Phoenix Basin Research Articles

Sacaton Red and the Norton Allen Collection

Sacaton Red and the Norton Allen Collection David E. Doyel Sacaton Red, an understudied Hohokam pottery type, is the focus of this paper. In the overview I first summarize the distribution and recovery contexts of the type from sites including Snaketown, Gatlin, Frogtown, Las Colinas, and other sites with significant Sacaton Phase occupations. A second and primary objective is to describe ten Sacaton Red vessels curated at the Arizona State Museum (ASM) in Tucson. I then discuss the development of this pottery within the framework of the Hohokam cultural tradition. Observations include that Sacaton Red is a relatively rare type with a broad but uneven distribution, and that specialized production is indicated. Emil W. Haury’s original description (1937:202–4) of Sacaton Red from Snaketown still forms the basis for the type description, which has been expanded by subsequent research. It is an uncommon type that usually occurs in bowl forms, with red-slipped and sometimes lightly tool-polished interiors, with exterior surfaces ranging in color from mottled brown to gray, and with fire clouds common. It constituted less than 1 percent of the pottery from Snaketown. Haury (1976:222) notes that the type “carries a heavy amount of temper, both angular and rounded quartz grains, and much mica, probably derived from crushing mica-schist.” Petrographic analysis by Nora Gladwin indicated that it was produced at Snaketown (Gladwin et al. 1937:204). The ASM database lists nine items from Snaketown; unusual forms include an effigy fragment and a leg from a tripod vessel. Vessel shapes include hemispherical and shallow bowls and plates. Although jar forms are present, an illustrated small-shouldered jar from a cache does not conform to the type based on the stated criteria (Haury 1976:fig. 11.8i) but does appear to be a polished red ware. Vessel size ranges from 6.3 David E. Doyel received his PhD in anthropology from the University of Arizona. For two decades he has supervised the development of a cultural park at Gatlin Site National Historic Landmark for the Town of Gila Bend. Currently he is a U.S. Air Force cultural resource manager for the Barry M. Goldwater Range in southwest Arizona. Journal of the Southwest 52, 2 and 3 (Summer-Autumn 2010) : 277–298 278 ✜ Journal of the Southwest to 15.8 cm high (average 11.0 cm), and 14.5 to 35.5 cm in diameter (average 22.4 cm); the largest known Sacaton Red bowls were recovered from this site (Barstad 1999 illustrates several of these vessels). Of these Sacaton Red items, four are from cremations, two from house floors, and two from grids. Sherds were recovered from at least eleven houses, a canal, and three trash mounds. Excavations at Frogtown, a hamlet or small village along the Salt-Gila Aqueduct on the eastern side of the Phoenix Basin, produced 170,388 sherds. Of these, 1,294, or 0.76 percent, were identified as red ware, of which 920 were Sacaton Red (Sires 1984; Bernard-Shaw 1984:448). Sherds were recovered from at least seven houses and several trash features. A single Sacaton Red bowl and several plain ware vessels were associated with a human cremation burial at this site. David R. Abbott’s (1984:62) analysis of sherds from three localities along the Salt-Gila Aqueduct documented Sacaton Red at field house, farmstead, and hamlet sites (including Frogtown), indicating its presence at multiple types of sites. Spatial variation was suggested in vessel form (small- versus medium-sized bowls), and possibly in temper types involving the variable presence of feldspar. Sherds were slipped on the interior; the exteriors were not well finished and rarely exhibited polishing striations, although a bowl with exterior patterned polish striations is illustrated (Abbott 1984:62–63, 79). The variation in the project assemblage was similar to that at Snaketown, which led Abbott to suggest a unified tradition with a limited production area. Sacaton Red was recovered from Las Colinas in west Phoenix, in the lower Salt River Valley, where it accounted for less than 1 percent of sherds from feature assemblages (Abbott 1988; Abbott and Gregory 1988:15–16). Two distinct temper types were identified: one contained large to small...

Hohokam Palettes from the Gila Bend Region

Palettes, generally found in Hohokam archaeological sites dating to the Colonial through the Sedentary Periods (ad 750-1150), have been studied by a number of researchers over the past eight decades. Much progress has been made toward understanding how they were made, how they were used, and what they meant to the Hohokam people, but much about them remains unknown. Although the best-studied specimens come from the area around Phoenix, many have been found in regions peripheral to the Phoenix Basin, such as the Gila Bend area to the southwest.

