Prehistoric and Historic Occupation of the Lower Verde River Valley: The State Route 87 Verde Bridge Project
Creators: name: Hackbarth, Mark R.
Publisher: name: Northland Research, Inc.
Year: 1992
Subjects: subject: Tonto National Forest
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/geographic-keyword/223/tonto-national-forest
subject: Lower Verde River Valley
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/geographic-keyword/79840/lower-verde-river-valley
subject: Fort McDowell Indian Reservation
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/geographic-keyword/79702/fort-mcdowell-indian-reservation
subject: Maricopa (County)
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/geographic-keyword/3900/maricopa-county
subject: Arizona (State / Territory)
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/geographic-keyword/79515/arizona-state-territory
subject: Early Pioneer
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/temporal-keyword/6367/early-pioneer
subject: Late Archaic
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/temporal-keyword/32/late-archaic
subject: Late 19th - Early 20th Centtury
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/temporal-keyword/5280/late-19th-early-20th-centtury
subject: Sedentary Period
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/temporal-keyword/5504/sedentary-period
subject: 19th Century
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/temporal-keyword/5536/19th-century
subject: Historic
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/temporal-keyword/5728/historic
subject: 20th Century
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/temporal-keyword/4/20th-century
subject: Prehistoric
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/temporal-keyword/53/prehistoric
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: AZ U:6:136 (ASM)
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/site-name/79056/az-u6136-asm
subject: AZ U:6:140 (ASM)
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/site-name/79059/az-u6140-asm
subject: AZ U:6:214 (ASM)
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/site-name/83830/az-u6214-asm
subject: AZ U:6:213 (ASM)
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/site-name/83829/az-u6213-asm
subject: AZ U:6:160 (ASM)
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/site-name/23799/az-u6160-asm
subject: Velasco Ditch
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/site-name/83832/velasco-ditch
subject: AZ U:6:142 (ASM)
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/site-name/23800/az-u6142-asm
subject: AZ U:6:60 (ARS)
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/site-name/83831/az-u660-ars
subject: AZ U:6:58 (ARS)
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/site-name/83834/az-u658-ars
subject: Rosa Velasco Farmstead
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/site-name/83833/rosa-velasco-farmstead
subject: AZ U:6:178 (ASM)
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/site-name/83836/az-u6178-asm
subject: AZ U:6:61 (ARS)
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/site-name/83835/az-u661-ars
subject: AZ U:6:165 (ASM)
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/site-name/23805/az-u6165-asm
subject: AZ U:6:59 (ARS)
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/site-name/83838/az-u659-ars
subject: AZ U:6:211 (ASM)
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/site-name/83837/az-u6211-asm
subject: AZ U:6:210 ASM)
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/site-name/83840/az-u6210-asm
subject: AZ U:6:57 (ARS)
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/site-name/83839/az-u657-ars
subject: AZ U:6:212 (ASM)
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/site-name/83841/az-u6212-asm
subject: AZ U:6:126 (ASM)
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/site-name/23844/az-u6126-asm
subject: La Escuela Cuba
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/site-name/358/la-escuela-cuba
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: Resource Extraction / Production / Transportation Structure or Features
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/site-type/272/resource-extraction-production-transportation-structure-or-features
subject: Inhumation burial
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/site-type/2192/inhumation-burial
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: Artifact Scatter
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/site-type/340/artifact-scatter
subject: Thermal Pit
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/site-type/1492/thermal-pit
subject: Hearth
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/site-type/343/hearth
subject: Isolated Artifact
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/site-type/344/isolated-artifact
subject: Cremation Burial
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/site-type/2106/cremation-burial
subject: Domestic Structure or Architectural Complex
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/site-type/251/domestic-structure-or-architectural-complex
subject: Midden
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/site-type/347/midden
subject: Domestic Structures
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/site-type/256/domestic-structures
subject: Non-Thermal Pit
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/site-type/2081/non-thermal-pit
subject: Pit
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/site-type/355/pit
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: Rock Alignment
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/site-type/360/rock-alignment
subject: Pollen
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/material-type/13/pollen
subject: Wood
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/material-type/15/wood
subject: Ceramic
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/material-type/1/ceramic
subject: Charcoal Samples
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/material-type/1073/charcoal-samples
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: Fire Cracked Rock
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/material-type/5/fire-cracked-rock
subject: Glass
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/material-type/6/glass
subject: Ground Stone
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/material-type/7/ground-stone
subject: Human Remains
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/material-type/9/human-remains
subject: Metal
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/material-type/11/metal
subject: Verde Bridge Project
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/other-keyword/149503/verde-bridge-project
subject: Environment Research
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/investigation-type/13/environment-research
subject: Data Recovery / Excavation
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/investigation-type/5/data-recovery-excavation
subject: Site Evaluation / Testing
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/investigation-type/10/site-evaluation-testing

description: This study presents the results of archaeological investigations undertaken within the proposed corridor of State Route 87 on the Fort McDowell Indian Reservation and Tonto National Forest, in northeastern Maricopa County, Arizona. This work was funded by the Arizona Department of Transportation (Contract 89-28) and conducted under the aegis of the Tonto National Forest. Six archaeological sites were investigated for this project, including three prehistoric lithic procurement sites, a Hohokam farmstead, a Hohokam habitation site, and a multicomponent site. Components of the latter site included both prehistoric and historic elements. The prehistoric component had occupations spanning more than 1,000 years and included materials from the late Archaic-early Pioneer period transition to the Sedentary period of the Hohokam occupation. The historic elements included a late nineteenth century farmstead, an early twentieth century schoolhouse, and a late nineteenth-early twentieth century irrigation canal. Evidence from the excavations indicate that occupation of the lower Verde River valley had commenced by the Late Archaic period. Maize production was in evidence, and semi-flexed inhumation, as well as cremation, burial was practiced. Site occupation at this time appears to have been seasonal, although reuses of site locales over a number of years was indicated. Early Pioneer occupation of the region was also seasonal, although possibly of somewhat lengthier duration than observed in the previous period. Maize agriculture is evident during this period, although wild resources continued to provide a substantial portion of the subsistence base. A stable, sedentary settlement characterizes the Colonial and Sedentary period; aspects of material culture indicate strong ties to the Salt-Gila basin area. The diversity and ubiquity of domesticated and encouraged plants points to a pervasive emphasis on cultivated products at this time, and, during the Sedentary period, there is evidence to suggest an intensification and diversification of agricultural production. Exploitation of the uplands may have been one means of expanding food production, perhaps in response to a greater demand caused by a growing population. Archaeological and archival research of the historic resources indicate that the irrigation canal, named the Velasco Ditch, was used as early as 1875. The length and configuration of this canal changed through time due to floodplain erosion; three distinct construction/maintenance episodes were documented. The termination of water delivery by c. 1906 was probably precipitated by several economic factors, as well as flood destruction. Historic habitation within the project area was by an unknown resident sometime between 1890 and 1902. The archaeological remains indicate reuse of the structure as an outbuilding or farm-related storage shed after is primary use as a residence. By 1902, the structure had burned, possibly catastrophically, and collapsed into a low mound. The sole school building was associated with the Cuba School District. The school structure was erected in 1900 and abandoned four years later, when purchased by the federal government. The failure to find artifacts surrounding the school other than those directly associated with educational activities suggests that it was not used regularly for other social or communal activities.