Excavations at Sunset Mesa Ruin
Creators: name: Lindeman, Michael W.
Publisher: name: Desert Archaeology, Inc.
Year: 2000
Subjects: subject: Arizona (State / Territory)
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/geographic-keyword/335/arizona-state-territory
subject: Santa Cruz River
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/geographic-keyword/76790/santa-cruz-river
subject: Tucson Basin
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/geographic-keyword/2758/tucson-basin
subject: Early Rincon Phase
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/temporal-keyword/7694/early-rincon-phase
subject: Middle Rincon Phase
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/temporal-keyword/7600/middle-rincon-phase
subject: Late Rincon Phase
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/temporal-keyword/7602/late-rincon-phase
subject: Tucson Phase
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/temporal-keyword/6131/tucson-phase
subject: Tanque Verde Phase
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/temporal-keyword/6021/tanque-verde-phase
subject: Hohokam
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/culture-keyword/21/hohokam
subject: Huhugam
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/culture-keyword/8166/huhugam
subject: Tanque Verde Wash
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/site-name/558/tanque-verde-wash
subject: Los Morteros
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/site-name/81073/los-morteros
subject: Sunset Mesa Loci A and B
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/site-name/104230/sunset-mesa-loci-a-and-b
subject: West Branch-WIS
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/site-name/104232/west-branch-wis
subject: Sunset Mesa-Locus S
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/site-name/104231/sunset-mesa-locus-s
subject: West Branch-SRI
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/site-name/104233/west-branch-sri
subject: Funerary and Burial Structures or Features
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/site-type/301/funerary-and-burial-structures-or-features
subject: Sweat House / Sweat Lodge
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/site-type/337/sweat-house-sweat-lodge
subject: Burial Pit
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/site-type/307/burial-pit
subject: Archaeological Feature
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/site-type/339/archaeological-feature
subject: Non-Domestic Structures
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/site-type/309/non-domestic-structures
subject: Hearth
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/site-type/343/hearth
subject: Communal / Public Structure
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/site-type/314/communal-public-structure
subject: Cremation pits
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/site-type/3578/cremation-pits
subject: Domestic Structure or Architectural Complex
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/site-type/251/domestic-structure-or-architectural-complex
subject: Ancient Communal / Public Structure
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/site-type/315/ancient-communal-public-structure
subject: Historic Communal / Public Structure
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/site-type/316/historic-communal-public-structure
subject: Domestic Structures
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/site-type/256/domestic-structures
subject: Pit
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/site-type/355/pit
subject: Refuse Pit
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/site-type/356/refuse-pit
subject: Storage Pit
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/site-type/358/storage-pit
subject: Pit House / Earth Lodge
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/site-type/263/pit-house-earth-lodge
subject: Extramural Pits
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/site-type/3627/extramural-pits
subject: Pollen
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/material-type/13/pollen
subject: Shell
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/material-type/14/shell
subject: Ceramic
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/material-type/1/ceramic
subject: Chipped Stone
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/material-type/2/chipped-stone
subject: Dating Sample
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/material-type/3/dating-sample
subject: Fauna
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/material-type/4/fauna
subject: Fire Cracked Rock
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/material-type/5/fire-cracked-rock
subject: Ground Stone
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/material-type/7/ground-stone
subject: Human Remains
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/material-type/9/human-remains
subject: Macrobotanical
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/material-type/10/macrobotanical
subject: Mineral
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/material-type/12/mineral
subject: Bioarchaeological Research
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/investigation-type/15/bioarchaeological-research
subject: Archaeological Overview
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/investigation-type/1/archaeological-overview
subject: Historic Background Research
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/investigation-type/18/historic-background-research
subject: Data Recovery / Excavation
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/investigation-type/5/data-recovery-excavation
subject: Reconnaissance / Survey
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/investigation-type/7/reconnaissance-survey
subject: Site Evaluation / Testing
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/investigation-type/10/site-evaluation-testing

description: This report details the results of excavations at the Sunset Mesa Ruin, AZ AA:12:10 (ASM). The predominant occupation of Sunset Mesa Ruin was during the Middle Rincon phase (A.D. 1000-1100). However, limited use of the area was identified during the Early Agricultural period (800 B.C.-A.D. 100) and the later Tucson phase (A.D. 1300-1450). Evidence of Historic period use, first as a turn-of-the-century homestead and later as a dairy, has also been documented (Ciolek-Torrello, Huber, and Neily 1999; Swartz and Adams 1998; Wallace 1996). The site is located in present-day Tucson, Arizona. It sits on a finger of the second alluvial terrace, surrounded by the floodplains of the Santa Cruz and Rillito rivers. The confluence of these rivers is located approximately 500 m to the west. The excavations which are the focus of the current study concentrated on the Middle Rincon phase occupation and in particular two loci, Loci A and B, of the four loci of habitation that have been identified at the site (Figure 1.2) (Ciolek Torrello, Huber, and Neily 1999; Swartz and Adams 1998). Only limited excavations of mortuary features were undertaken at Loci C and S. Locus S was investigated by Statistical Research, Inc. (SRI) and provides a complementary data set to that described here (Ciolek-Torrello, Huber, and Neily 1999). Excavations at Sunset Mesa Ruin provided a unique opportunity to examine the remains of a Middle Rincon phase hamlet, the remains of which had undergone few impacts from subsequent prehistoric or historic use of the area. Excavations revealed that each of the loci consisted of dense concentrations of pithouses, extramural pits, and cremation burials. Analysis suggests that each of the loci represent the remains left behind by a single household during the 100 years of occupation. This perspective of the prehistoric remains opened up various avenues for examining individual household units through time and allows for a comparison of the different household units that occupied Sunset Mesa Ruin. The following chapters build on this perspective.