A Regional Archaeological Overview of the Montezuma Hydroelectric Pumped-Storage Project, Maricopa and Pinal Counties, Arizona

Summary

This report provides a regional archaeological overview prepared for the Montezuma Hydroelectric Pumped-Storage Project by the Office of Cultural Resource Management, Department of Anthropology, Arizona State University, under contract with the Salt River Project, Phoenix, Arizona. Specifically, it is designed to fulfill the archaeological data requirements for the Phase I Regional Study outlined by Wirth Associates, the consulting firm coordinating all environmental studies connected with the Montezuma Project. The Phase I archaeological research resulted in the compilation of a complete archaeological resource inventory for the study area defined by Wirth Associates.

Data were collected on 337 previously recorded sites representing Hohokam, Yuman, Pima, Maricopa, and modern Yaqui activities, and these were evaluated in terms of their potential archaeological value. Based on the assumption that similar environments will have had similar prehistoric usage, the various environmental zones within the research area were evaluated in terms of predicted site density and average potential site value and were ranked in terms of their overall archaeological significance. Hohokam-Pima National Monument and Hohokam-Pima Irrigation Sites National Historic Landmark were evaluated as the most highly significant archaeological resources in the area while the South Mountains, the Montezuma Project Upper Reservoir, and the undisturbed portions of the main Gila River floodplain were designated as highly significant. Moderate significance was attributed to the upper bajada zones surrounding the mountainous portions of the area, the secondary floodplain area, and the disturbed portions of the major floodplain. The remainder of the study area was held to be of low archaeological significance.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Salt River Project Digital Library

Keywords

Spatial Coverage

Individual & Institutional Roles

Contact(s): Salt River Project Cultural Resource Manager

Principal Investigator(s): Donald E. Weaver Jr.

Repository(s): Salt River Project

Prepared By(s): Office of Cultural Resource Management, Department of Anthropology, Arizona State University

Submitted To(s): Wirth Associates; Salt River Project

Record Identifiers

Salt River Project Circulation No.(s): 50851

Salt River Project Catalog No.(s): 50849

Purchase Order No.(s): C-36578-CL

Salt River Project Barcode No.(s): 00030398

File Information