 • AZ BB:9:205 • AZ BB:9:206 • AZ BB:9:207 • AZ BB:9:208 • AZ BB:9:209 • AZ BB:9:210 • AZ BB:9:211 • AZ BB:9:212 • AZ BB:9:213 • AZ BB:9:214 • AZ BB:9:215 • AZ BB:9:216 • AZ BB:9:217 • AZ BB:9:218 • AZ BB:9:45 • AZ BB:9:48 • AZ BB:9:49 • AZ BB:9:52 • AZ BB:9:60 • AZ BB:9:61 • AZ BB:9:62 • AZ BB:9:96 • AZ BB:9:97 • AZ BB:9:98 • Romero Ruin • The Abused Ridge Site • Valencia Site Show More

Site Type
Agricultural Field or Field Feature • Agricultural or Herding • Archaeological Feature • Artifact Scatter • Ball Court • Bedrock Grinding Feature • Bedrock Metate • Bedrock Mortar • Boulder Grinding Slick • Boulder Mortar • Cemetery? • Check Dam • Cobble Field House • Cobble Terrace • Cobble Wall • Compound • Corral? • Cremation? • Domestic Structure or Architectural Complex • Domestic Structures • Field House • Fireplace • Foundation • Hamlet • Hamlet / Village • Homestead • House • Hunting Blind? • Isolated Feature • Lithic Scatter • Masonry Compound • Midden • Milling Feature • Non-Domestic Structures • Petroglyph • Pit House • Pit House / Earth Lodge • Pit House Depression? • Plaza • Ranch • Resource Extraction / Production / Transportation Structure or Features • Roasting Area? • Rock Alignment • Rock Art • Rock Mound • Rock Pile • Rock Shelter • Room Block / Compound / Pueblo • Settlements • Sherd Scatter • Terrace • Trash Midden • Village • Wall • Water Control Feature • Windbreak? Show More

Investigation Types
Reconnaissance / Survey

General
Azurite Piece • Bead • Bone (Human) • Brass Shotgun Shell • Can • Cochise Projectile Point • Corrugated Ware • Debitage • Donut Stone • Figurine • Flake • Francisco Romero • Hammerstone • Hohokam Point • Knife • Malachite Piece • Mano • Medicine Stone • Metate • Pestle • Plano Scraper • Polished Stone • Polishing Stone • Projectile Point • Quartz Crystal • Scraper • Shell Bead • Shotgun Shell • Stone Tool • Tabular Knife • Tin Can • Tool Show More

Geographic Keywords
Alamo Canyon Wash • Arizona (State / Territory) • Cañada del Oro Wash • Catalina State Park • Montrose Canyon Wash • Romero Canyon Wash • Santa Catalina Mountains • Sutherland Wash • Tucson, AZ • Tucson Basin

Temporal Keywords
Cañada del Oro Phase • Early Rincon Subphase • Estrella Phase • Historic • Hohokam Pioneer period • Late Rincon Subphase • Middle Archaic Period • Middle Rincon Subphase • Preclassic Period • Prehistoric • Protohistoric Period • Rillito Phase • Snaketown Phase • Tanque Verde Phase • Tucson Phase

Spatial Coverage

min long: -110.948; min lat: 32.399 ; max long: -110.918; max lat: 32.436 ;

Individual & Institutional Roles

Contact(s): Arizona State Parks

Contributor(s): Lisa G. Eppley; James P. Holmlund; Henry D. Wallace; Henry Wallace; Meg Burns; Kurt Dongoske; James Heidke; Annick Kaler; Penny Wamboldt; Allen Dart; Caroline Davis; William Doelle; Bill Grimes; Joan Lloyd; Woody McGinnis; Vince O'Callaghan; Donald Reser; Mary Bernard Shaw; Deborah Swartz; Cathy Wasmann; Sarah Tuttle; Linda Mayro; Jennifer Ballard; Michael Barton; Varrie Edwards; Tom Kolaz; Arizona Historical Society; Linda Gregonis

Field Director(s): Mark D. Elson

Sponsor(s): National Park Service; Arizona State Parks; ANL Foundation; Institute for American Research; Geo-Map, Inc.

File Information

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