Archaeological Investigations at Honey Bee Village, a Prehistoric Hohokam Ballcourt Village in the Cañada del Oro Valley of Southern Arizona: Description of Excavated Structures
Creators: name: Fernandez, Rachel
Publisher: name: Desert Archaeology, Inc.
Year: 2011
Subjects: subject: Tucson Basin
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/geographic-keyword/2758/tucson-basin
subject: Cañada del Oro Valley
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/geographic-keyword/83832/canada-del-oro-valley
subject: Oro Valley, AZ
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/geographic-keyword/76764/oro-valley-az
subject: Rillito Phase
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/temporal-keyword/5630/rillito-phase
subject: Rincon Phase
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/temporal-keyword/5632/rincon-phase
subject: Snaketown Phase
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/temporal-keyword/211/snaketown-phase
subject: Tanque Verde Phase
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/temporal-keyword/6021/tanque-verde-phase
subject: Canada del Oro Phase
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/temporal-keyword/6022/canada-del-oro-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 BB:9:88 (ASM)
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/site-name/104242/az-bb988-asm
subject: Honey Bee Village
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/site-name/104235/honey-bee-village
subject: Funerary and Burial Structures or Features
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/site-type/301/funerary-and-burial-structures-or-features
subject: potrest
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/site-type/2702/potrest
subject: Bell Pit
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/site-type/1839/bell-pit
subject: Domestic Structures
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/site-type/256/domestic-structures
subject: Wall
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/site-type/977/wall
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: Pit House / Earth Lodge
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/site-type/263/pit-house-earth-lodge
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: 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: Shell
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/material-type/14/shell
subject: Pestle
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/material-type/2192/pestle
subject: Netherstone
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/material-type/2651/netherstone
subject: Ash
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/material-type/157/ash
subject: pecking stone
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/material-type/2589/pecking-stone
subject: Hammerstone
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/material-type/94/hammerstone
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: Scrapers
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/material-type/2627/scrapers
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: metate
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/material-type/167/metate
subject: Polisher
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/material-type/2920/polisher
subject: Macrobotanical
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/material-type/10/macrobotanical
subject: Mineral
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/material-type/12/mineral
subject: Archaeomagnetic Dating
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/other-keyword/7555/archaeomagnetic-dating
subject: Feature Analysis
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/other-keyword/26710/feature-analysis
subject: Data Recovery / Excavation
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/investigation-type/5/data-recovery-excavation

description: Honey Bee Village, AZ BB:9:88 (ASM), is a large, prehistoric ballcourt village in the northern Tucson Basin. It is situated on the southeastern bajada of the Tortolita Mountains in the southern Cañada del Oro Valley. The site area is adjacent to a large alluvial basin at the juncture of Big Wash and Honey Bee Canyon at a mean elevation of 878 m (2,880 ft) above sea level. In this report, descriptions of the excavated structures are provided for the most recent and most extensive archaeological investigations at the site, which were conducted in 2006 and 2007, by Desert Archaeology, Inc., personnel. The project provided a rare opportunity to investigate large portions of a minimally disturbed ballcourt village on the margins of the Tucson Basin. The research approach examined the diversity in social, economic, ritual, and ethnic spheres of Hohokam society from the perspective of households and villages. The research domains examined through this framework include subsistence production, specialized production, social standing, settlement structure, Hohokam markets, and ritual and religion. More detailed discussions of the results of data recovery in relation to the research issues are provided by Wallace (ed., 2012). The investigated project area covered nearly 37 acres surrounding the 13-acre preserve. One of the goals of the data recovery program was to create a detailed map of the overall site structure and to provide dates for the site occupation. Another goal was to determine the relationship of burial areas to residential areas, focusing on identifying and removing as many human remains as possible, to allow for repatriation so they would not be disturbed by development of the land. Based on the map that was created, a sampling strategy was used to collect samples from various households and time periods and to excavate all mortuary features that could be located. The sampling strategy and field methods are provided in Swartz and Wallace (2012). The structures described here were excavated in three areas for different landowners, with the largest area encompassing 31 acres to the east, south, and west of the preserve. The other two areas, covering nearly 6 acres identified at the site 2,004 primary features, including 331 structures: 295 pit structures, 33 possible pit structures, and 3 adobe structures. Of those, 183 structures were sampled or completely excavated: 179 pit structures, 1 possible pit structure, and 3 adobe structures. Results indicate that the site was occupied from as early as the Tortolita phase (A.D. 500-700) to the most intensive occupation during the Middle and Late Rincon phases (A.D. 1000-1150), with a relatively minor continuation and possible reoccupation of the site in the Tanque Verde phase (A.D. 1150-1300).