Life Between Two Rivers: A Study of the Sedentary to Early Classic Transition on the Queen Creek Delta, Arizona

Summary

Disruption of exchange networks and settlement patterns during the late Sedentary to early Classic period transition has been well documented along the middle Gila River Valley. Previous research has suggested a trend in population relocation from downstream Gila River sites such as Snaketown in favor of sites upstream such as the Grewe-Casa Grande complex during this time. Based on evidence recovered from residential contexts identified during the PVR FRS project, outlying areas situated along the Queen Creek delta and bajada show a continued occupation well into the Classic period, maintaining contact with middle Gila River communities throughout this transitional period. The PVR FRS project findings bridge the Sedentary and Classic occupation, offering a unique opportunity to analyze both continuity and fluctuations in exchange networks between the Hohokam settlements in Queen Creek and communities in the middle Gila and lower Salt Rivers during this time. The settlements identified from the PVR FRS project also show increasing involvement with ceramic production and potentially botanical resources into the early Classic period, supporting their importance in helping us understand the circumstances of increasingly localized production identified during that era.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 82nd Annual Meeting, Vancouver, BC (2017)   •
• Walls, Mounds, and Pots: Examining the Classic Period Hohokam

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 14422