Phase 1 Eligibility Testing, Data Recovery, and Archival Research along Reaches 1 and 2 of the San Carlos Irrigation Project Rehabilitation, Pinal County, Arizona

Summary

As authorized under the Arizona Water Settlements Act of 2004, the San Carlos and Irrigation Drainage District (SCIDD) is undertaking a 10-year rehabilitation project of its irrigation system. SCIDD is the non-Indian irrigation component of the San Carlos Irrigation Project (SCIP), which provides irrigation water to the communities of Florence, Coolidge, and Casa Grande in Pinal County, Arizona. Phase 2 of this project includes modification of the canal by widening segments of Reaches 1, 2, and 3 and lining those segments of the canal with concrete.

In 2013, the Bureau of Reclamation, Phoenix Area Office (Reclamation) directed Archaeological Consulting Services, Ltd. (ACS) to conduct a Class III inventory of the project alignment and prepare a treatment plan for eligibility testing at two sites (AZ U:15:5[ASM] and AZ U:15:47[ASM]), Phase 1 data recovery at three sites (Florence Ruin/AZ U:15:124[ASM], AZ U:15:663[ASM], and AZ U:15:678[ASM]/AZ U:15:5[ARS]) (Gregory et al. 2014b), and archival research was for three sites (Florence Canal/AZ AA:3:211[ASM]; a wagon road/AZ U:15:665[ASM]; and a historic structure/AZ U:15:666[ASM]). Two sites, AZ AA:3:215(ASM)/Florence-Casa Grande Canal and AZ U:15:676(ASM)/AZ U:15:1(REC), had been previously mitigated. No further work was required for AZ AA:3:215(ASM)/Florence-Casa Grande Canal, but limited boundary testing was recommended within the expanded site boundary of U:15:676(ASM)/AZ U:15:1(REC).

No features were identified at AZ U:15:5(ASM), AZ U:15:47(ASM), Florence Ruin/AZ U:15:124(ASM), or AZ U:15:678(ASM). Seventeen features were identified at AZ U:15:663(ASM) during Phase 1 data recovery. One feature, a cremation, was identified at AZ U:15:676(ASM). Because potentially significant subsurface features were discovered at AZ U:15:663(ASM), a targeted Phase 2 data recovery effort is recommended. In addition, because human remains were identified at AZ U:15:676(ASM), Phase 2 data recovery is recommended, as well as archaeological monitoring during ground disturbing activities associated with the project. At the request of Reclamation, a Phase 2 treatment plan was prepared as part of this document. The results of the archival research associated with the Florence Canal (AZ AA:3:211[ASM]), a wagon road (AZ U:15:665[ASM]), and a historic structure (AZ U:15:666[ASM]), as well as artifact analyses from Phase 1 investigations, are also included in the report.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Phase 2: Reaches 1, 2, and 3 Rehabilitation

Keywords

Temporal Coverage

Calendar Date: 950 to 1300 (Sedentary-Classic)

Calendar Date: 850 to 1150 (Sedentary)

Calendar Date: 1857 to 1965 (Historic Period)

Spatial Coverage

Individual & Institutional Roles

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

Contributor(s): Lesley Hudson; Thomas Jones; Kerri Bastin; Zachary Rothwell

Field Director(s): Walter R. Punzmann

Lab Director(s): Alanna Ossa

Principal Investigator(s): Andrea Gregory

Project Director(s): Peg Davis

Landowner(s): San Carlos Irrigation and Drainage District; Arizona State Prison

Permitting Agency(s): US Bureau of Indian Affairs; San Carlos Irrigation Project; Arizona State Land Department

Repository(s): Archaeological Research Institute, Arizona State University

Prepared By(s): Archaeological Consulting Services, Ltd.

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

Record Identifiers

Arizona State Museum Burial Agreement Case(s): 2014-036

Archaeological Resources Protection Act (ARPA) Permit No.(s): 2014/ACS/SCIP/WRO/001a

Arizona Antiquities Act Project Specific Permit No.(s): 2014-098ps

Archaeological Consulting Services, Ltd. Project No.(s): 13-107

Bureau of Reclamation Contract No.(s): R13PB32022

Source Collections

Artifacts collected from BIA, ASLD, and private lands during this phase of eligibility testing and Phase 1 data recovery are curated in Accession No. 2016.007 at the Arizona State University Repository, in the Alameda Building. Artifacts collected from AZ U:15:678(ASM) on Reclamation land during earlier phases of eligibility testing are curated in Accession No. PXAO.2022.0003 at the Reclamation repository at the Lower Colorado Basin Regional Office, Date Street Campus, Building 1400, Room 230.

Related Comparative Collections

Artifacts collected from BIA, ASLD, and private lands during later phases of data recovery are curated in Accession No. 2018-97 at the Arizona State Museum. Artifacts collected from AZ U:15:861(ASM) on Reclamation land are curated at the Reclamation repository at the Lower Colorado Basin Regional Office, Date Street Campus, Building 1400, Room 230.