Excavations in the Southern Avra Valley: Results of the SAVSARP Project

Summary

The Southern Avra Valley Storage and Recovery Project (SAVSARP) project examined three sites, AZ AA:16:312 (ASM), AZ AA:16:468 (ASM), and AZ AA:16:469 (ASM), and a non-site artifact concentration, Locality A, on the floor of the Avra Valley. The surface manifestations of the sites mirrored those of other sites in the valley bottom, low-density artifact scatters covering broad expanses. Locales of higher artifact density were defined as archaeological sites, but surface artifacts continued outside of site boundaries, albeit at even lower densities than within the sites. The surface manifestation can be attributed in part to plowing and other land form modifications; however, the results of this project and others in adjacent areas suggest that such artifact distributions may also be the product of long-term, low-intensity landscape use. Subsurface features were only identified at AA:16:468, and this site was the focus of Phase 2 data recovery. Sixty extramural pits were excavated at AA:16:468. Four types of pit were identified during excavation: covered pits (n = 5), cache pits (n = 6), roasting pits (n = 5), and undifferentiated pits (n = 44). Based on the diagnostic artifacts and absolute dates, low-intensity resource procurement continued at the SAVSARP sites from the Middle Archaic period through the Protohistoric period. Although our ability to assign specific excavated features to specific temporal intervals is limited, use of the landscape appears to have varied little through time. Visits to the project area appear to have been short and focused, regardless of when they occurred. Though the introduction of agriculture may have fostered some horticulture in the area, agriculture never seems to have been the main reason people visited East Brawley Wash. Rather, natural plant resources appear to have been the primary motivation and these resources, predictable and plentiful, drew people for millennia.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

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

Keywords

Temporal Coverage

Calendar Date: -1200 to -800 (San Pedro Phase)

Calendar Date: -3500 to -2100 (Middle Archaic Period)

Spatial Coverage

Individual & Institutional Roles

Contact(s): Desert Archaeology, Inc.

Contributor(s): Jenny L. Adams; Owen K. Davis; Michael W. Diehl; Gary Huckleberry; Michael W. Lindeman; Stacy L. Ryan; Jennifer A. Waters; Helga Wöcherl

Prepared By(s): Desert Archaeology, Inc.

Submitted To(s): Department of Urban Planning & Design

Record Identifiers

Arizona Repatriation Case(s): 07-24

Arizona State Museum(ASM) project specific permit number(s): 2007-111ps

File Information