essay

The Santa Cruz Bend site

Archaeological investigations of early village sites in the middle Santa Cruz Valley • (18) • Published In 1997 • Pages: 9-228

By: Mabry, Jonathan B., Archer, Gavin.

Abstract

'The Santa Cruz Bend site ... is buried in the historic floodplain of the Santa Cruz River in the Tucson Basin....[I]t is a large habitation site that was first occupied during the first millennium BC, and reoccupied in the eleventh century AD, and again in the early twentieth century.... Within the area of the site that was investigated ... 730 prehistoric features were identified, including 183 pit structures ... [T]he majority date to the Cienega phase (800 BC-150 AD) of the Early Agricultural period ...' (page 9). The numerous pithouses and their associated pits features are described along with a 'Big House' that may have been used for communal activities. The area of the excavations appears to have been near the middle of the site and two zones can be discerned: an inner habitation zone with a high density of pithouses and the 'Big House' with an outer zone composed of only pits used for cooking and trash disposal. Data ascribed to the Hohokam were not marked for OCM (Outline of Cultural Materials) codes.

HRAF PubDate

2010

Region

North America

Sub Region

Southwest and Basin

Document Type

essay

Evaluation

Creator Type

Archaeologist

Document Rating

4: Excellent Secondary Data

5: Excellent Primary Data

Analyst

Sarah Berry; 2010

Field Date

1988, 1993-1995

Coverage Date

2800–190 BP(800 BC–AD 1810)

Coverage Place

Santa Cruz Bend site; AZ AA:12:746 (ASM), south-central Arizona, United States

Notes

Jonathan B. Mabry and Gavin H. Archer

Submitted to: Arizona Dept. of Transportation; Contract Nos. 90-21 and 94-46

For bibliographical references see document 16:Mabry et al

LCSH

Indians of North America--Antiquities