S.R. 260-Payson to Heber Archaeological Project: Results of Archaeological Testing in an Additional Portion of the Kohls Ranch Segment

Summary

State Route 260 (SR 260) from Payson to Heber, Arizona, is being realigned and improved by the Arizona Department of Transportation (ADOT). This includes construction of 45.8 mi of highway between mileposts (MP) 256.2 and 302. Archaeological sites are found in only the western 22 mi of highway below the Mogollon Rim, on Tonto National Forest (TNF) and private land. Construction below the Mogollon Rim is being staged in six segments. From west-to-east, these segments are: Lion Springs, Preacher Canyon, Little Green Valley, Kohls Ranch, Doubtful Canyon, and Christopher Creek.

Archaeological data recovery has been completed for the Preacher Canyon (Herr, Stein, and Cook 2000) and the Christopher Creek segments (Herr and Stein 2000). Work associated with the highway improvement includes campground construction, or modification, by the TNF. Archaeological data recovery at Sharp Creek campground, in the vicinity of the Christopher Creek construction segment, has also been completed. Testing has been completed in both the Kohls Ranch (Herr and Stein 2001) and the Little Green Valley sections (Herr 2002c, 2002d). Data recovery is ongoing in Little Green Valley. Most of the data recovery had been completed in the Kohls Ranch segment (Herr and Stein 2002). This report presents the results of testing of remaining sites in the Kohls Ranch section.

As described in this report, testing was conducted at the five sites in the Kohls Ranch segment. Four sites are artifact scatters, and one site has an artifact scatter and historic-period features. Two of the artifact scatters contain ceramics, flaked stone, and ground stone; the other two contain only flaked stone. The multicomponent site has an early twentieth century corral and associated features, on top of a flaked stone scatter. All sites were identified, by the survey, as potentially eligible for inclusion in the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP). These testing phase investigations have determined that all five sites meet eligibility requirements of the NRHP under Criterion D.

This report includes an introduction to the project area and past work (Chapter 1), a summary of methods and the results of archaeological testing (Chapter 2) within this second Kohls Ranch segment, and significance assessments and recommendations (Chapter 3).

The primary goals of the testing program were to: (1) define the nature, extent, and condition of the archaeological remains; (2) determine, through this assessment, whether the sites were eligible for inclusion in the NRHP; and (3) assess whether the archaeological remains would address the research themes proposed in the project treatment plan (Herr 1999).

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

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

Keywords

Spatial Coverage

Individual & Institutional Roles

Contact(s): Desert Archaeology, Inc.

Prepared By(s): Desert Archaeology, Inc.

Submitted To(s): Engineering Consultants Section, Arizona Department of Transportation

Record Identifiers

ADOT Project No.(s): NH 053-2-(35)

Contract No. (s): 99-59

TRACS No.(s): 260 G I266 H4473 01C

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