Pueblo Viejo: Archaeological Investigations at a Classic Period Cemetery in El Reposo Park, Phoenix, Arizona

Author(s): M. Zyniecki

Year: 1993

Summary

The City of Phoenix sponsored a voluntary archaeological project at the proposed location of a new recreation building. The project area is within the large Hohokam village of Pueblo Viejo, AZ T:12:73(ASM). The village was occupied from the Colonial period through the Classic period and covers about 640 acres.

Field work at the site was conducted between March 30 and April 14, 1992, by a crew of four. Post-excavation monitoring of utility trenches by a single archaeologist took place September 21-22, 1992. A total of 185 m of trench was mechanically excavated, and 728 m2 were mechanically stripped. Forty features were identified: 3 crematoria, 31 secondary cremations, 2 trash-filled pits, 1 trash deposit, a prehistoric fence line with 20 postholes, and 2 historic/modern alignments of fence posts. Features dated to the Sacaton through the Polvorón phases, approximately A.D. 1000-1450. The crematoria, cremations, and prehistoric fence line constituted a cremation cemetery, which dated primarily to the Classic period. The trash features dated to the Sedentary through Classic periods and were probably filled and abandoned before the cemetery existed.

Artifact analyses and ceramic temper analysis indicate that the Classic period inhabitants of the site did not interact to a great degree with their close neighbors but that they did participate in the larger regional network. Obsidian, which was sourced to the Sauceda Mountains, and marine shell were recovered. The presence of a "stone ball'' suggests ritual activities. Analysis of artifacts from earlier surveys alludes to the possibility that the pre-Classic period inhabitants of Pueblo Viejo had more interactions with nearby sites.

The human remains and associated grave goods were analyzed at Pueblo Grande Museum. All analyses were nondestructive in nature. At least 32 individuals were identified in the 31 secondary cremations. Twenty of the individuals were adults and two were children, with no age determinations possible for the remainder. The gender of 10 adults could be discerned; 5 were females and 5 were males.

The results of the project demonstrate that the Classic period Hohokam associated with the El Reposo Park project area of Pueblo Viejo participated in the Hohokam regional network and conducted many of the same activities and had technologies similar to contemporaneous sites.

Cite this Record

Pueblo Viejo: Archaeological Investigations at a Classic Period Cemetery in El Reposo Park, Phoenix, Arizona, 75. M. Zyniecki. 1993 ( tDAR id: 446142) ; doi:10.48512/XCV8446142

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

Keywords

Culture
Archaic • Euroamerican • Historic • Mogollon

Material
Basalt • Bone Awl • Buffware • Ceramic • Chipped Stone • Cibola Whiteware • Core • Fauna • Ground Stone • Hammerstone • Human Remains • Macrobotanical • Mano • metate • Obsidian • Plainware • Pollen • Polychrome • Quartzite • Red-on-Buff • Redware • Shell

Site Name
AZ T:12:73 (ASM) • Pueblo Viejo

Site Type
Archaeological Feature • Cemetery • Cremation • Fence • Funerary and Burial Structures or Features • Pit • Post Hole / Post Mold • Refuse Pit • Secondary Cremation

Investigation Types
Archaeological Overview • Data Recovery / Excavation • Historic Background Research • Reconnaissance / Survey • Records Search / Inventory Checking • Research Design / Data Recovery Plan

General
Radiocarbon Analysis

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

Temporal Keywords
Civano Phase • Classic Period • Colonial Period • Gila Butte Phase • Gila Phase • Pioneer Period • Polvóron Phase • Preclassic Period • Sacaton Phase • Santa Cruz Phase • Sedentary Period • Snaketown Phase • Soho Phase

Spatial Coverage

min long: -112.088; min lat: 33.384 ; max long: -112.052; max lat: 33.409 ;

Individual & Institutional Roles

Contact(s): SWCA Environmental Consultants

Contributor(s): David R. Abbott; Linda Scott Cummings; David C. Eshbaugh; David H. Greenwald; Dawn M. Greenwald; Kathryn Puseman; M. Steven Shackley; Kimberly Spurr; J. Homer Thiel; Mary-Ellen Walsh-Anduze; M. Zyniecki

Field Director(s): Thomas N. Motsinger

Lab Director(s): Holly Young

Prepared By(s): SWCA Environmental Consultants

Submitted To(s): City of Phoenix Parks and Recreation Department

File Information

  Name Size Creation Date Date Uploaded Access
92-75_OCR_PDFA_Redacted.pdf 10.78mb Mar 3, 2021 11:33:41 AM Public
This file is the redacted version of the resource.
92-75_OCR_PDFA.pdf 13.36mb Feb 8, 1993 Jun 5, 2018 9:49:48 AM Confidential
This file is the unredacted version of the resource.

Accessing Restricted Files

At least one of the files for this resource is restricted from public view. For more information regarding access to these files, please reference the contact information below

Contact(s): SWCA Environmental Consultants

This Resource is Part of the Following User Created Collections