Archaeological Data Recovery for the A.F. Distributors Building

Purpose

Phase II data recovery was conducted within the Hohokam village site, AZ T:12:137(ASM) (Las Canopas), in a privately owned parcel slated for industrial/commercial development.

Actions

• Mechanical removal of overburden across the 2.5-acre parcel

• Hand excavation of a sample of precontact features

• Recovery of all ancestral remains encountered

• 21 habitation features, 87 extramural features, 49 mortuary features, and 2 irrigation canals excavated

Results

• The project documented use of the parcel from the Sweetwater phase of the Pioneer period to the Santa Cruz phase of the Colonial period, a roughly 250- to 300-year-long time span. Use of the site area was initially limited to cooking and trash features and expanded to multiple habitation structures and associated extramural features.

• An associated cremation cemetery was present through most of the occupation/use of the parcel. Two related canals, used later during the Sedentary or Classic period, were also documented, which reflects a change in land use from residential to agricultural.

• Analyses of the macrobotanical, pollen, and ground stone assemblages combined with the presence of several hornos and roasting pits across the span of occupation suggests processing and cooking agave was a regular occurrence. Lithic analyses demonstrated a heavily utilitarian assemblage with some emphasis on fiber processing.

• Documenting cemetery areas allowed Desert Archaeology to recommend archaeological monitoring of future ground-disturbing activities be targeted toward areas with a higher probability of mortuary features, while exempting areas that were essentially sterile.