Excavations at La Villa: Continuity and Change at an Agricultural Village

Editor(s): Michael W. Lindeman

Year: 2015

Summary

The archaeological excavations documented in this volume examine the Hohokam village of La Villa, AZ T:12:148 (ASM). From its founding in the sixth century A.D., until abandonment in the eleventh century, La Villa was one of the largest villages in the Phoenix Basin. Current excavations preceded the installation of a storm drain that was part of the larger Storm Drain project and provided a rare glimpse of a large pre-Classic period village. Fieldwork occurred in multiple phases. Archaeological data recovery was conducted within the project alignment along in four phases of fieldwork. The work was observed by an archaeological monitor. The alignment in was tested, and because no features were identified, no further work was conducted.

Most of the work was conducted in where dense occupation was encountered. The long-lived occupations encountered are in the heart of the village of La Villa. In total, 241 features were identified, including 80 pithouses, 98 extramural features, and 63 mortuary features. Located just north of the western plaza at La Villa, the project area contained dense, persistent settlement. Particularly dense were areas located closest to the western plaza. On the northern and western margins of the project area, settlement, while dense by most standards, was temporally patchy, occupied for one or more intervals but exhibiting gaps.

From the founding of La Villa, its inhabitants were farmers. As productive specialization developed, particularly in ceramics but also in other goods, farming became increasingly important for the people of La Villa. Agricultural products became not only sources of sustenance, but also goods that could be exchanged for shell, ceramics, and other goods. Fieldwork revealed contexts spanning much of the Hohokam pre-Classic. Features were excavated dating from the Red Mountain phase through the Middle Sacaton, with the interval from Vahki through Early Sacaton being best represented. One of the strengths of the excavated data set is this incredible temporal sample, which revealed that change at La Villa came in fits and starts, interspersed by periods of remarkable continuity.

Cite this Record

Excavations at La Villa: Continuity and Change at an Agricultural Village, 08. Michael W. Lindeman. 2015 ( tDAR id: 445705) ; doi:10.48512/XCV8445705

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Keywords

Culture
Hohokam • Huhugam

Material
Ash • Caliche • Ceramic • Charcoal • Chipped Stone • Cobble • Daub • Fauna • Fire Cracked Rock • Ground Stone • Human Remains • Lapstone • Mano • Plainware • Pollen • Red-on-Buffware • Shell

Site Name
AZ T:12:148 (ASM) • La Villa

Site Type
Archaeological Feature • Burial Pit • Cremation Burial • Domestic Structures • Funerary and Burial Structures or Features • Hearth • Non-Domestic Structures • Pit • Pit House / Earth Lodge • Plaza • Post Hole / Post Mold • Roasting Pit / Oven / Horno

Investigation Types
Archaeological Overview • Data Recovery / Excavation • Ground Disturbance Monitoring • Historic Background Research • Research Design / Data Recovery Plan • Site Evaluation / Testing • Site Stewardship Monitoring

General
Ceramic Analysis • Flaked Stone Analysis • Ground Stone Analysis • Petrographic Analysis • Pollen Analysis • Temper Analysis

Geographic Keywords
Arizona (State / Territory) • Cave Creek • Lower Colorado River Subdivision • Maricopa (County) • Phoenix, AZ • Phoenix Basin • Salt River • Sonoran Desert

Temporal Keywords
Classic Period • Estrella Phase • Gila Butte Phase • Pioneer Period • Red Mountain • Sacaton Phase • Santa Cruz Phase • Snaketown Phase • Sweetwater Phase • Vahki Phase

Spatial Coverage

min long: -112.105; min lat: 33.425 ; max long: -112.063; max lat: 33.461 ;

Individual & Institutional Roles

Contact(s): City of Phoenix Archaeology Office

Contributor(s): Jenny L. Adams; Leslie D. Aragon; Michael W. Diehl; James M. Heidke; Michael W. Lindeman; Mary F. Ownby; Stacy L. Ryan; Christine H. Virden-Lange; Katie Bower; Owen. K Davis; T. Michael Fink; Karen Gust Schollmeyer

Principal Investigator(s): Kathy Henderson

Repository(s): Pueblo Grande Museum

Prepared By(s): Desert Archaeology, Inc.

Submitted To(s): City of Phoenix Street Transportation Department; Flood Control District of Maricopa County

Record Identifiers

Desert Archaeology Project No.(s): 09-110D

Technical Report No.(s): 2012-08

Arizona Antiquities Act Project Specific Permit No.(s): 2010-082ps

City of Phoenix Project No.(s): ST83110063

PGM(s): 2008-27

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Contact(s): City of Phoenix Archaeology Office

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