Identical rock types with different chemistry: sourcing phyllite-tempered Hohokam pottery from the Phoenix basin, Arizona

The organization of ceramic production and distribution among the ancient Hohokam of the Phoenix basin, Arizona, has been documented in recent years with much detail. Based on diverse temper and clay compositions, the provenance of individual ceramics is routinely determined with considerable precision. One exception is phyllite-tempered pottery, which was made in one corner of the basin but also across a broad upland zone adjacent to the north. The phyllite-tempered pottery from different production sources cannot be distinguished on the basis of their temper type. As shown with assays with an electron microprobe, however, both the temper and clay fractions are chemically diverse and geographically distinct, allowing many of the phyllite-tempered wares to be sourced. Among the phyllite-tempered ceramics consumed in the Phoenix basin, some are shown to have been made locally, but, surprisingly, large numbers were imported from the northern uplands. Their numbers support the idea that the connection between the Phoenix basin and the northern uplands was a prominent component of the Hohokam regional economy despite the great difference between them in settlement size and density.

Micromorphological study of irrigation canal sediments: Landscape evolution and hydraulic management in the middle Gila River valley (Phoenix Basin, Arizona) during the Hohokam occupation

The Hohokam were a long lived (300–1450 AD) agrarian society in the deserts of southern Arizona with an efficient irrigation system and a complex socio-political organization. Dependent on environmental conditions, they coped with hydrological and geomorphic changes, which potentially had an impact on their cultural evolution. Irrigation canals were regularly maintained and/or abandoned and their fills record secondary signatures of fluvial dynamics, landscape change and land use. Micromorphological studies allow for the creation of a typology of canal fills based on semi-quantitative measurements. A synchronous and diachronic analysis of canal systems can then be undertaken by means of pedosedimentary correlation. As part of cultural resource management projects on the Gila River Indian Reservation, south of Phoenix, studies have been conducted on the prehistoric Santan Irrigation System, in use from the 10th to the 15th century AD. Phases of low flow were identified, followed by alluvial fan flooding, and seasonal deposition between the 10th–14th century AD (Sedentary/Early Classic Period). During the 14th–15th century AD (Late Classic Period), evidence of active erosion is initially recorded in the sediments, followed by seasonal water supply, and ultimately canal abandonment despite probable efficient irrigation.

Extensive and Long-Term Specialization: Hohokam Ceramic Production in the Phoenix Basin, Arizona

The ceramic evidence from 10 sites in the lower Salt River valley, Arizona, represents the entire temporal interval defined as the pre-Classic era of Hohokam prehistory. These data indicate that nearly all of the clay pots consumed in the valley over a period lasting six centuries were manufactured by just a few potter groups. The uninterrupted duration, high volume, and the large variety of vessel forms and wares produced for exchange may have been unparalleled in the prehistoric Southwest. A temporally comprehensive model of pottery manufacture in the Phoenix basin is presented, its implications for the origins of specialization, and the influence of intensive irrigation are discussed. In addition, the implications are considered for a previously published model of the Hohokam economy centered on marketplace transactions (Abbott, Smith, and Gallaga 2007).

EVIDENCE FOR DOMESTICATED AMARANTH FROM A SEDENTARY PERIOD HOHOKAM HOUSE FLOOR AT LAS CANOPAS

Flotation-processed fill from an inverted bowl on the floor of a late Sedentary period house floor (A.D. 1020–1150, calibrated 1-sigma range C-14 date) at the Las Canopas site on the Salt River in Phoenix, Arizona, yielded approximately 1,500 charred amaranth seeds along with domesticated maize (Zea mays ssp. mays) kernels, tepary beans (Phaseolus acutifolius), and cotton (Gossypium hirsutum) seeds. The amaranth seeds are morphologically different from wild types and have the properties of a domesticated species as determined from seed coat (testa) measurements. We conclude that both pale and dark-seeded domesticated amaranth seeds were present in the bowl, having seed coat thicknesses of 3.7-6.1 microns (pale) and 8.3-14.2 microns (dark), respectively. We also review the Hohokam literature and discuss concentrations of amaranth from possible storage contexts and from additional sites where analysts suggested that specimens represent domesticates. The context and anatomical characteristics of the Las Canopas amaranth support the inference that it was produced as a crop and contributed to the diets of late Sedentary period farmers in the Phoenix Basin. More studies of this type, combined with additional baseline research needed to understand seed characteristics of all native amaranth species, can lead to better informed assessments of the significance of cultigen amaranth for Sonoran Desert farmers.

