Archaeological Testing at Skydive Arizona Near the Eloy Municipal Airport, Pinal County, Arizona

Summary

During the month of July, 1992, SWCA, Inc., Environmental Consultants, carried out an archaeological testing program at Skydive Arizona. This area is approximately 15 miles due south of Casa Grande Ruins National Monument. The land is privately owned and located next to a landing strip. The testing was necessary to identify archaeological sites in an area where ground disturbance and construction activities had made surface examination for sites impossible. In the areas where artifacts had been located on the surface, five trenches (totaling 200 m) were placed to avoid existing buildings, utilities, and roads. The trenches were excavated by a backhoe to an average depth of 1.2 m (5 ft.).

One feature, an irrigation canal, was identified during subsurface testing. A single Gila Plain sherd was found in the profile of this feature at the base of the feature fill. Although the Hohokam sherd is associated with this canal, a historic date for the feature can not be ruled out. Specific documentation for a historic canal in the immediate vicinity of Feature 1 has not been found. However, historic documents, including a 1910 map of the Santa Cruz River Project, show canal networks throughout the Santa Cruz Flats as early as 1887.

Other than the single sherd identified in the fill of Feature 1, no other artifacts were found in the backdirt or trench walls. The testing program suggests that, with the exception of Feature 1, no prehistoric subsurface features or deposits exist in the project area. It does not appear that the area is likely to yield information important to the history or prehistory, and therefore, does not meet the National Register of Historic Places criteria. The information potential from this location is thought to be exhausted, and SWCA recommends that no further archaeological studies be conducted within the project area.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

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

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Individual & Institutional Roles

Contact(s): SWCA Environmental Consultants

Field Director(s): Greg Seymour

Principal Investigator(s): Richard V. N. Ahlstrom

Project Director(s): Thomas Euler

Prepared By(s): SWCA Environmental Consultants

Submitted To(s): City of Eloy

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