Results of Archaeological Testing at the Periphery of Honey Bee Village, AZ BB:9:88 (ASM), and at AZ BB:9:450 (ASM), Oro Valley, Pima County, Arizona

Summary

Archaeological investigations were conducted along the periphery of Honey Bee Village, AZ BB:9:88 (ASM), and in the floodplain of Honey Bee Wash prior to construction activities by Mattamy Arizona, LLC. Honey Bee Village is a large, National Register-eligible site that contains a plaza, a ballcourt and more than 380 pit structures and 277 excavated mortuary features. The goal of the current project was to identify any mortuary features and to excavate them respectfully, before they might be found through the monitoring of heavy construction machinery. No features were discovered during the subsequent monitoring. The focus of work in the floodplain was to identify evidence of canal irrigation.

Mechanical stripping on the periphery of Honey Bee Village exposed 21 features, including two features containing animal burials and 19 extramural pits. No human mortuary features were encountered. One of the animal burials contained two dogs and one turkey vulture at the base of a bell-shaped pit approximately 10 m away from the nearest human mortuary feature with no nearby animal burials. The other was a single dog burial located 4 m from another dog burial and not near any other mortuary features. Fieldwork associated with identifying mortuary features also helped to more clearly define the eastern site boundary.

No evidence of irrigation was found in the floorplain; however, two roasting features were discovered, resulting in a new site designation, AZ BB:9:450 (ASM). The features were 90 m apart, found in widely spaced trenches. No datable material was recovered from the site. Construction plans for the floodplain are to raise the ground surface with imported fill and, in this way, bury and preserve the features at the site. The two roasting pits are probably representative of the types of features found in this setting and suggest that additional widely spaced roasting features are present.

It is recommended that the site be considered eligible for inclusion in the National Register of Historic Places under Criterion D. The site has the potential to inform on prehistoric use of the Honey Bee Wash floodplain. Further work at the site could address research themes regarding cultural chronology and affiliation, as well as subsistence practices.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

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

Keywords

Temporal Coverage

Calendar Date: 650 to 1200 (Late Tortolita Phase)

Calendar Date: 1100 to 1150 (Late Tanque Rincon Phase)

Spatial Coverage

Individual & Institutional Roles

Contact(s): Desert Archaeology, Inc.

Contributor(s): Jenny L Adams; Michael W. Diehl; James M. Heidke; Gary Huckleberry; R. Janes Sliva; Deborah L. Swartz; Christine H. Virden-Lange; Henry D. Wallace; Jennifer A. Waters

Field Director(s): Greg Whitney

Sponsor(s): Mattamy Arizona, LLC

Submitted To(s): Mattamy Arizona, LLC.

Record Identifiers

ASM Accession Number(s): 2015-612

Agreement on Burial Discoveries Case No.(s): 2016-005

Project Number(s): 15-153

File Information