Building a Village: Excavations at La Villa
Creators: name: System User
Publisher: name: Desert Archaeology, Inc.
Year: 2016
Subjects: subject: Salt River
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/geographic-keyword/127/salt-river
subject: Arizona (State / Territory)
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/geographic-keyword/335/arizona-state-territory
subject: Phoenix Mountains
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/geographic-keyword/77953/phoenix-mountains
subject: Sonoran Desert
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/geographic-keyword/2772/sonoran-desert
subject: Phoenix, AZ
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/geographic-keyword/76695/phoenix-az
subject: Phoenix Basin
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/geographic-keyword/27/phoenix-basin
subject: Maricopa (County)
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/geographic-keyword/3900/maricopa-county
subject: Classic Period
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/temporal-keyword/125/classic-period
subject: Pioneer Period
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/temporal-keyword/111/pioneer-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: Vahki Phase
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/temporal-keyword/6226/vahki-phase
subject: Snaketown Phase
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/temporal-keyword/211/snaketown-phase
subject: Gila Butte Phase
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/temporal-keyword/212/gila-butte-phase
subject: Santa Cruz Phase
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/temporal-keyword/213/santa-cruz-phase
subject: Estrella Phase
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/temporal-keyword/6133/estrella-phase
subject: Sacaton Phase
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/temporal-keyword/214/sacaton-phase
subject: Sweetwater Phase
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/temporal-keyword/6169/sweetwater-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: La Villa
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/site-name/4928/la-villa
subject: AZ T:12:148 (ASM)
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/site-name/99894/az-t12148-asm
subject: Funerary and Burial Structures or Features
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/site-type/301/funerary-and-burial-structures-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: Burial Pit
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/site-type/307/burial-pit
subject: Archaeological Feature
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/site-type/339/archaeological-feature
subject: Hearth
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/site-type/343/hearth
subject: Ash Pit
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/site-type/1850/ash-pit
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: 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: Plaza
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/site-type/331/plaza
subject: Pollen
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/material-type/13/pollen
subject: Cobble
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/material-type/1165/cobble
subject: Shell
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/material-type/14/shell
subject: Plainware
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/material-type/174/plainware
subject: Pestle
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/material-type/2192/pestle
subject: Charcoal
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/material-type/20/charcoal
subject: Ash
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/material-type/157/ash
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: Mano
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/material-type/131/mano
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: Caliche
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/material-type/1190/caliche
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: Ceramic Analysis
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/other-keyword/133439/ceramic-analysis
subject: Temper Analysis
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/other-keyword/122015/temper-analysis
subject: Ground Stone Analysis
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/other-keyword/37474/ground-stone-analysis
subject: Petrographic Analysis
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/other-keyword/4090/petrographic-analysis
subject: Flaked Stone Analysis
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/other-keyword/89387/flaked-stone-analysis
subject: Archaeological Overview
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/investigation-type/1/archaeological-overview
subject: Historic Background Research
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/investigation-type/18/historic-background-research
subject: Site Stewardship Monitoring
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/investigation-type/19/site-stewardship-monitoring
subject: Ground Disturbance Monitoring
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/investigation-type/20/ground-disturbance-monitoring
subject: Data Recovery / Excavation
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/investigation-type/5/data-recovery-excavation
subject: Research Design / Data Recovery Plan
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/investigation-type/9/research-design-data-recovery-plan

description: The Hohokam village was one of the largest pre-Classic settlements in the Phoenix Basin. The recorded site boundary covers more than 80 acres, extending from the edge of the Salt River floodplain northward. Founded during the Vahki phase (A.D. 500-650), when settlement aggregated around two large plazas, the village thrived until the Santa Cruz phase (A.D. 850950), when people began to leave the village, possibly settling in villages further down the canal system. Final abandonment occurred during the eleventh century A.D., although by that time, La Villa was greatly reduced in scale and, presumably, in importance. The project detailed in this volume is the second conducted by Desert Archaeology, Inc., at La Villa (Lindeman, ed. 2015). The current archaeological excavations preceded installation of a storm drain, which was part of the larger Downtown Storm Drain Improvements project. The City of Phoenix Jefferson Phase 2 Drainage project entailed installation of 36- and 30-inch diameter storm drains and associated manholes, catch basins, and pipe connections along Jackson Street in downtown Phoenix. In all, 248 features were identified, including 74 pithouses, 144 extramural features, 29 mortuary features, and 1 plaza. The central precincts of major Hohokam villages have only been rarely investigated during the modern era. Uncovering the Eastern Plaza at La Villa represents the first investigation of a plaza along Canal System 2. The large linear transects that structured the project provided a unique sample across a relatively large, albeit narrow, swath of the site, allowing for sampling of contexts from the center of the village to the edges. What was uncovered under the streets of modern Phoenix was incredibly well preserved, providing a robust base for the analyses presented in the following pages.