Archaeological Investigations at AZ AA:8:350 (ASM) and AZ AA:8:351 (ASM), Along State Route 79, Pinal County, Arizona
Creators: name: Swartz, Deborah L.
Publisher: name: Desert Archaeology, Inc.
Year: 2016
Subjects: subject: Tucson Basin
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/geographic-keyword/2758/tucson-basin
subject: Pinal (County)
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/geographic-keyword/3961/pinal-county
subject: Classic Period
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/temporal-keyword/125/classic-period
subject: Rincon Phase
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/temporal-keyword/5632/rincon-phase
subject: Agua Caliente phase
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/temporal-keyword/6391/agua-caliente-phase
subject: Tortolita Phase
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/temporal-keyword/6025/tortolita-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: AZ AA:8:350 (ASM)
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/site-name/105124/az-aa8350-asm
subject: AZ AA:8:351 (ASM)
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/site-name/105125/az-aa8351-asm
subject: Primary Inhumation
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/site-type/943/primary-inhumation
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: Thermal Pit
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/site-type/1492/thermal-pit
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: Post Hole / Post Mold
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/site-type/359/post-hole-post-mold
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: Pollen
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/material-type/13/pollen
subject: Handstone
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/material-type/2637/handstone
subject: Shell
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/material-type/14/shell
subject: Wood
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/material-type/15/wood
subject: Pestle
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/material-type/2192/pestle
subject: Charcoal
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/material-type/20/charcoal
subject: Ash
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/material-type/157/ash
subject: Lapstone
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/material-type/2688/lapstone
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: Mano
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/material-type/131/mano
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: Charcoal Flecking
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/material-type/2888/charcoal-flecking
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: Nethersone
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/material-type/2923/nethersone
subject: Ceramic Analysis
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/other-keyword/133439/ceramic-analysis
subject: Macrobotanical Analysis
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/other-keyword/20303/macrobotanical-analysis
subject: Vertebrate Faunal Analysis
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/other-keyword/85747/vertebrate-faunal-analysis
subject: Archaeomagnetic Analysis
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/other-keyword/151026/archaeomagnetic-analysis
subject: Artifact Analysis
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/other-keyword/3318/artifact-analysis
subject: Petrographic Analysis
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/other-keyword/4090/petrographic-analysis
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: Records Search / Inventory Checking
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/investigation-type/8/records-search-inventory-checking

description: Archaeological investigations were conducted along State Route 79 northwest of Oracle, Arizona, prior to rebuilding the Coronado Wash Bridge by the Arizona Department of Transportation. Desert Archaeology subcontracted with AZTEC Engineering to perform the investigations. Two sites were included in this project, AZ AA:8:350 (ASM) and AZ AA:8:351 (ASM), the Coronado Wash site. AZ AA:8:350 (ASM) was tested for inclusion in the National Register of Historic Places (National Register) and is not thought to be eligible because it contained few surface artifacts and no subsurface cultural deposits. The Coronado Wash site, AZ AA:8:351 (ASM), was previously determined to be eligible for the National Register (Tweedy and Woodall 1977). Therefore, phased data recovery was conducted at the site and is the focus of this report. The project area encompassed only a small portion of the Coronado Wash site, AZ AA:8:351 (ASM), along the northeastern margin of the surface scatter. Forty-five features were discovered: 10 pithouses, 1 inhumation, and 33 other extramural features. The site occupation dated from the Agua Caliente phase (A.D. 50-500) to the Classic period (A.D. 1150-1450), with the densest occupation during the Agua Caliente and Tortolita phases (A.D. 500-700). Based on the excavation data, there was little evidence for agriculture, the pithouse construction was expedient, and the artifacts lacked diversity, indicating this portion of the site was occupied on a temporary or short-term basis. Artifact analyses suggested reuse of the site during the early time periods and single short-term occupation during the Sedentary and Classic periods. The percentage of sherd disks was relatively high compared with other sites in the Tucson Basin, which may indicate an emphasis on fiber production, or it may be fortuitous due to the small and peripheral area of the site that was sampled. In sum, the prehistoric inhabitants of this portion of the site seem to have been a local group who selected this location to collect wild resources, likely on a seasonal basis. Most of the evidence suggests these people were fairly self-contained and made their own artifacts from local materials, although non-local ceramics, flaked stone, and shell were also recovered. Indications of ceramic production and the high percentage of ceramic disks suggest the unexcavated portion of the site was probably more permanently occupied. Due to the small size of the project area, the interpretation of the site occupation in this volume may be quite different from the interpretation of the entire site occupation if one could include what is lying unknown in the unexcavated portion of the site.