Results of Archaeological Site Identification Testing for the Silverbell Road, Road Improvement Project, Tucson, Arizona
Creators: name: Rawson, Paul M.
Publisher: name: SWCA, Inc. Environmental Consultants
Year: 2014
Subjects: subject: Arizona Upland Subdivision
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/geographic-keyword/83821/arizona-upland-subdivision
subject: Sonoran Desert
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/geographic-keyword/2772/sonoran-desert
subject: Santa Cruz River Valley
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/geographic-keyword/54245/santa-cruz-river-valley
subject: Tucson Basin
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/geographic-keyword/2758/tucson-basin
subject: Gila and Salt River Baseline and Meridian
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/geographic-keyword/82341/gila-and-salt-river-baseline-and-meridian
subject: Pima (County)
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/geographic-keyword/7353/pima-county
subject: Tucson, AZ
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/geographic-keyword/76651/tucson-az
subject: Early Agricultural period
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/temporal-keyword/158/early-agricultural-period
subject: Ceramic Period
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/temporal-keyword/5688/ceramic-period
subject: Mogollon
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/culture-keyword/34/mogollon
subject: Huhugam
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/culture-keyword/8166/huhugam
subject: Archaic
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/culture-keyword/8/archaic
subject: Historic
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/culture-keyword/25/historic
subject: Middle Archaic
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/culture-keyword/10/middle-archaic
subject: Late Archaic
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/culture-keyword/11/late-archaic
subject: Euroamerican
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/culture-keyword/28/euroamerican
subject: AZ AA:12:1152 (ASM)
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/site-name/101200/az-aa121152-asm
subject: AZ AA:12:1153 (ASM)
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/site-name/101201/az-aa121153-asm
subject: Domestic Structures
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/site-type/256/domestic-structures
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: Artifact Scatter
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/site-type/340/artifact-scatter
subject: Roasting Pit / Oven / Horno
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/site-type/357/roasting-pit-oven-horno
subject: Pit House / Earth Lodge
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/site-type/263/pit-house-earth-lodge
subject: Domestic Structure or Architectural Complex
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/site-type/251/domestic-structure-or-architectural-complex
subject: Lens
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/site-type/3291/lens
subject: Plainware
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/material-type/174/plainware
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: Fire Cracked Rock
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/material-type/5/fire-cracked-rock
subject: Red-on-Buff
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/material-type/2629/red-on-buff
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: Records Search / Inventory Checking
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/investigation-type/8/records-search-inventory-checking
subject: Research Design / Data Recovery Plan
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/investigation-type/9/research-design-data-recovery-plan
subject: Site Evaluation / Testing
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/investigation-type/10/site-evaluation-testing

description: The City of Tucson (COT) proposes to widen Silverbell Road. The project would entail construction of a four-lane divided roadway with raised medians, paved shoulders, a multi-use path, pavement markings, striping and signing, and drainage improvements. Funding for the project would be provided by the Regional Transportation Authority (RTA). The area of potential effects (APE) for this 1.15-mile-long project is located between the west bank of the Santa Cruz River and the toe of the Tucson Mountains in right-of-way (ROW) administered by COT, and entirely within Tucson city limits. A previous archaeological survey conducted by SWCA Environmental Consultants (SWCA) for the proposed widening of Silverbell Road resulted in no cultural resources detected in the current project area, although much of the current APE was inaccessible due to development or lack of right-of-entry (Petersen et al. 2010). SWCA noted that the geomorphology of the project area meant buried cultural deposits were possible in contexts which would not be visible on the modern ground surface, and recommended that identification testing should be conducted in non-site areas where portions of the project APE crosses alluvial fans and floodplain deposits. The Arizona State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO) has stated that “Identification testing is appropriate where ground visibility is low or in geomorphic settings likely to contain deeply buried sites (e.g., flood plains, alluvial fans, and sand dunes)” (Bilsbarrow 2003). Consistent with these recommendations, COT contracted SWCA to conduct site identification test trenching for the Silverbell Road, Road Improvement Project. The testing involved the excavation of backhoe trenches in non-site areas within the COT Silverbell Road ROW, and was conducted under the authority of SWCA’s Arizona Antiquities Act blanket permit (Permit No. 2014-022bl).