CHEMICAL ASSAYS OF TEMPER AND CLAY: MODELLING POTTERY PRODUCTION AND EXCHANGE IN THE UPLANDS NORTH OF THE PHOENIX BASIN, ARIZONA, USA*

A lack of mineralogical variation characterizes the prehistoric pottery in the uplands of central Arizona. Virtually all of the ceramics in that region were tempered with phyllite, which has previously precluded provenance analyses and the investigation of pottery production and distribution in the upland zone. As shown with assays with an electron microprobe, however, both the clay fraction and the temper fragments are chemically diverse and geographically distinct, allowing many of the phyllite‐tempered wares to be sourced, thereby leading to models about the organization of ceramic production and exchange in the upland zone north of the Phoenix Basin.

The Provenance and Concentrated Production of Hohokam Red-on-Buff Pottery: Implications for an Ancient Arizona Economy

Recent advancements in determining the production sources of prehistoric Hohokam pottery from the Phoenix basin, Arizona, have shown that ceramic manufacture was highly concentrated during the Sedentary period (ca. AD 950-1100). For example, nearly all of the bowls and small jars consumed in the lower Salt River valley were decorated red-on-buff pots imported from the middle Gila River valley to the south. An analysis of the sand temper in the buff wares showed that many, if not most, of these red-painted vessels were made in one locality along the Gila River, thereby supporting the idea that a reliable and efficient mechanism for commodity exchange was extant at that time, possibly in the form of periodic marketplaces associated with ritual ballgames. The pottery results imply a level of dependence on ballgame-related transactions that had not been recognized before, indicating their central importance to the Hohokam Sedentary period economy.

Ballcourts and Ceramics: The Case for Hohokam Marketplaces in the Arizona Desert

During the middle Sedentary period (ca. A.D. 1000-1070) in the deserts of southern and central Arizona, crowds from near and far regularly gathered at the centers of Hohokam villages to participate in ritual ballcourt festivities. These events were ideal venues for barter and exchange, leading some theorists to hypothesize that periodic marketplaces were associated with the ritual ballgames. Recent ceramic provenance and vessel-form evidence from the Phoenix basin have shown that the production of decorated and utilitarian pots was highly concentrated during this time and large numbers of bowls and jars were evenly distributed to far flung consumers. These findings have supported the marketplace hypothesis, suggesting that an efficient and reliable mechanism was available for moving large numbers of commodities across the region. The high volume of ceramic transactions, however, seems to have placed the Hohokam case beyond the capabilities of nascent marketplaces documented from ethnohistoric and ethnographic evidence. In this paper, we support the idea that market-place barter was a central component of the Hohokam economy by presenting new ceramic data from the lower Salt River valley, which temporally links the demise of the ballcourt ceremonialism with a transformation in the organization of pottery production and distribution. We then examine some unusual circumstances pertaining to the Hohokam regional system that may help to explain how consumers could have so heavily depended on a network of horizontally organized, periodic marketplaces for basic necessities like earthenware containers.

HOHOKAM FIELD BUILDING

Ongoing research in the Northern Phoenix Basin has determined that the soils of at least five Hohokam agricultural fields were deposited through the diversion of silt-laden floodwaters of Cave Creek onto areas of nonarable sand and cobble desert. The fields are the result of the conscious conversion of nonarable desert lands into agricultural fields. Evidence for the anthropogenic nature of these soils based on the soil, topographic, and pollen records is discussed. The largest of these artificial deposits covers 181,760 m2 and averages approximately 80 cm in depth. The creation of these fields represents a significant gain for prehistoric farmers who were able to create arable land in locations where none previously existed. Similar soil-building technologies have been reported in the ethnographic record, suggesting that there may be a long tradition of field building in the Sonoran Desert.

Hohokam Ritual and Economic Transformation: Ceramic Evidence from the Phoenix Basin, Arizona

The Hohokam regional system in southern and central Arizona was marked by a dense network of ballcourts during the eleventh century. The ritual ballgames provided venues for social and economic interaction that probably included the barter and exchange of thousands of clay containers each year. Previous ceramic evidence has shown that pottery production was highly concentrated with far-flung distribution, although by the twelfth century the ballcourt network had collapsed. New data from Las Colinas, a ballcourt village situated near the lower Salt River, demonstrate that the organization of pottery manufacture and distribution radically changed in the lower Salt River valley just at the time the Las Colinas ballcourt was abandoned, implying that the ritual ballgames had been a central component of the Hohokam regional economy.

