Data Recovery Excavations at the Casa Nueva Locus, La Ciudad, Phoenix, Arizona

Summary

Under contract to Comsense, Inc., Northland Research, Inc. (Northland) has completed archaeological testing and data recovery excavations for the Casa Nueva Development, a public housing project located in downtown Phoenix. The purpose of Northland’s investigations was to thoroughly document archaeological remains in the Casa Nueva project area. This report summarizes the results of those efforts. Although small in scale, the Casa Nueva project has contributed significant new information to our understanding of the prehistoric and historic occupations of the lower Salt River Valley. Prehistoric remains in the project area were associated with a limited activity area on the outskirts of La Ciudad, AZ T:12:1 (ASM), a large Hohokam farming village occupied from roughly A.D. 500 to 1450. The historical remains include a possible late-nineteenth century canal and several canal-related features.

Northland’s data recovery excavations focused on two areas that previous testing had indicated contained buried cultural remains (Hart and Hackbarth 2000a). Fieldwork for the project was conducted between 21 February and 12 March 2001. Two hundred meters of backhoe trenches were excavated and roughly 400-square meters were mechanically stripped, resulting in the discovery of 24 archaeological features, including 5 structures, 2 possible structures, and 17 extramural pits. Four structures and ten pits were subsequently excavated. In total, 344 hours were expended in the field during data recovery and an additional 40 hours were expended on archival research.

The remainder of the report is divided into seven sections. Background information on the physical and cultural setting of the project area is presented first. A summary of previous archaeological research at La Ciudad is included as part of this background discussion. This information was combined with the results of earlier testing to formulate a set of research themes that were investigated on the project (Hart and Hackbarth 2000b). These research themes are reviewed in the second section of the report, followed by a discussion of the results of archival studies undertaken in connection with a possible historical canal. The next three sections document the results of the Casa Nueva excavations. The methods used to excavate and record features are discussed first, followed by descriptive summaries of the features investigated and the artifacts recovered. In the final section, the results of the project are summarized and the research contributions reviewed.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• City of Phoenix DAHA Resources   •
• Digital Archive of Huhugam Archaeology (DAHA)

Keywords

Temporal Coverage

Calendar Date: 500 to 1450 (La Ciudad occupation)

Spatial Coverage

Individual & Institutional Roles

Contact(s): City of Phoenix Archaeology Office

Contributor(s): Tiffany C. Clark; James W. Cogswell; Michael Droz; Bruce G. Phillips; Susan J. Smith

Prepared By(s): Northland Research, Inc.

Submitted To(s): Comsense, Inc.

Record Identifiers

Project No.(s): 00-65

File Information