Archaeological Testing and Canal Investigations at Four Home Sites on the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community, Maricopa County, Arizona (TR2010-2) (PDF)

Archaeological Testing and Canal Investigations at Four Home Sites on the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community, Maricopa County, Arizona (TR2010-02) (PDF)

Edited by:Gary Huckleberry, Michael W. Lindeman

Downloadable PDF – 32 pages

$5.00

SKU: TR2010-02D Categories: ,

Description

Archaeological Testing and Canal Investigations at Four Home Sites on the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community, Maricopa County, Arizona (TR2010-2) (PDF)

Archaeological trenching of four home sites located on the Mesa and Lehi Terraces within the SRPMIC resulted in the identification of nine relict canal segments and a single Hohokam fieldhouse. Seven of the canal features are part of the prehistoric Scottsdale Canal System that diverted water to Hohokam agricultural settlements located north of the Salt River. Two of the canal features are historic field laterals that likely date to the early 1900s, and that may be part of an irrigation system supplied by the Arizona Canal.

The prehistoric canals on the Mesa Terrace are located downstream from where prehistoric Canal Ancho, AZ U:9:91 (ASM), diverges into multiple channels and distributed water to Hohokam fields and settlements located west toward modern-day Scottsdale. Four field laterals and two distribution canals associated with the Canal Ancho network were identified. The largest canal within the four home sites was identified on the Lehi Terrace and has segments that can still be traced at the surface. It is apparently part of the Canal Pima network, AZ U:9:92 (ASM). This feature likely served as a Hohokam main canal that delivered water to agricultural fields located west on the Lehi Terrace. Unfortunately, the prehistoric canals could not be firmly dated during the current project. Ceramics were rare on the modern ground surface and nonexistent in the fill of the canals. The fieldhouse appears to have been associated with the occupation of Pueblo Parvo, AZ U:9:99 (ASM), and been used for agricultural activity.