Archaeological Investigations at Blocks 139 and 159 in Barrio Libre, Tucson, Arizona
Author(s): Allison Cohen Diehl; Judi L. Cameron; Michael W. Diehl; James Heidke; J. Homer Thiel
Year: 2003
Summary
When the City of Tucson announced its plan to replace the aging Connie Chambers housing facility in Barrio Libre with new, affordable single family homes, a cultural resources assessment was conducted to determine if the project had the potential to disturb historically significant archaeological deposits. Archival records revealed that homes dating as early as the late nineteenth century once stood on three of the city blocks occupied by the housing project. Most of the homes were owned or rented by Mexican-American working class families. Additionally, a Chinese-owned grocery store stood on the corner of one block.
When the 1960s-era Connie Chambers buildings were demolished, archaeologists from Desert Archaeology, Inc., conducted testing to determine if any intact historical deposits remained. Although few remnants of above ground structures were found, numerous privy holes and trash pits were uncovered on historic blocks 139 and 159. The features were plotted on historical maps of the blocks, and most were at least partly excavated to determine their age and contents. Further excavations revealed a rich, physical record of the many previous residents, some of whom could be identified by name through census records, city directories, and Sanborn Fire Insurance maps. The site yielded thousands of historical artifacts-including animal bone, metal, glass, historical ceramics, personal items, and floral remains. The materials paint a picture of socioeconomic status, ethnic identity, diet, and land use in turn-of-the-century Barrio Libre.
Cite this Record
Archaeological Investigations at Blocks 139 and 159 in Barrio Libre, Tucson, Arizona, 12. Allison Cohen Diehl, Judi L. Cameron, Michael W. Diehl, James Heidke, J. Homer Thiel. 2003 ( tDAR id: 448093) ; doi:10.48512/XCV8448093
This Resource is Part of the Following Collections
Keywords
Culture
General Historic
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Hohokam
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Period 2 Papago ceramic complex
Material
Ash
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Building Materials
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Ceramic
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Charcoal
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Chipped Stone
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Fauna
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Glass
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Ground Stone
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Hide
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Macrobotanical
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Metal
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Mineral
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Plastic
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Pollen
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Rubber
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Shell
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Tar
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Textile
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Wire
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Wood
Site Name
AZ BB:13:644 (ASM)
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AZ BB:13:678 (ASM)
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Barrio Libre
Site Type
Archaeological Feature
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Borrow Pit
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Pit
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Privy Pit
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Refuse Pit
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Trash Pit
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Tree Planting Hole
Investigation Types
Data Recovery / Excavation
General
Archaeobotanical Analysis
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Artifact Analysis
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Petrographic Sherd Analysis
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Pottery Typology
Geographic Keywords
Tuscon Basin
Temporal Keywords
19th Century
Temporal Coverage
Calendar Date: 1860 to 1930 (Period 2 Papago)
Spatial Coverage
min long: -110.994; min lat: 32.2 ; max long: -110.951; max lat: 32.225 ;
Individual & Institutional Roles
Contact(s): Desert Archaeology, Inc.
Contributor(s): Linda Scott Cummings; Elizabeth J. Miksa; Thomas E. Moutoux; Arthur W. Vokes
Prepared By(s): Desert Archaeology, Inc.
Submitted To(s): City of Tucson
File Information
| Name | Size | Creation Date | Date Uploaded | Access | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| tr2002-12_final_OCR_Redacted.pdf | 138.12mb | Nov 4, 2020 1:34:18 PM | Public | ||
| This is the redacted version of the resource. | |||||
| tr2002-12_final_OCR_PDFA.pdf | 121.30mb | Mar 21, 2019 | Feb 21, 2019 10:03:16 AM | Confidential | |
| This is the unredacted version of the resource. | |||||
Accessing Restricted Files
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Contact(s): Desert Archaeology, Inc.