Tracks through Time: The Archaeology of the METRO Light Rail Corridor, Volume II: Investigations at Pueblo Grande and La Plaza, and Water Management

Summary

This book presents the results of the archaeological investigations that were conducted along then Light Rail route before and during its construction. As with any project that receives federal funding, METRO was legally required to undertake archaeological investigations along the project corridor; but production of this volume reflects not only METRO's commitment to legal compliance with environmental laws, but also the commitment of the cities of Phoenix, Tempe, and Mesa to preserve and protect the rich prehistoric and historic heritage upon which they are built— a heritage that is reflected in the very name of Phoenix.

As a result of our investigations, we encountered a wealth of archaeological materials, investigated 1,049 features, and recovered over a quarter of a million artifacts— not surprising given that the Light Rail route traverses numerous prehistoric villages that were occupied by the Hohokam about 1,000 years ago. While only a very few of these artifacts can be described in this volume, most of them are curated (stored under controlled conditions so they can be preserved for future generations of researchers) at three local museums— Pueblo Grande Museum in Phoenix, the Tempe Historical Museum in Tempe, and the Arizona Museum of Natural History in Mesa. Here we discuss some of the more interesting prehistoric and historic artifacts and features that we found, and relate how their analysis has advanced what we know about the prehistoric and early historic occupations of the Phoenix metropolitan area.

This is Volume II of the report which covers investigations at Pueblo Grande and La Plaza, and water management.

Cite this Record

Tracks through Time: The Archaeology of the METRO Light Rail Corridor, Volume II: Investigations at Pueblo Grande and La Plaza, and Water Management. Allan J. Schilz, Margerie Green, Lourdes Aguila, Glennda Gene Luhnow. 2011 ( tDAR id: 440946) ; doi:10.48512/XCV8440946

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Keywords

Culture
Euroamerican Historic Hohokam

Material
Axe bead ornaments Biface Building Materials Casa Grande Red-on-buff Ceramic Charcoal Chipped Stone Copper bells Core Dating Sample Debitage disks doughnuts earrings effigy Estrella Red-on-gray Fauna gaming pieces Gila Black-on-red Gila Butte Gila Polychrome Glass Ground Stone handle handstones Hand tool Human Remains Indeterminate incised buff ware Jewelry Macrobotanical manos medicine stones Metal metate Mineral netherstones pecking stone Pinto Polychrome Pollen Puerco Black-on-white Sacaton Red-on-buff Salt Red Santa Cruz Red-on-buff Shell Shell ornaments Spindle Whorl stone ring Tabular tools Tonto Polychrome unidentified White Mountain Red Ware Show More

Site Name
AZ T:12:131 (ASM) AZ T:12:222(ASM) AZ T:12:235(ASM) AZ T:12:289(ASM) AZ T:12:290 (ASM) AZ T:12:291 (ASM) AZ T:12:293(ASM) AZ T:12:385 (ASM) AZ T:12:62 (ASM) AZ T:12:90 (ASM) AZ U:9:1(ASM) AZ U:9:165 (ASM) AZ U:9:189(ASM) AZ U:9:2 (ASM) AZ U:9:214 (ASM) AZ U:9:285 (ASM) AZ U:9:286 (ASM) Canal Patricio system Canal Viejo Dutch Canal Ruin Hayden Canal La Plaza Las Acequias Los Muertos Los Muertos/Las Acequias Canal System Maricopa Canal Park of Four Waters Pueblo Grande Salt River Valley Canal Tempe Canal Show More

Site Type
Adobe Structure Agricultural or Herding Archaeological Feature Borrow Pit Canal or Canal Feature Depression Domestic Structure or Architectural Complex Domestic Structures foundation trench Funerary and Burial Structures or Features Hearth house-in-pit Mixing Pit Pit Pit House / Earth Lodge Post Hole / Post Mold pot rest Privy Refuse Pit Reservoir Resource Extraction / Production / Transportation Structure or Features Roasting Pit / Oven / Horno rock-lined pit Room Storage Pit Tank Wall Water Control Feature Show More

Spatial Coverage

min long: -112.119; min lat: 33.379 ; max long: -111.779; max lat: 33.461 ;

Individual & Institutional Roles

Contact(s): City of Phoenix Archaeology Office

Contributor(s): Lourdes Aguila; Jennifer L. Bower; Jaimie R. Boyd; Michael Droz; Deborah L. Ferguson; Emily A. Higgins; Thomas E. Jones; Glennda Gene Luhnow; Alex Miller; Walter R. Punzmann; E. Melanie Ryan; Allan J. Schilz; Scott Solliday; Quinlan Stefaniak; Glenn S. L. Stuart; Joanne C. Tactikos; Victoria D. Vargas; Jennifer L. Bower; Eric Dosh; Paige B. Florie; J.C. Kliner; Alissa Letendre; Stanley Plum; Jonathan Spiandorello; Chrisopher Thompson; M. John Matriko; Linda M. Schilling; Sean Bergin; Shawn Fackler; Andrea Gregory

Prepared By(s): Archaeological Consulting Services, Ltd.

Submitted To(s): Valley Metro Rail, Inc.

Record Identifiers

Cultural Resources Report No. (s): 147

File Information

  Name Size Creation Date Date Uploaded Access
Light_Rail_Volume_2_OCR_PDFA.pdf 540.23mb Nov 1, 2011 Mar 13, 2018 12:00:58 PM Confidential
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Light_Rail_Volume_2_OCR_PDFA_Redacted.pdf 838.11mb Apr 9, 2021 2:06:49 PM Public
This file is the redacted version of the resource.

Accessing Restricted Files

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Contact(s): City of Phoenix Archaeology Office

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