Archaeological Mapping and Artifact Analyses at the Calabazas and Guevavi Units of the Tumacacori National Historic Park, Santa Cruz County, Arizona

Summary

The Calabazas and Guevavi Units of the Tumacacori National Historical Park preserve valuable cultural resources dating to Prehistoric, Protohistoric, Spanish, Mexican, American Territorial, and American Statehood times. These units are located in southern Arizona in Santa Cruz County. Plans are underway to install visitor paths at the Calabazas Unit. Concerns regarding visitor impacts to the surface of the site led the National Park Service (NPS) to request a program in which all artifacts on the ground surface were to be counted and evaluated for temporal and functional patterns. Additionally, maps were created for the Calabazas and Guevavi Units using modern surveying technology. Finally, a sample of diagnostic Native American ceramics, non-Native American ceramics, and flaked stones were collected from the surface of Calabazasto create a type collection of items likely to be found in the three units at Tumacacori National Historical Park.

Fieldwork was conducted by Desert Archaeology, Inc., personnel in December 2010, with 16 persons-days expended in the surface artifact counts. An additional 10 person-days were spent mapping Calabazas and Guevavi in December 2010 through March 2011. William H. Doelle, Ph.D., was the Principal Investigator for the project, with J. Homer Thiel and Michael Brack serving as Project Directors. Patti Cook, Chris Lange, and James Marsh were crew members.

The Area of Potential Effect (APE) refers to the "geographic area or areas within which an undertaking may directly or indirectly cause alterations in the character or use of historic properties, if any such properties exist" (36 CFR 800.16[d]). For this project, the fenced portions of the Calabazas and Guevavi Units were considered to be the APE. No physical alteration of either area took place during the course of fieldwork.

The project fieldwork was governed by the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966. No permits were required. Artifacts, field notes, and maps created for the project will be archived at the Western Archeological Conservation Center (WACC) in Tucson, Arizona. In all, 14,005 artifacts were counted on the surface of the fenced portion of the Calabazas Unit. Artifacts are scattered across most of the site; however, two likely midden areas were located, one, the location of a Territorial-era blacksmith shop, and the other possibly marking the location of subsurface prehistoric or Protohistoric features. Flaked stone artifacts eroding from the adobe bricks of the church point to a prehistoric site, likely dating to the Early Agricultural period, as the source of the dirt used to make the bricks.

A variety of Native American and non-Native American ceramics is present at the site. A small type collection was created using artifacts collected from the surface of Calabazas and other ceramics recovered from Tumacacori and Guevavi. Five flaked stone artifacts, three projectile points, two gunflints, and a piece of obsidian from the Antelope Wells source, were also collected and are curated at WACC.

Detailed maps of the Calabazas and Guevavi Units were created. These maps documented the natural topography, as well as the location of cultural features. A series of artifact density maps was created based upon the surface artifact counts at the Calabazas Unit. These maps indicate that, despite past artifact collecting and looting activities, significant information about human activities can be gleaned from the items exposed on the ground surface.

Construction of paths at the Calabazas Unit can proceed; however, if any ground-disturbing activities take place, they should be preceded by an archaeological excavation.

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): James M. Heidke; Jeremy M. Moss; M. Steven Shackley; R. Jane Sliva; Patricia Castalia

Principal Investigator(s): William Doelle

Project Director(s): Homer Thiel; Michael Brack

Prepared By(s): Desert Archaeology, Inc.

Submitted To(s): Tumacacori National Historic Park

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