Recent Investigations of the Barranca Canal at the Dutch Canal Ruin, NANT Property, Phoenix, Arizona
Creators: name: Huckleberry, Gary
name: T. Kathleen Henderson
name: Darby, Connie A.
Publisher: name: Desert Archaeology, Inc.
Year: 2014
Subjects: subject: Arizona (State / Territory)
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/geographic-keyword/335/arizona-state-territory
subject: Phoenix, AZ
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/geographic-keyword/76695/phoenix-az
subject: Phoenix Basin
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/geographic-keyword/27/phoenix-basin
subject: Maricopa (County)
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/geographic-keyword/3900/maricopa-county
subject: Late Pioneer Period
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/temporal-keyword/5631/late-pioneer-period
subject: Colonial Period
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/temporal-keyword/5377/colonial-period
subject: Hohokam
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/culture-keyword/21/hohokam
subject: Historic
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/culture-keyword/25/historic
subject: Dutch Canal Ruin
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/site-name/238/dutch-canal-ruin
subject: Canal Patricio system
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/site-name/83220/canal-patricio-system
subject: AZ T:12:131 (ASM)
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/site-name/83219/az-t12131-asm
subject: AZ T:12:62 (ASM)
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/site-name/78533/az-t1262-asm
subject: Barranca Canal
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/site-name/101096/barranca-canal
subject: Resource Extraction / Production / Transportation Structure or Features
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/site-type/272/resource-extraction-production-transportation-structure-or-features
subject: cesspool
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/site-type/3312/cesspool
subject: Agricultural or Herding
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/site-type/273/agricultural-or-herding
subject: Leach Pit
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/site-type/3329/leach-pit
subject: Canal or Canal Feature
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/site-type/275/canal-or-canal-feature
subject: Archaeological Feature
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/site-type/339/archaeological-feature
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: Trash Pit
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/site-type/842/trash-pit
subject: Glass
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/material-type/6/glass
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: Research Design / Data Recovery Plan
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/investigation-type/9/research-design-data-recovery-plan

description: The results of data recovery investigations of a prehistoric canal within the city-owned NANT property are presented in this report. The canal was identified in June 2012, while boundary testing the southern limits of the prehistoric site, Dutch Canal Ruin, AZ T:12:62 (ASM), and could be recognized as a continuation of the Barranca Canal, a previously identified alignment within the Canal Patricio System, AZ T:12:131 (ASM). Because testing had established that archaeological resources significant to Dutch Canal Ruin were not present within the NANT project area, the purpose of data recovery was to mitigate adverse effects any future development of the NANT property might have on the newly identified member of the Canal Patricio System. The current investigation provided an opportunity to trace the Barranca canal several hundred meters downstream and to revisit its stratigraphic and hydraulic properties in relation to surrounding Salt River floodplain deposits. The investigation establishes the Barranca Canal as an irrigation main, which significantly revises the previously held interpretation that the canal was akin to a drain running into Turney's Gully. Geoarchaeological information presented in this report provides further context for understanding how this canal operated within the dynamic environment of the Salt River floodplain. The late Pioneer to Colonial period age, approximately A.D. 700-900, of this canal based on newly acquired chronometric information is discussed and related to our current understanding of regional paleoflood hydrology and Salt River floodplain dynamics.