Results of Archaeological Testing Along The Wapa 115-KV Transmission Line Through Continental Ranch, Marana, Arizona: Sites AZ AA:12:146 (ASM) and AZ AA:12:147(ASM)

Summary

From March 8 through March 17, 1988, archaeologists from the Institute for American Research spent 22 person-days conducting exploratory excavations at two archaeological sites within the proposed Continental Ranch development in Marana, Arizona. This subsurface testing project, referred to hereafter as the "CR-WAPA testing" project, was sponsored by the American Continental corporation, developer of the property that contains the two archaeological sites.

The archaeological sites tested during this project are AZ AA:12:146 (ASM), which has been named the "Dos Chollas" site, and AA:12:147 (ASM), also known as the "Ditchbox" site. Both sites are within the path of the U.S. Department of Energy’s Saguaro to Tucson 115- K ilovolt transmission line administered by the Western Area Power Administration (WAPA). Because of the federal involvement with the Continental Ranch development, the main objective of the CR-WAPA testing was to determine whether either the Dos Chollas site or the Ditchbox site is significant according to federal criteria, that is, whether either site appears to be eligible for inclusion in the National Register of Historic Places. American Continental authorized the Institute to proceed with site significance testing in a letter dated February 24, 1988. In a letter to the Institute dated February 29, 1988, G. J. Giles, WAPA’s Assistant Area Manager for Management Services, concurred with the Institute’s testing plan.

Sites AA:12:146 and AA:12:147, and a third site nearby (AA:12:148), were first reported by the Arizona State Museum (ASM) as a result of ASM’s archaeological survey for a previously proposed land development project in this area. In the report on that survey, AA:12:146 and AA:12:147 were described as surface scatters of ceramics and stone artifacts covering areas of about 750 square meters and 5180 square meters, respectively. It was noted that most of the artifacts at AA:12:147 were concentrated within a 65 X 40 m area near the northern margin of that site. Sample collections of artifacts suggested that AA:12:146, AA:12:147, and AA:12:148 were all occupied during the Rillito and Rincon phases, ca. A.D. 700-1200. All three sites were interpreted to be locations of prehistoric habitation (Mayberry and Madsen 1981:9-10). The ASM archaeologists excavated three parallel backhoe trenches within a 30 X 20 m area of the higher-density artifact concentration in the northern part of AA:12:147. Unfortunately, apparently no maps are available to show the exact locations of the ASM trenches. No cultural features were identified in any of the ASM trenches, although a total of 23 sherds and 1 stone flake were seen in the backdirt of the three trenches. In ASM’s report (Mayberry and Madsen 1981) Mayberry noted that the upper 40 to 45 cm of the earth exposed in each trench had been disturbed by plowing. From this brief trenching program Mayberry concluded that cultural material was limited to surface deposits only, and that if prehistoric occupation occurred at AA:12:147 the occupation was probably not particularly sedentary; it was further suggested that AA:12:147 was not actually the location of any prehistoric activity, but instead that the surface artifact scatter was the result of redeposition and soil transport associated with recent construction activities (Mayberry and Madsen 1981:26).

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

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

Keywords

Temporal Coverage

Calendar Date: 700 to 1200 (Occupation)

Calendar Date: 1000 to 1050 (Middle Rincon subphase)

Calendar Date: 950 to 1000

Spatial Coverage

Individual & Institutional Roles

Contact(s): Desert Archaeology, Inc.

Prepared By(s): Institute for American Research

Submitted To(s): American Continental Corporation

File Information