Vertebrate and Invertebrate Paleontological Remains: San Rafael Ranch State Park, Arizona State Parks

Author(s): Jim I. Mead; Harold D. Dyer

Year: 2001

Summary

Arizona State Parks (ASP) required the assessment of bones found exposed along the arroyo cut of the San Pedro River in San Rafael Valley, Santa Cruz County, southeastern Arizona. These remains held potential of being: 1) modern cattle (Bos) remains; 2) Spanish-age cattle (Bos); 3) Holocene-age Bison; or 4) Rancholabrean-age (> 11,000 B.P.) Bison or other large ungulate remains. This was the initial reason to enter lands held by San Rafael Ranch State Park (SRRSP). Cathy Johnson (ASP) contacted the Quaternary Sciences Program (QSP), Laboratory of Quaternary Paleontology, Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff and entered into an agreement for QSP to conduct minimal assessment of fossil and potential fossil resources of SRRSP.

The agreement was modified to include: 1) the salvage and assessment of the initial ungulate remains (unofficially named the Bonz Site), 2) a preliminary assessment of the local molluscan species, 3) a minimal project to clean, prepare, and conserve a fragmentary whale bone housed at the park (to be used for education and display purposes), and 4) to assess and prepare (if needed) another ungulate (Bison) skull recovered by ASP from SRRSP lands.

Cite this Record

Vertebrate and Invertebrate Paleontological Remains: San Rafael Ranch State Park, Arizona State Parks. Jim I. Mead, Harold D. Dyer. Flagstaff, AZ: Northern Arizona University. 2001 ( tDAR id: 399359) ; doi:10.6067/XCV8BZ67V7

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

Keywords

Culture
Historic • Prehistoric

Material
B-76 • Bison • Bison sp. • Bone • Bos sp. • Cattle • Charcoal • Cow • Dating Sample • Fauna • Mollusk • PaleoBond • Whale

Site Name
AS EE:10:172 ASM • Bonz Site

Investigation Types
Consultation • Data Recovery / Excavation

General
Astragalus (Bos sp.) • Bone (Animal) • Faunal Analysis • Ferrissia fragilis • Fontelicella sp. • Fossaria parva • Gastrocopta cristata • Gastrocopta oligobasdon • Gastrocopta pilsbryna • Gastrocopta sp. • Gyraulus deflectus • Helisoma pilsbryi • Humerus (Whale) • Malleolus (Bos sp.) • Metacarpal (Bos sp.) • Physa virgata • Postcranial Remains • Pupoides albilabris • Radiocarbon Analysis • Skull (Bison) • Skull (Bison sp.) • Somatogyrus cf. aureus • Sphaerium traversum • Tarsal (Bos sp.) • Tibia (Bos sp.) • Vallonia perspectiva • Vertigo ovata Show More

Geographic Keywords
Arizona (State / Territory) • San Pedro River • San Rafael Ranch State Park • San Rafael Valley • San Rafael Valley State Park • Santa Cruz (County)

Temporal Keywords
Holocene • Rancholabrean

Temporal Coverage

Calendar Date: 1440 to 1640 (Possible date range of the Bison skull based on bone collagen analysis.)

Calendar Date: 1530 to 1800 (Possible date range of the Bos skeletal elements based on radiocarbon dating of associated charcoal.)

Spatial Coverage

min long: -110.626; min lat: 31.404 ; max long: -110.596; max lat: 31.432 ;

Individual & Institutional Roles

Contact(s): Arizona State Parks

Contributor(s): Sandy L. Swift; Marci Hollenshead; Mary Carpenter; Dave Dyer; Chris Jass; Art MacWilliams; Beta Analytic, Inc.; H. D. Dyer

Principal Investigator(s): Jim I. Mead; Cathy B. Johnson

Permitting Agency(s): Arizona State Museum

Prepared By(s): Northern Arizona University

Submitted To(s): Arizona State Parks

Record Identifiers

Excavated Postcranial Remains Specimen No.(s): SR00-02-001

ASM Project Permit No.(s): 2000-111 ps

File Information

  Name Size Creation Date Date Uploaded Access
Paleontological-Remains-at-San-Rafael-Ranch.pdf 1.25mb Jun 1, 2001 Sep 28, 2015 11:39:33 AM Public
This file is unredacted.