Archaeological Investigations at the Gila Butte Site: Hohokam Irrigation and Economic Systems Along the Gila River, Arizona
Creators: name: Motsinger, Thomas N.
Publisher: name: SWCA, Inc. Environmental Consultants
Year: 1993
Subjects: subject: Phoenix
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/geographic-keyword/126/phoenix
subject: Gila Butte
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/geographic-keyword/78383/gila-butte
subject: Arizona
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/geographic-keyword/2/arizona
subject: Gila River
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/geographic-keyword/3958/gila-river
subject: Classic Hohokam
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/culture-keyword/8462/classic-hohokam
subject: SACATON
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/culture-keyword/3919/sacaton
subject: post-Classic Polvoron
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/culture-keyword/8322/post-classic-polvoron
subject: Sedentary
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/culture-keyword/8323/sedentary
subject: Hohokam
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/culture-keyword/21/hohokam
subject: Prehistoric
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/culture-keyword/120/prehistoric
subject: Gila Butte Site
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/site-name/77380/gila-butte-site
subject: AZ U:13:76 (ASM)
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/site-name/77382/az-u1376-asm
subject: AZ U:13:18 (ASM)
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/site-name/77381/az-u1318-asm
subject: Domestic Structures
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/site-type/256/domestic-structures
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: Refuse Pit
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/site-type/356/refuse-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: 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: Shell
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/material-type/14/shell
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: 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: Archaeological Overview
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/investigation-type/1/archaeological-overview
subject: Site Evaluation / Testing
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/investigation-type/10/site-evaluation-testing

description: This report details the results of testing and data recovery efforts in the northern portion of the Gila Butte Site, a medium-sized Hohokam village located on the north side of the Gila River south of Phoenix, Arizona. Although the main portion of the site has not been subjected to substantial data recovery efforts, the primary occupation of the site is believed to date at least from the Estrella phase through the Sacaton phase of the Hohokam sequence (ca. A.D. 500-1100 [Dean 1991]), although minor components suggest that Archaic, Classic period Hohokam, and Protohistoric Piman peoples also made use of the site. The site’s greatest research potential lies in its apparent position as the prime supplier of micaceous-schist tempering material for Hohokam buff, red, and plain pottery. It is also possible, if not probable, that the residents of the site specialized in the production of some, most, or all of the distinctive buffware pottery that was used throughout the Hohokam region. Several canals and other agriculture-related features were recorded during the present project. In addition to adding to our understanding of irrigation agriculture at the Gila Butte Site, the project met with some success in providing additional data and presenting new, testable models related to Gila Butte’s position in the irrigation communities north of the Gila River and the site’s possible economic relationship with Snaketown and the rest of the Hohokam regional system.