Site Boundary Identification Testing in Northern Los Pozos AZ AA:12:91 (ASM), for the Pima County Flood Control Drainage Channel Extension, Tucson, Pima County, Arizona

Summary

In 2013, Pima County planned to construct a temporary channel in a small City of Tucson parcel along the northwestern margin of Los Pozos, AZ AA:12:91 (ASM). A limited data recovery program conducted in the parcel revealed a new portion of a known paleochannel complex related to the Santa Cruz River eastern floodplain and a small area with Hohokam era features, including several burials and a possible ceramic kiln. The discovery of these significant cultural features, with the potential to encounter more within the parcel, led Pima County to its abandon its plans for the temporary channel.

In 2016, the Pima County Regional Flood Control District completed plans to construct a permanent drainage channel to the Santa Cruz River, through the City-owned parcel, from an existing drainage channel along the Interstate 10 Frontage Road. The current archaeological investigations continued where the 2013 work left off and explored an area farther west, outside the site boundary, along an existing drainage ditch that was incorporated into the channel design.

Within the site boundary, data recovery utilized mechanical stripping and focused on the discovery and treatment of any cultural resources in the parcel. Testing the site boundary west of the parcel was conducted through backhoe trenching and focused on the identification of potential cultural resources and evaluation of the intact stratigraphy. Five additional Hohokam features were found in the parcel, including a pit structure, a hearth area and a trash concentration, both potentially representing the remains of poorly preserved pit structures, and two pits, one of which is a mortuary feature.

Together, the 2013 and the current features indicate the eastern portion of the project area represents a full-fledged Hohokam habitation locus, and suggests the presence of a courtyard group. The feature- bearing stratum overlies natural deposits deriving from a braided system of channels that are part of a known, large paleochannel complex at Los Pozos. Evidence of prehistoric cultural activity at the site boundary was limited to a few dispersed artifacts. Based on the current project findings, it is recommended that the northwestern site boundary of Los Pozos be moved east of its current location.

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 50 (Late Cienega Phase)

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

Calendar Date: -2100 to 50 (Early Agricultural Period)

Spatial Coverage

Individual & Institutional Roles

Contact(s): Desert Archaeology, Inc.

Contributor(s): Jenny L. Adams; Michael W. Diehl; James M. Heidke; Gary Huckleberry; R. Jane Sliva; Christine H. Virden-Lange; Jennifer A. Waters; James T. Watson; Helga Wöcherl

Project Director(s): Dr. Helga Wöcherl

Prepared By(s): Desert Archaeology, Inc.

Submitted To(s): Office of Sustainability and Conservation Cultural Resources & Historic Preservation Division

Record Identifiers

Burial Agreement, State Case No.(s): 2016-018

Arizona State Museum (Accession Number)(s): 2016-189

Desert Archaeology, Inc. Project Number(s): 15-149

Pima County Contract(s): DO 16_11548

Arizona Antiquities Act Project Specific Permit(s): 2016-0096ps

File Information