Northern Altar Watershed Area Restoration Survey

Evaluating the effects of natural and human-caused land modification on cultural resources along Brawley Wash in the Altar Valley of southwestern Arizona

The Northern Altar Watershed Area survey was conducted for Pima County prior to the implementation of restoration measures. The project area had been heavily disturbed by agricultural use, sheetwash deposition, and erosion. Five archaeological sites consisting of artifact distributions and rock features were identified within an extensive low density artifact scatter covering 60 percent of the 543 acres surveyed. The primary use of the area spanned the Early Agricultural period and Hohokam eras. 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.