Prehistoric and Historic Research Along the Navajo-McCullough Transmission Line Right-of-Way

Author(s): Richard H. Brooks; Daniel O. Larson

Year: 1975

Summary

The Los Angeles Water and Power Company Navajo-McCullough Transmission Line Right-of-Way corridor is located for the most part in Clark County, Nevada, but also diagonals across the southeast corner of Lincoln County, Nevada. The total length of the corridor in Nevada is over 100 miles long and the archaeological survey was conducted within a 50 meter distance to either side of the center line. Access roads added to the distance that was intensively surveyed. Where it was observed that there was a possibility of indirect impact on sites visible from the corridor or access roads, these areas were included as a part of the overall survey.

The approach utilized to determine the degree of destructive impact on historic and prehistoric sites along the Right-of-Way corridor of the Navajo-McCullough Transmission Line was environmentally oriented. The Right-of-Way corridor cuts through a basin range region of relative aridity with rapid biotic community shifts related to microenvironmental conditions and altitudinal changes. In some sections of the corridor there are springs and flowing water which alter and affect the biota. The archaeological reconnaissance coordinated the multiple factors of local geology, geography, flora and fauna to interpret either the scarcity or clustering of prehistoric sites along the Right-of-Way corridor, in an attempt to predict patterns of aboriginal occupation. The significance of archaeological sites in this region is related to their geographical setting. Aboriginal useage of the environment was such that certain kinds of sites are only found in specific geological or geographical locations. Seasonality is an additional factor that is implicit in the environmental orientation as some site areas ideally would only be occupied during a particular time of year.

The archaeological survey and excavation of sites along the Navajo-McCullough Transmission Line Right-of-Way has provided a means of transecting this portion of the state of Nevada. Ordinarily archaeological areas in Southern Nevada are assumed to be concentrated by springs, around playas or along river banks where site potential might be expected. In the case where a direct power line survey cuts across many and various types of terrain, some of which may have been utilized prehistorically, this presents an opportunity to explore new avenues of aboriginal use patterns. The power line survey in its transect encountered area of aboriginal use and concentration that resulted in a broader archaeological interpretation of aboriginal environmental relationships.

No previous archaeological research had been conducted in the larger portion of the Transmission Line Corridor, except for the Gypsum Cave area and certain locales in the Muddy River drainage. With the exception of these two areas there is no direct archaeological publication concerned with the terrain crossed by the Right-of-Way corridor.

Cite this Record

Prehistoric and Historic Research Along the Navajo-McCullough Transmission Line Right-of-Way. Richard H. Brooks, Daniel O. Larson. 1975 ( tDAR id: 56158) ; doi:10.6067/XCV856158

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

Keywords

Material
Ceramic • Chipped Stone • Fauna • Ground Stone

Site Name
26 CK 1081 • 26 CK 1082 • 26 CK 1086 • 26 CK 1098 • 26 CK 1112 • 26 CK 1113 • 26 CK 1123 • 26 CK 1142 • 26 CK 1143 • 26 CK 1144 • 26 CK 1164 • 26 CK 1167 • Arrow Cane Site • Rattlesnake Site • Shelf Site • The Basic Site • The Windy Site • Tranquility Site

Site Type
Archaeological Feature • Artifact Scatter • Domestic Structure or Architectural Complex • Domestic Structures • Isolated Artifact • Pit • Quarry • Resource Extraction / Production / Transportation Structure or Features • Roasting Pit / Oven / Horno • Rock Shelter • Trash Scatter

Investigation Types
Data Recovery / Excavation • Reconnaissance / Survey • Site Evaluation / Testing

General
Arrowcane • Basketry • Bureau of Reclamation • Central Arizona Project • Cottonwood Points • Cottonwood Triangular Points • Cultural Chronology • Depressions • Desert Side Notched Points • Desert Sidenotch Point • Eastgate Points • Elko Cornernotched • Elko Eared Points • Humbolt Point • Incised Stone • Isolates • Lithic Analysis • Lithic and Ceramic Analysis • Lithic Scatter • Navajo-McCullough Line • Northern Sidenotched Points • Pinto Point • Prehistory • Projectile Points • Project Number 5-167(P) • Roasting Pit • Rock Circle • Rockshelters • Rose Springs Point • Significance / Management • Transmission Line Show More

Geographic Keywords
32003 (Fips Code) • 32017 (Fips Code) • 32999 (Fips Code) • All Counties (County) • Clark (County) • Lincoln (County) • Nevada (State / Territory) • North America (Continent) • United States of America (Country)

Temporal Keywords
Historic • Prehistoric

Spatial Coverage

min long: -120.006; min lat: 35.002 ; max long: -114.04; max lat: 42.002 ;

Individual & Institutional Roles

Contact(s): Salt River Project Cultural Resource Manager

Contributor(s): Joseph King; Gregory King; Robert Leavitt; Patricia Anderson

Field Director(s): Daniel O. Larson

Lab Director(s): Kathryne Olson

Project Director(s): Richard H. Brooks

Prepared By(s): Nevada Archaeological Survey, University of Nevada

Submitted To(s): Los Angeles Water and Power Company

Record Identifiers

NADB document id number(s): 2202380; 1672861

SRP Library Barcode No.(s): 00053640

NADB citation id number(s): 000000136536; 000000166484

File Information

  Name Size Creation Date Date Uploaded Access
1975_BrooksLarson_PrehistoricHistoric_OCR_PDFA.pdf 147.04mb Apr 1, 1975 Aug 3, 2017 11:55:11 AM Confidential
This file is unredacted.

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Contact(s): Salt River Project Cultural Resource Manager