Northern Altar Watershed Area Restoration Survey

A typical landscape within the project area, in the northern Altar Valley vear Brawley Wash.

Purpose

The Northern Altar Watershed Area survey was conducted for Pima County prior to the implementation of restoration measures for an area that was heavily disturbed by agricultural use, sheetwash deposition, and erosion.

Actions

Records review to identify previously recorded cultural resources
Surveyed 1.39 linear miles of road corridor and a 534-acre contiguous survey block, for a total of 543 acres
Evaluated eligibility of all sites for inclusion in the National Register of Historic Places

Results

Desert Archaeology relocated and reassessed three previously reported sites, and identified two new sites.
The primary use of the area spanned the Early Agricultural period (2100 BC-AD 50) and Hohokam eras (AD 500-1350).
The surface artifact assemblage included over 50 projectile points and point preforms, ranging from Middle Archaic to Classic period Hohokam types.
Further geomorphological assessment in the southern part of the project area concluded that there is moderate potential for intact subsurface cultural materials.
Testing programs were recommended if erosion control devices are installed; surface data recovery recommended for two heavily eroded sites that likely will be destroyed if erosion control measures are not implemented.

Date:

November 2015

Location:

Altar Valley, Pima County, Arizona

Type:

Class I inventory and Class III pedestrian survey

Compliance:

Local

Client:

Pima County

DAI Reports:

Project Report No. 15-115

Services:

Survey

Artifact and Specimen Analysis

Click any image below to enlarge.

A circular cluster of angular stones protrudes from the ground surface revealing the remains of a precontact roasting pit. This cultural feature was the best preserved among several fire-cracked rock clusters within the boundaries of an extensive site with evidence of occupation dating from the Early Agricultural period (1200 B.C.-AD 50) through the Hohokam sequence (AD 500-1450).

Some of the more than 50 projectile points recorded by the Altar Valley survey, dating to the Middle Archaic (3500-2100 BC) and Early Agricultural (2100 BC-AD 50) periods.

Concentrations of precontact artifacts were encountered on the modern ground surface in severely eroded portions of the project area. Here, the survey team marks individual pottery sherds, flaked stone tool manufacturing debris, and fragments of grinding stones with brightly colored pin flags to help determine the density and lateral extent of a Hohokam artifact scatter.

Example of a poorly-preserved fire-cracked rock cluster.

Hundreds of pottery sherds were found during the survey. These refitted, incised sherds are from a red-on-brownware bowl made during the Estrella/Sweetwater phase (AD 650-700) of the Hohokam Pioneer period.

Quick Findings