Archaeological Investigations at Los Pozos, AZ AA:12:91 (ASM), for the EW-010A and Regional Reclamation Facility Effluent Pumping Projects, Pima County, Arizona
Creators: name: Fernandez, Rachel
Publisher: name: Desert Archaeology, Inc.
Year: 2017
Subjects: subject: Flowing Wells, AZ
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/geographic-keyword/84541/flowing-wells-az
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 Phase
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/temporal-keyword/6131/tucson-phase
subject: Cienega phase
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/temporal-keyword/6390/cienega-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: Archaic
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/culture-keyword/8/archaic
subject: Middle Archaic
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/culture-keyword/10/middle-archaic
subject: AZ AA:12:91 (ASM)
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/site-name/78404/az-aa1291-asm
subject: AZ AA:12:1139 (ASM)
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/site-name/105128/az-aa121139-asm
subject: Los Pozos
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/site-name/634/los-pozos
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: Roasting Pit / Oven / Horno
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/site-type/357/roasting-pit-oven-horno
subject: Hearth
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/site-type/343/hearth
subject: Post Hole / Post Mold
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/site-type/359/post-hole-post-mold
subject: Pollen
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/material-type/13/pollen
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: Charcoal
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/material-type/20/charcoal
subject: Bone Awl
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/material-type/2650/bone-awl
subject: Ash
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/material-type/157/ash
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: 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: 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: Archaeological Overview
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/investigation-type/1/archaeological-overview
subject: Site Stewardship Monitoring
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/investigation-type/19/site-stewardship-monitoring
subject: Data Recovery / Excavation
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/investigation-type/5/data-recovery-excavation

description: Data and interpretations from four archaeological projects at the City of Tucson (COT) Reclaimed Water Treatment Plant are presented in this volume. The work areas lie entirely within the prehistoric site of Los Pozos, AZ AA:12:91 (ASM). The work was conducted by Desert Archaeology, Inc., in advance of projects by Tucson Water: the drilling of well EW-010A (EW10) (COT Project No. 13-01) and the Regional Reclamation Facility Effluent Pumping project (RRFEP) (COT Project No. 13-08). Monitoring work of construction activities related to the latter project form a third project (COT Project No. 1308), and the installation of a reclaimed waterline connected to EW10 forms the fourth (COT Project No. 15-05). The project areas are located in the northern Tucson Basin on the east bank of the Santa Cruz River. The presence of the river along a relatively wide floodplain with fertile deposits made this location desirable for prehistoric subsistence pursuits, including cultivation, as attested to by prehistoric material remains, the presence of maize, and preserved habitation and other features from Middle Archaic times through the Hohokam late Classic period (A.D. 11501450). The bulk of the work, to date, has revealed cultural resources dating to the Cienega phases (800 B.C.-A.D. 50) of the Early Agricultural period (2100 B.C.-A.D. 50). Increasing evidence of earlier occupations, however, is coming to light, and more instances of surviving Hohokam-aged manifestations are being discovered. The current projects contribute to our understanding of the early occupations. Based on radiocarbon dates, features in the project area date to the recently named Silverbell interval (2100 1200 B.C.), indicating that substantial occupation of the Los Pozos floodplain west of the geomorphic portion and the Holocene terrace occurred during pre-San Pedro phase times. In all, 245 prehistoric features were identified, including pit structures, possible ramadas, extramural pits, and mortuary contexts. The research presented here benefitted greatly from previous work at Los Pozos and at the adjacent Wetlands site, AZ AA:12:90 (ASM), by Desert Archaeology and others. Combined data suggest the Wetlands-Los Pozos prehistoric community was closely tied to a particular landscape, which was dominated by a massive overflow paleochannel of the Santa Cruz. This channel, with its complex history and many other smaller but substantial overflow channels, created a landscape of at least seasonally predictable water for maize cultivation and other needed resources, such as game and wood, closer to home than even the river's main channel. The specific natural landscape of undulating surfaces in the project areas may have led to maize cultivation in natural, well-watered swales without constructed fields or canals. A later Hohokam-aged canal, AZ AA:12:1139 (ASM), was discovered in the RRFEP project area, and it illustrates that the floodplain remained highly desirable for extended periods of time. A model of the diachronic human response to this environment suggests the anthropogenic landscape created by this prehistoric community shifted across the landform according to changing environmental regimes while remaining committed to the overall area.