Archaeological Testing at Skydive Arizona Near the Eloy Municipal Airport, Pinal County, Arizona
Creators: name: Roberts, Heidi
Publisher: name: SWCA, Inc. Environmental Consultants
Year: 1992
Subjects: subject: Santa Cruz Flats
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/geographic-keyword/76829/santa-cruz-flats
subject: Arizona (State / Territory)
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/geographic-keyword/335/arizona-state-territory
subject: Sonoran Desert
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/geographic-keyword/2772/sonoran-desert
subject: Santa Cruz River
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/geographic-keyword/76790/santa-cruz-river
subject: Pinal (County)
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/geographic-keyword/3961/pinal-county
subject: Eloy, AZ
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/geographic-keyword/79867/eloy-az
subject: Pioneer Period
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/temporal-keyword/111/pioneer-period
subject: Colonial Period
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/temporal-keyword/5377/colonial-period
subject: Gila Phase
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/temporal-keyword/5625/gila-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: Resource Extraction / Production / Transportation Structure or Features
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/site-type/272/resource-extraction-production-transportation-structure-or-features
subject: Agricultural or Herding
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/site-type/273/agricultural-or-herding
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: Artifact Scatter
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/site-type/340/artifact-scatter
subject: Lens
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/site-type/3291/lens
subject: Ceramic
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/material-type/1/ceramic
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: Reconnaissance / Survey
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/investigation-type/7/reconnaissance-survey
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: During the month of July, 1992, SWCA, Inc., Environmental Consultants, carried out an archaeological testing program at Skydive Arizona. This area is approximately 15 miles due south of Casa Grande Ruins National Monument. The land is privately owned and located next to a landing strip. The testing was necessary to identify archaeological sites in an area where ground disturbance and construction activities had made surface examination for sites impossible. In the areas where artifacts had been located on the surface, five trenches (totaling 200 m) were placed to avoid existing buildings, utilities, and roads. The trenches were excavated by a backhoe to an average depth of 1.2 m (5 ft.). One feature, an irrigation canal, was identified during subsurface testing. A single Gila Plain sherd was found in the profile of this feature at the base of the feature fill. Although the Hohokam sherd is associated with this canal, a historic date for the feature can not be ruled out. Specific documentation for a historic canal in the immediate vicinity of Feature 1 has not been found. However, historic documents, including a 1910 map of the Santa Cruz River Project, show canal networks throughout the Santa Cruz Flats as early as 1887. Other than the single sherd identified in the fill of Feature 1, no other artifacts were found in the backdirt or trench walls. The testing program suggests that, with the exception of Feature 1, no prehistoric subsurface features or deposits exist in the project area. It does not appear that the area is likely to yield information important to the history or prehistory, and therefore, does not meet the National Register of Historic Places criteria. The information potential from this location is thought to be exhausted, and SWCA recommends that no further archaeological studies be conducted within the project area.