Results of Phase 1 Data Recovery Testing at AZ AA:12:11 (ASM) and AZ AA:12:788 (ASM), Pima County, Arizona

Summary

Pima County Department of Transportation is proposing to construct a newly aligned road in Pima County. The realigned road would cross through two previously investigated archaeological sites—AZ AA:12:11 (ASM) and AZ AA:12:788 (ASM), the latter more commonly known as the Rillito Fan site. Pima County Office of Sustainability and Conservation retained SWCA Environmental Consultants to develop and implement a Phase 1 data recovery (data testing) plan for the portions of these two sites that would be affected by the road construction. The purpose of data testing was to locate and identify the archaeological features and deposits that would be adversely affected by the road construction, and to provide the baseline archaeological and geomorphological data that would guide more intensive Phase 2 data recovery excavations.

Phase 1 data recovery included the surface collection of culturally or temporally diagnostic or unusual artifacts, and the mechanical excavation of test trenches. Twenty-four artifacts were collected from the surface of AZ AA:12:788 (ASM), most of them decorated pottery sherds. One hundred twenty-three trenches were excavated to a depth of approximately 1.5 m (5 feet) below the modern ground surface; eight of these trenches were subsequently further excavated to about 3.7 m (12 feet) below the modern ground surface, in most cases along only a portion of their length. Almost all of the trenches were 20 m long; a handful of trenches were shorter in order to avoid obstacles such as vegetation. East of the Santa Cruz River, the trenches within the proposed 150-foot-wide ROW were generally spaced 10 m apart, whereas in adjacent areas of the APE where project impacts are not anticipated to be as great, trenches were generally spaced 20 m apart. Only two trenches were excavated west of the river and were placed to avoid the ROW, as well as the easements associated with two large overhead transmission lines. Eighty-four trenches were excavated in or partially within AZ AA:12:788 (ASM), 15 trenches were excavated in or partially within AZ AA:12:11 (ASM), and 24 trenches were excavated outside currently recorded site boundaries to test for the presence of cultural resources not visible on the modern ground surface.

This report describes the methods and results of the Phase 1 testing and provides recommendations for Phase 2 data recovery to mitigate the adverse effects of the proposed road construction.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• SWCA DAHA Resources   •
• Digital Archive of Huhugam Archaeology (DAHA)

Keywords

Spatial Coverage

Individual & Institutional Roles

Contact(s): SWCA Environmental Consultants

Contributor(s): Linda Gregonis; India S. Hesse; Gary Huckleberry

Principal Investigator(s): Suzanne Griset

Landowner(s): Pima County

Prepared By(s): SWCA Environmental Consultants

Submitted To(s): Pima County Office of Sustainability and Conservation, Cultural Resources and Historic Preservation Division

Record Identifiers

Arizona Antiquities Act Project-Specific Permit No. (s): 2014-038ps

Arizona State Museum Accession No.(s): 2013-580

Pima County Project Code(s): 4RTSUN

SWCA Project No. (s): 26637

File Information