Exploring the Barrio Libre: Investigations at Block 136, Tucson, Arizona
Creators: name: J. Homer Thiel
Publisher: name: Desert Archaeology, Inc.
Year: 2002
Subjects: subject: Arizona (State)
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/geographic-keyword/84371/arizona-state
subject: Tucson Basin
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/geographic-keyword/2758/tucson-basin
subject: Pima (County)
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/geographic-keyword/7353/pima-county
subject: Tucson, Arizona
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/geographic-keyword/77020/tucson-arizona
subject: Classic Period
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/temporal-keyword/125/classic-period
subject: Early Agricultural period
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/temporal-keyword/158/early-agricultural-period
subject: Pioneer Period
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/temporal-keyword/111/pioneer-period
subject: Paleoindian Period
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/temporal-keyword/7695/paleoindian-period
subject: Sedentary Period
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/temporal-keyword/5504/sedentary-period
subject: Colonial Period
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/temporal-keyword/5377/colonial-period
subject: Protohistoric
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/temporal-keyword/147/protohistoric
subject: Early Ceramic period
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/temporal-keyword/5978/early-ceramic-period
subject: Spanish
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/culture-keyword/31/spanish
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: Archaic
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/culture-keyword/8/archaic
subject: Historic
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/culture-keyword/25/historic
subject: Tohono O'odham
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/culture-keyword/7898/tohono-oodham
subject: Chinese American
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/culture-keyword/27/chinese-american
subject: Euroamerican
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/culture-keyword/28/euroamerican
subject: Block 136
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/site-name/104282/block-136
subject: AZ BB:13:513 (ASM)
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/site-name/104281/az-bb13513-asm
subject: Barrio Libre
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/site-name/104283/barrio-libre
subject: Historic Structure
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/site-type/336/historic-structure
subject: Utility Trench
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/site-type/3248/utility-trench
subject: Foundation
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/site-type/1142/foundation
subject: Hearth
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/site-type/343/hearth
subject: L-Shaped Structure
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/site-type/3580/l-shaped-structure
subject: Sheet Midden
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/site-type/349/sheet-midden
subject: Outhouse Structure
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/site-type/3581/outhouse-structure
subject: Tree Planting Hole
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/site-type/3582/tree-planting-hole
subject: Trash Midden
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/site-type/351/trash-midden
subject: Domestic Structures
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/site-type/256/domestic-structures
subject: Pit
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/site-type/355/pit
subject: Roasting Pit / Oven / Horno
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/site-type/357/roasting-pit-oven-horno
subject: Post Hole / Post Mold
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/site-type/359/post-hole-post-mold
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: Textile
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/material-type/16/textile
subject: Ceramic
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/material-type/1/ceramic
subject: Coffee Beans
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/material-type/2882/coffee-beans
subject: Synthetic Rubber
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/material-type/2883/synthetic-rubber
subject: Fauna
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/material-type/4/fauna
subject: Synthetic Plastic
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/material-type/2884/synthetic-plastic
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: Building Materials
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/material-type/8/building-materials
subject: Macrobotanical
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/material-type/10/macrobotanical
subject: Metal
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/material-type/11/metal
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: Site Evaluation / Testing
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/investigation-type/10/site-evaluation-testing

description: What lies beneath the vacant lots of the Barrio Libre? This old barrio lies on the south side of the downtown core of Tucson and has been occupied as a primarily Mexican- American neighborhood for 100 years. During the Historic period, the Barrio Libre has been home to thousands of people, many of whom have left behind the physical traces of their lives in the form of architectural remains and artifacts. Archaeological excavations of homes, businesses, and the trash created and disposed of by the people of the barrio can provide important details about their everyday lives-details that were so commonplace no one bothered to write about them, and are thus lost in the passage of time. In the summer of 2000, Desert Archaeology, Inc., investigated Block 136 for the City of Tucson. The city planned to construct low-cost housing on the western half of the block. Archaeological testing had previously revealed the presence of significant cultural resources on the block (Dutt and Thiel 1999, 2000). Further archaeological work was planned to recover information that would allow for a better understanding of the daily life of block residents. Excavations lasted two weeks and resulted in the discovery of a variety of features, ranging from a prehistoric roasting pit to historic-period outhouses and trashfilled borrow pits. An assortment of the items thrown away or lost by the people who once made Block 136 their home were recovered from these features. Archival research reveals these were primarily Mexican-Americans, although a few Chinese and Euro-Americans also lived here. The results of the archaeological excavations are presented in this report. This chapter contains background information about the local environment and general prehistory and history of the Tucson Basin. The history of Block 136 is discussed in Chapter 2, with a focus on the dwellings and the people who inhabited them. The archaeological excavations and the features uncovered are described in Chapter 3, while Chapter 4 chronicles the artifacts found at the site. Chapter 5 examines the food materials unearthed. Finally, an overview of the daily life of Block 136 residents is provided in Chapter