Results of Phase 2 Data Recovery at the Southern Margin of the West Branch Site, AZ AA:16:3 (ASM), Pima County, Arizona
Creators: name: Swartz, Deborah
Publisher: name: Desert Archaeology, Inc.
Year: 2005
Subjects: subject: West Branch of Santa Cruz River
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/geographic-keyword/84582/west-branch-of-santa-cruz-river
subject: Tucson Basin
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/geographic-keyword/2758/tucson-basin
subject: Pima (County)
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/geographic-keyword/7353/pima-county
subject: Middle Rincon
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/temporal-keyword/7652/middle-rincon
subject: Early Rincon
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/temporal-keyword/7653/early-rincon
subject: Hohokam
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/culture-keyword/21/hohokam
subject: AZ AA:16:3 (ASM)
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/site-name/97511/az-aa163-asm
subject: Funerary and Burial Structures or Features
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/site-type/301/funerary-and-burial-structures-or-features
subject: Cemetery
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/site-type/302/cemetery
subject: Secondary Cremation
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/site-type/945/secondary-cremation
subject: Archaeological Feature
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/site-type/339/archaeological-feature
subject: Crematorium
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/site-type/2104/crematorium
subject: Ash Pit
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/site-type/1850/ash-pit
subject: Domestic Structure or Architectural Complex
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/site-type/251/domestic-structure-or-architectural-complex
subject: Settlements
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/site-type/252/settlements
subject: Hamlet / Village
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/site-type/254/hamlet-village
subject: Extramural Surface
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/site-type/2112/extramural-surface
subject: Rock-Filled Pit
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/site-type/2114/rock-filled-pit
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: Extramural pit
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/site-type/3172/extramural-pit
subject: Roasting Pit / Oven / Horno
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/site-type/357/roasting-pit-oven-horno
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: Post Hole / Post Mold
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/site-type/359/post-hole-post-mold
subject: Puddling Pit
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/site-type/1833/puddling-pit
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: Figurine
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/material-type/2128/figurine
subject: Charcoal
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/material-type/20/charcoal
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: Ground Stone
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/material-type/7/ground-stone
subject: Worked Animal Bone
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/material-type/2985/worked-animal-bone
subject: Macrobotanical
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/material-type/10/macrobotanical
subject: Worked shell
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/material-type/2986/worked-shell
subject: Mineral
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/material-type/12/mineral
subject: Archeomagnetic Dating
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/other-keyword/7554/archeomagnetic-dating
subject: Flotation Sample
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/other-keyword/20251/flotation-sample
subject: Archaeological Overview
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/investigation-type/1/archaeological-overview
subject: Data Recovery / Excavation
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/investigation-type/5/data-recovery-excavation
subject: Systematic Survey
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/investigation-type/12/systematic-survey

description: Current excavations at the West Branch site, AZ AA:16:3 (ASM), by Desert Archaeology, Inc., focused on a small portion of the southern end of the site prior to private construction. Artifacts will be curated at the Arizona State Museum (ASM) with accession number 2003-0382. Forty-one features identified within the project area included: 7 structures, 2 extramural surfaces, 3 trash concentrations, 1 horno, 1 roasting pit, 6 burial features, and 21 additional extramural pits. The horno and small cemetery are the first of their kind found at the site. Ceramic analysis of the excavated deposits dated the features from Early Rincon through Middle Rincon 2 (A.D. 950-1080). Analyses found evidence of ceramic production, including possible specialization in specific ceramic wares by locus, as well as limited evidence of shell production. The pollen and macrobotanical remains indicate an economy oriented toward floodplain agriculture supplemented with agave, wild resources, and small animals as part of the subsistence regime. An interpretation of site structure based on previous projects conducted at the site, the strong evidence of craft specialization, the subsistence remains, and the high diversity and density of the artifact assemblage all suggest West Branch functioned as a permanently settled village site, at least during the Middle Rincon phase when it was the most intensively inhabited.