The Middle Gila Basin: An Archaeological and Historical Overview

Author(s): Claudia F. Berry; William S. Marmaduke

Year: 1982

Summary

The Central Arizona Project (CAP) , Indian Distribution Division (IDD) is designed to deliver allocated CAP water to Indian users. The Middle Gila Basin Overview is the initial cultural resources planning study for the system. It summarizes and evaluates the extant data in an area 3,570 square miles (9,139 sq km) large, centered on the Gila River.

The data suggests that archaeological sites in this area are numerous and varied, but most of all poorly-studied despite 100 years of research. A defensible culture history and chronology exists for only 35 percent of the 12,000 years of human history in the Basin. Given this, an assumption that basic interpretive frameworks are available to support sophisticated processural arguments is inaccurate. Further data analysis shows that site distributions correspond to physical and biotic zones in only the most general sense. Sites tend to be large and densely-clustered on the second terraces of major rivers; large sites, less-closely spaced are also in higher interior valleys. Sites on upper bajadas slopes appear to be specialized activity areas, while valley bottom sites contain material suggestive of encampments and villages. Most important, the patterns of previous field investigdtions more than anything else are responsible for apparent clusterings of sites. Large areas of the Middle Gila Basin remain unexplored. CAP-IDD systems are likely to encounter substantial archaeological remains along almost any intended, gravity- flow canal alignment, and in many field areas proposed for agricultural development. Of these remains, the majority can qualify, probably, for inclusion in the National Register of Historic Place because, in reality, we know so little about them.

See the appendices for a full site list.

Cite this Record

The Middle Gila Basin: An Archaeological and Historical Overview. Claudia F. Berry, William S. Marmaduke. Flagstaff, AZ: Northland Research, Inc. 1982 ( tDAR id: 56713) ; doi:10.6067/XCV8FN183H

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

Keywords

Culture
Anglo • Archaic • Chiricahua Cochise • Cochise • Euroamerican • Historic • Historic Native American • Hohokam • Mexican-American • PaleoIndian • Pima • San Pedro Cochise • Yuman

Material
Adobe • Building Materials • Ceramic • Chipped Stone • Ground Stone • Jacal • Masonry • Stone

Site Name
Adams School • Adamsville Site • Andre Building • Arizona State Capitol Building • Butte-Cochrane Charcoal Ovens • C. H. Cook Memorial Church • Casa Grande Ruins National Monument • Casa Grande Stone Church • Casa Grande Women's Club • Cashion Site • Dr. Roland Rossen House • Evans House • Farmer-Goodwin House • First Florence Courthouse • Grace Court School • Ha-ak Va-ak Intaglio • Library Park • Mesa Grande • Monroe School • Neils Peterson House • Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church • Park of the Four Waters • Phoenix Carnegie Library • Phoenix Townsite • Pinal County Courthouse • Pueblo Grande • Pueblo Grande Ruins • Rossen House • Roy Hackett House • Second Pinal County Courthouse • Snaketown • St. Mary's Church • T:12:32 Show More

Site Type
Administrative Site • Adobe Structure • Adobe Wall • Agricultural or Herding • Ancient Structure • Archaeological Feature • Artifact Scatter • Bakery • Ball Court • Battleground • Bedrock Grinding Feature • Bedrock Mortar • Boarding House • Brick Courthouse • Burial • Business Building • Camp • Canal • Canal or Canal Feature • Capitol Building • Catholic Church • Cave • Cemetery • Ceremonial Cave • Check Dam • Church • Church / Religious Structure • Cistern • Commercial or Industrial Structures • Communal / Public Structure • Community Center • Compound • Construction Camp • Courthouse • Cremation • Defense Wall • Depression • Domestic Structure or Architectural Complex • Domestic Structures • Elementary School • Encampment • Farm Facility • Field • Foundation • Fruit Harvesting Camp • Funerary and Burial Structures or Features • Governmental Structure • Habitation Unit • Hamlet / Village • Hearth • Historic Church / Religious Structure • Historic Communal / Public Structure • Historic Governmental Structure • Historic Structure • House • Intaglio • Intaglio / Geoglyph • Isolated Artifact • Isolated Burial • Jacal Structure • Kiln • Library • Linear Rock Alignment • Lithic Scatter • Lookout • Masonry Pueblo • Masonry Structure • Mescal Pit • Midden • Milling Feature • Mine • Miner's Homesite • Mound • Mound / Earthwork • Non-Domestic Structures • Parade Ground • Park • Petroglyph • Pit • Pot Bust • Presbyterian Church • Public School • Pueblo • Quarry • Rancheria • Resource Extraction / Production / Transportation Structure or Features • Road, Trail, and Related Structures or Features • Roasting Pit • Roasting Pit / Oven / Horno • Rock Alignment • Rock Art • Rock Pile • Rock Ring • Rock Scatter • Rock Shelter • Room Block / Compound / Pueblo • Rubble Mound • Sacred Hill • School • Scraped Area • Settlements • Sherd Scatter • Shrine • Sleeping Circle • Smelter • Stage Station • Statehouse • Stone Church • Stone Kiln • Structure • Telegraph Office • Terrace • Trading Post • Trail • Trash Midden • Trash Mound • Village • Waffle Garden • Wall • Water Control Feature • Well Show More

