State Route 260 - Payson to Heber Archaeological Project: Results of Archaeological Testing at Indian Garden, Gila County, Arizona

Summary

State Route (SR) 260 from Payson to Heber, Arizona, is currently being realigned and improved, in sections, by the Arizona Department of Transportation (ADOT). The overall SR 260 project includes construction of 45.8 miles of highway between mileposts 256.2 and 302. Archaeological sites are found only in the western 22 miles, on Tonto National Forest land below the Mogollon Rim. Construction is being staged in six segments, including (from west to east): Lion Springs, Preacher Canyon, Little Green Valley, Kohls Ranch, Doubtful Canyon, and Christopher Creek. Data recovery of cultural resources has been completed in the Preacher Canyon (Herr, Stein, and Cook 2000), Christopher Creek (Herr and Stein 2000), and Kohl's Ranch (Herr and Stein 2002) sections.

The current work at Indian Garden was conducted as part of the closure of the Kohl's Ranch construction. When SR 260 was constructed in the early 1960s, a sizable portion of the prehistoric component of the Indian Garden site, AZ O:12:32/AR-03- 12-04-53 (ASM/TNF)1 was removed. Construction also left a road-cut at Milepost 268, approximately 250.0 m long and 2.5 m to 3.5 m deep along the northern margin of the Indian Garden meadow. In the past 10 years, human remains have begun to erode from this road-cut. The Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community and the TNF requested that ADOT remove the burials prior to filling and re-contouring the hillside. The results of the burial removal and testing phase work at Indian Garden are presented in this report, as are an assessment of the eligibility of the prehistoric component of the site and recommendations for further treatment.

The Kohl's Ranch section of SR 260 has been rerouted almost 0.40 km (or 0.25 miles) to the north. The ADOT resource protection plan stipulates that before closing the old alignment, the road-cut will be filled, the hill slope re-contoured, and the area of impact re-vegetated. Because low-impact methods will be used by construction crews, all archaeological work was confined to the previously damaged portion of the site and the area of potential impact at the road-cut.

Testing phase investigations at Indian Garden, conducted under TNF permits Ton 425 and Ton 426, evaluated the integrity and significance of the prehistoric component of the site along the road-cut north of the 1960-to-2004 alignment of SR 260. The human remains exposed by the road-cut were removed, but undisturbed burials were left in place as determined by TNF consultation with tribal representatives (Siderits 2004).

Tonto National Forest personnel have previously recommended that the Indian Garden site be determined eligible for inclusion in the National Register of Historic Places under Criterion A for the significance of the historic-period use of the site, and under Criterion D for the research potential of the prehistoric and historic period archaeological components (Michael Sullivan, personal communication 2005). Desert Archaeology, Inc., concurs with the TNF recommendation. The prehistoric component meets the requirements of the National Register of Historic Places under Criterion D as a contributing element to the eligibility of Indian Garden.

Because the intact portions of the site will be avoided during rehabilitation of the slope, no further work is needed at this time. However, Desert Archaeology recommends that a professional archaeologist monitor construction to ensure the site is not further impacted.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

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

Keywords

Temporal Coverage

Calendar Date: 400 to 950 (The dates of occupation of the excavated houses)

Spatial Coverage

Individual & Institutional Roles

Contact(s): Desert Archaeology, Inc.

Prepared By(s): Desert Archaeology, Inc.

Submitted To(s): Arizona Department of Transportation, Environmental and Enhancement Group, Historic Preservation Team

Record Identifiers

Technical Report No.(s): 2005-11

File Information