Excavations at Gu Achi: A Reappraisal of Hohokam Settlement and Subsistence in the Arizona Papagueria

Author(s): W. Bruce Masse

Editor(s): Paulette M. Coulter

Year: 1980

Summary

In the spring of 1973, the Western Archeological Center, National Park Service, conducted extensive surveys in the Papago Indian Reservation because of improvements proposed for several roadways (Stacy 1973). Among the numerous archeological features encountered were two prehistoric Hohokam sites. One of these, Gu Achi (AZ Z:12:l3 ASM) , is a major pre-Classic period Hohokam settlement a few miles west of Santa Rosa on Papago Indian Road (PIR) 34; the other site, Pisinimo, is a pre-Classic period campsite found along PIR 21 north of the modern village of Pisinimo. Because of the significance of these two sites, the Bureau of Indian Affairs, Phoenix Area Office, Branch of Roads, requested a testing program.

Excavation began at Gu Achi on June 20, 1973, and continued through August 28, 1973. Pisinimo was tested between July 30 and August 15, 1973. John B. Clonts of the Western Archeological Center was the field supervisor, and Dana Isham served as his assistant. Isham supervised the field work during the first two weeks at Gu Achi and all work done at Pisinimo. A crew of three to seven Papago Indians served as the daily labor force.

The excavation at Gu Achi recovered more than a thousand chipped and ground stone specimens, hundreds of pieces of shell jewelry and manufacturing debris, and some 22,000 sherds, of which more than 2400 were decorated. Of special importance was the discovery of a burned ramada structure around which several hearths, storage pits, and large ceramic storage vessels were clustered. A single low trash mound and a large earthen-banked reservoir were located in brief survey outside the 200-foot right-af-way. The work at Pisinimo was more limited; hearths and a cache of unworked marine shell were the primary features of interest. A combined total of less than 5000 sherds, shells, chipped and ground stone pieces was recovered during the course of excavation there.

Cite this Record

Excavations at Gu Achi: A Reappraisal of Hohokam Settlement and Subsistence in the Arizona Papagueria. W. Bruce Masse, Paulette M. Coulter. Publications in Anthropology ,12. Tucson, Arizona: Western Archeological and Conservation Center. 1980 ( tDAR id: 4250) ; doi:10.6067/XCV8H41QHJ

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Keywords

Culture
Historic • Hohokam

Material
Building Materials • Ceramic • Chipped Stone • Fauna • Glass • Ground Stone • Macrobotanical • Metal • Mineral • Shell • Wood

Site Name
AZ Z:12:13 (ASM) • Gu Achi • Pisinimo • Reward Mine

Site Type
Domestic Structure or Architectural Complex • Domestic Structures • Funerary and Burial Structures or Features • Mine • Mine-Related Structures • Non-Domestic Structures • Pit House / Earth Lodge • Resource Extraction / Production / Transportation Structure or Features • Settlements

Investigation Types
Collections Research • Data Recovery / Excavation

General
GU Achi Excavations • Regional Views of Hohokam • Subsistence In the Papagueria

Temporal Coverage

Calendar Date: 0 to 1150

Spatial Coverage

min long: -112.197; min lat: 32.341 ; max long: -112.108; max lat: 32.377 ;

Individual & Institutional Roles

Contributor(s): Larry D. Arnold; Alan Ferg; Robert E. Gasser; Paul C. Johnson; Harold W. Krueger; Timothy P. Loomis; Diane E. McLaughlin; Charles Miksicek; John B. Clonts

Sponsor(s): National Park Service

Record Identifiers

NADB document id number(s): 5604890; 1000450

NADB citation id number(s): 000000012443; 000000241040

File Information

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