Results of Limited Excavation and In-situ Site Preservation at the Pima Community College Desert Vista Campus

Summary

This report details the results of limited excavation and in-situ preservation efforts at four loci located on the northern end of the Valencia site, AZ BB:13:15 (ASM), and at AZ BB:13:74 (ASM). Working together, Pima Community College, the City of Tucson, the State Historic Preservation Office, the Tohono O’odham Nation, and Desert Archaeology, Inc., were able to craft a strategy that maximized information gain and preserved these two important archaeological sites. The project contained three primary components: (1) monitoring of construction activities designed to avoid the archaeological remains at BB:13:74 and the portion of the Valencia site known as Valencia Vieja; (2) limited excavations at four loci of the Valencia site that were slated to be impacted by construction activities; and (3) monitoring of the preservation of the loci through site burial.

The excavation efforts have led to interesting insights that should foster additional research. Analysis of the structure and timing of settlement in the prehistoric Valencia community area suggests population movements through the Middle Rincon phase. Examination of household productive pursuits points to the possibility of surplus agricultural production by the households in the Valencia community, with the surpluses potentially to be used in exchange for other goods. Whether specialized ceramic production was carried out by the households in the project area remains an open question. Analyses described in the following sections produced divergent results that require additional examination.

The preservation measures proposed for the project area were carried out successfully. Avoidance and site burial proved to be effective methods for protecting the archaeological resources. However, an ongoing problem with soil moisture due to excessive irrigation needs to be resolved before the preservation efforts can be deemed a complete success.

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.

Contributor(s): Jenny L. Adams; Michael W. Diehl; James M. Heidke; Michael W. Lindeman; John A. McClelland; Ellen C. Ruble; Arthur W. Vokes; Henry D. Wallace; Jennifer A. Waters; Joshua Watts

Prepared By(s): Desert Archaeology, Inc.

Submitted To(s): Pima County Community College

Record Identifiers

Technical Report(s): 2005-12

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