Investigation Types
Archaeological Overview

General
A. L. Schroeder • Adolf Bandelier • Ak-Chin Farm Project • Archaeological Institute of America • Arizona State University • Cap • Central Arizona Project • Conoco Flor Project • Cosmos Mindeleff • E. E. Snyder • E. F. Schmidt • Early Queen Anne Style • Emil Haury • Frank H. Cushing • Gila River Farm Project • Harold Gladden • Heal Lakeshore Project • Hemenway Expedition • I. Hayden • IDD • Indian Distribution Division • Jackrabbit Mine Project • Jesse Fewkes • Julian Hayden • Kaka-Stoa Pitk Water Project • O. Halseth • Phillips Academy • Pot • R. Hastings • Roosevelt Floodway Project • Santa Rosa Wash Project • Smithsonian Institution • Territorial Architecture • Thompson Expedition • Van Bergen-Los Angeles Museum Expedition • Vekol Copper Mining Project • Victorian Architecture Show More

Geographic Keywords
04999 (Fips Code) • Ak Chin Indian Reservation • Arizona (State / Territory) • Basin and Range Geological Province • Casa Grande, AZ • Chandler, AZ • Coolidge, AZ • Eloy, AZ • Florence, AZ • Fort McDowell Indian Reservation • Gila River • Gila River Indian Reservation • Maricopa, AZ • Maricopa (County) • Mesa, AZ • Mexican Highland • Middle Gila Basin • Papago Indian Reservation • Papagueria • Phoenix, AZ • Pinal (County) • Queen Creek • Sacaton Mountains • Salt River • Salt River Indian Reservation • Sand Tank Mountains • Santa Cruz River • Santan Mountains • Santa Rosa Wash • Sierra Estrella • Silver Reef Mountains • Sonoran Desert Biological Area • South Mountain • Table Top Mountains • Tempe, AZ • Tolleson, AZ • Vekol Wash Show More

Temporal Keywords
1870s • 1880s • 1890s • 1900s • 1910s • 1920s • 19th Century • 20th Century • Civano Phase • Classic Period • Colonial Period • Gila Butte Phase • Historic • Pioneer Period • Prehistoric • Santa Cruz Phase • Sedentary Period • Soho Phase

Spatial Coverage

min long: -113.687; min lat: 32.473 ; max long: -110.325; max lat: 34.298 ;

Individual & Institutional Roles

Contact(s): USDI Bureau of Reclamation, Phoenix Area Office

Sponsor(s): Bureau of Reclamation

Prepared By(s): Northland Research

Record Identifiers

NADB Citation ID No.(s): 000000166328

NADB Document ID No.(s): 2202224

Notes

General Note: The copy of this document from which the NADB citation was made is located at the Bureau of Reclamation, Box 25007, Denver CO 80255.

File Information

  Name Size Creation Date Date Uploaded Access
CCRS-1982-001-The-Middle-Gila-Basin-An-Archaeological-and-Hist... 245.58mb May 12, 2016 10:27:35 AM Confidential
Note that although pages 325-342 are not present, the document content is complete; and has been approved for upload by USDI Bureau of Reclamation, Phoenix Area Office (PXAO) on 20 April 2016.

Accessing Restricted Files

At least one of the files for this resource is restricted from public view. For more information regarding access to these files, please reference the contact information below

Contact(s): USDI Bureau of Reclamation, Phoenix Area Office

This Resource is Part of the Following User Created Collections