Studies Along the Lower Agua Fria River: The Eastwing Site and the Marinette Canal

Author(s): James B. Rodgers

Year: 1987

Summary

Two sites, one prehistoric and one historic, situated northwest of Phoenix and in the south-central part of Arizona, are discussed. Limited field excavation and archival research reveal that the historic site, the Marinette Canal (NA18,267), built in 1910, may have been fed by well water, local runoff, and the seasonal flow of the Agua Fria River. It heads along Calderwood Butte and extends almost 10 km southward toward the present community of Sun City, Arizona. The prehistoric site, the Eastwing site, is a late Colonial-early Sedentary Hohokam village situated across an old stream terrace of the lower Agua Fria River Valley. This site was initially established and subsequently maintained by cultivating corn in an adjacent akchin field and exploiting a wide variety of locally available biotic and abiotic resources. The abandonment of this agricultural village is hypothesized to correlate with a climatic shift to xeric conditions and a corresponding emphasis on canal irrigation systems, which characterize the agricultural activity of the northern Salt River Valley between about A.D. 1000 and A.D. 1250.

Cite this Record

Studies Along the Lower Agua Fria River: The Eastwing Site and the Marinette Canal. James B. Rodgers. MNA Research Paper ,37. Flagstaff, AZ: Museum of Northern Arizona Press. 1987 ( tDAR id: 427184) ; doi:10.6067/XCV8427184

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Keywords

Culture
Hohokam • Late Colonial Period Hohokam • Santa Cruz / Soho Hohokam Phases • Sedentary Hohokam Period

Material
Abrading Stones • Aequipecten circularis • Anodonta californiensis • Awl • Axe • Bird bone • Ceramic • Chipped Stone • Clay Figurine • Cores • Fauna • Flakes • Gila Plain • Glycymeris sp. • Ground Stone • Ground Stone bowl • Hairpin • Hammerstone • Hoes • Human Remains • Kana-a Black-on-Whiteware • Knives • Laevidcardium elatum • Macrobotanical • Mammal Bone • Mano • metate • Pecten sp. • Pecten vogdesi • plummet • Projectile Point • Rodent • Sacaton Red-on-Buffware • Santa Cruz Red-on-Buffware • Scraper • Shell • Shell ornaments • Stone bowl • stone rings • weights • Wingfield Plain Show More

Site Name
Eastwing Site • Marinette Canal • NA17,319 • NA18,267

Site Type
Archaeological Feature • Borrow Pit • Hearth • Isolated Artifact • Pit • Pit House / Earth Lodge • Post Hole / Post Mold • Refuse Pit • Roasting Pit / Oven / Horno • Storage Pit • Trash Mound

Investigation Types
Archaeological Overview • Data Recovery / Excavation • Methodology, Theory, or Synthesis • Reconnaissance / Survey

General
Bone Awl • Bone Hairpin • Ceramic Scraper • Ceramic Spindle Whorl • Gaming Piece • Handstone • Jar lid • Jewelry • Manos • Metate • Ornaments • Projectile Point • Shell Bead • Shell Bracelet • Shell Pendant • Shell Ring • Stone Bowl • Stone Ring

Geographic Keywords
Arizona (State / Territory) • Calderwood Butte, AZ • Lower Agua Fria River Valley • Maricopa (County) • Northern Salt River Valley • Phoenix, AZ

Temporal Keywords
1910s • 20th Century • Colonial Hohokam • Early Sacaton Phase • Early Sedentary Period • Late Santa Cruz Phase • Prehistoric

Temporal Coverage

Calendar Date: 1000 to 1250 (Date range of occupation of listed sites based on ceramic analysis)

Spatial Coverage

min long: -112.29; min lat: 33.688 ; max long: -112.273; max lat: 33.725 ;

Individual & Institutional Roles

Contact(s): Salt River Project Cultural Resource Manager

Principal Investigator(s): James B. Rodgers

Prepared By(s): Museum of Northern Arizona (MNA)

Submitted To(s): Salt River Project

Record Identifiers

Arizona State Antiquity Permit No.(s): 83-2

MNA Research Paper(s): 37

File Information

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Contact(s): Salt River Project Cultural Resource Manager

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