This issue of Archaeology Southwest presents several thousand years of human history along the Great Bend of the Gila River. It taps the records of early travelers and archaeologists to reveal some of the hidden history of a unique, sometimes overlooked cultural landscape.
This issue’s articles include:
Authors are: William H. Doelle and Andy Laurenzi, Center for Desert Archaeology, and Ella Pierpoint, Arizona Site Steward unless noted.
• The Great Bend of the Gila
• Hohokam and Patayan
• The Gatlin Site, a National Historic Landmark
• Ancient Rock and the Great Bend Gallery
• First Recording in 1852
• Use of Hillsides and Hilltops
• Community-based Preservation Archaeology
• Norton Allen
• Trails Across the Millennia
• U.S. Route 80, Broadway of America
• Gillespie Dam Bridge — Hugh Davidson, Maricopa County Department of Transportation
• Back Sight — William H. Doelle, Center for Desert Archaeology
The Great Bend of the Gila
Patayan waterbird petroglyph at Hummingbird Point. Image credit: Henry D. Wallace.
William H. Doelle and Andy Laurenzi, Archaeology Southwest (formerly the Center for Desert Archaeology), and Ella Pierpoint, Arizona Site Steward
This issue of Archaeology Southwest Magazine presents several thousand years of human history along the Great Bend of the Gila River. It taps the records of early travelers and archaeologists to reveal some of the hidden history of a unique, sometimes overlooked cultural landscape.
The Great Bend of the Gila
Hohokam and Patayan
The Gatlin Site, a National Historic Landmark
Ancient Rock and the Great Bend Gallery
First Recording in 1852
Use of Hillsides and Hilltops
Community-based Preservation Archaeology
Norton Allen
Trails Across the Millennia
U.S. Route 80, Broadway of America
Gillespie Dam Bridge — Hugh Davidson, Maricopa County Department of Transportation
This map of trails appeared in Archaeology Southwest Magazine Vol. 21, No. 4. It accompanied an article by J. Andrew Darling and Barnaby Lewis entitled, “Ancient Trails of the Arid Southwest.”
For further reading
On Norton Allen:
Ferg, Alan, and Richard A. Schwartzlose, editors
2010 Norton Allen: The Legacy of a Southwestern Artist and Avocational Archaeologist. Journal of the Southwest, Vol. 52, Nos. 2 and 3. The Southwest Center, University of Arizona, Tucson.
Ferg, Alan, and Richard A. Schwartzlose
2008 Norton Allen, Ernest Allen, and Ethel Allen in Southwestern Arizona and Southern California. In Fragile Patterns: The Archaeology of the Western Papaguería, edited by Jeffrey H. Altschul and Adrianne G. Rankin, pp. 77-103. SRI Press, Tucson.
On earlier archaeological work in the region:
Wasley, William W., and Alfred E. Johnson
1965 Salvage Archaeology in Painted Rocks Reservoir Western Arizona. Anthropological Papers of the University of Arizona, No. 9. The University of Arizona Press, Tucson.
Greenleaf, J. Cameron
1975 The Fortified Hill Site Near Gila Bend, Arizona. The Kiva, Vol. 40, No. 4. Arizona Archaeological and Historical Society, Tucson.
An introduction to Hohokam and Patayan archaeology in the region:
McGuire, Randall H., and Michael B. Schiffer, editors
1982 Hohokam and Patayan: Prehistory of Southwestern Arizona. Academic Press, New York.
A recent compilation of archaeological work in the Great Bend and southwestern Arizona:
Altschul, Jeffrey H., and Adrianne G. Rankin, editors
1854 Personal Narrative of Explorations and Incidents in Texas, New Mexico, California, Sonora, and Chihuahua Connected with the United States and Mexican Boundary Commission, during the Years 1850, ’51, ’52, and ‘53. 2 vols. D. Appleton, New York.
1947 The Butterfield Overland Mail, 1857–1869. Its Organization and Operation over the Southern Route to 1861; Subsequently Over the Central Route to 1866; and Under Wells Fargo to 1869. A. H. Clark, Glendale, CA.
Ormsby, Waterman L.
1988 The Butterfield Overland Mail. Only Through Passenger on the First Westbound Stage. Lyle H. Wright and Josephine M. Bynum, editors. Huntington Library Press, San Marino, CA.
Corrections: Archaeologist Alfred E. Johnson’s first name was misspelled in Archaeology Southwest Magazine Vol. 25, No. 1. Additionally, Alfred E. Johnson did not work at the Gatlin site or the Fortaleza, as stated. Archaeologist Frank Eddy worked with William Wasley at the Gatlin site. Archaeologist Cameron Greenleaf worked with William Wasley at Fortaleza. William W. Wasley and Alfred E. Johnson did, however, author a report on these and other archaeological projects in the region (see reference above).