PERFORATED PLATES AND THE SALADO PHENOMENON

Perforated ceramic plates have intrigued southwestern archaeologists since the late 1800s, when they were first encountered at the Classic period platform-mound sites of the Phoenix Basin and the protohistoric villages of the Hopi Mesas. Residues, contextual clues, and usewear suggest that perforated plates were used as base-molds in pottery making, and/or as potters’ turntables. Updated information regarding the function, dating, and distribution of these objects is presented in this paper. These data, along with the results of recent research in the San Pedro River Valley (including compositional analyses), establish a strong connection between immigrant groups from northern Arizona and the origin and spread of the Salado phenomenon that linked populations in central and southern Arizona, western New Mexico, and northern Sonora and Chihuahua.

Robustness, institutions, and large-scale change in social-ecological systems: the Hohokam of the Phoenix Basin

Societies frequently generate public infrastructure and institutional arrangements in order to mediate short-term environmental fluctuations. However, the social and ecological consequences of activities dealing with short-term disturbances may increase the vulnerability of the system to infrequent events or to long-term change in patterns of short-term variability. Exploring this possibility requires the study of long-term, transformational change. The archaeological record provides many examples of long-term change, such as the Hohokam who occupied the Phoenix Basin for over a thousand years and developed a complex irrigation society. In the eleventh and fourteenth centuries, the Hohokam society experienced reductions in complexity and scale possibly associated with regional climatic events. We apply a framework designed to explore robustness in coupled social-ecological systems to the Hohokam Cultural Sequence. Based on this analysis, a stylized formal model is developed to explore the possibility that the success of the Hohokam irrigation system and associated social structure may have increased their vulnerability to rare climactic shocks.

MM5-SMOKE-CMAQ as a modeling tool for 8-h ozone regulatory enforcement: application to the state of Arizona

The Penn State/NCAR Mesoscale Meteorological Model 5 (MM5), Sparse Matrix Operator Kernal Emissions (SMOKE), and Community Multiscale Air Quality (CMAQ) modeling systems were employed to simulate ozone concentration distribution within the State of Arizona, in particular, Phoenix air basin, as supporting information to designate nonattainment areas of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's new 8-h ozone standard. In general, based on statistical comparisons between predictions and available (sparsely distributed) observations, the modeling system performed reasonably well for the Phoenix basin, thus proving it to be a useful tool for both regulatory as well as research applications. Detailed inspection, however, revealed a serious problem with respect to the details of the ozone distribution in that for some days the transition from downslope flow to upslope flow in the Phoenix basin was delayed in the model, causing the ozone distribution to show an unrealistic high-ozone bias toward the west valley. Implementation of a modified subgrid parameterization improved the time of transition, and hence the prediction of ozone and its precursor distributions. This study points to possible inadequacies of commonly used subgrid parameterizations in dealing with rapidly changing flow conditions such as morning (and evening) transitions.

A NEWLY DISCOVERED CLOVIS POINT FROM THE PHOENIX BASIN AND AN UPDATE ON ARIZONA CLOVIS POINT ATTRIBUTES

The recent discovery of a complete Clovis point in the northwest portion of the Phoenix Basin adds to the small sample of reported Paleoindian points from central Arizona. This paper describes the location, context, and attributes of the point. The newly discovered point is then compared to other Clovis points from Arizona to shed light on behavioral patterns among these early hunter-gatherers. Findings discussed in this paper suggest clustering of Clovis points in specific areas of Arizona and similar point attributes regardless of discovery location. Patterning in Clovis point re-sharpening and raw material procurement are identified as a promising topics for illuminating Clovis mobility strategies in Arizona.

Resource Mobilization and Hohokam Society: Analysis of Obsidian Artifacts from the Gatlin Site, Arizona

ABSTRACTArtifacts made of nonlocal obsidian were often associated with Hohokam village sites in the Phoenix Basin. Analysis of obsidian artifacts (n=75) from the Gatlin site (AZ Z: 2:1 [ASM]), a prehistoric Hohokam village in southwestern Arizona, by energy-dispersive X-ray fluorescence indicated that most were from the Sauceda Mountain source. In contrast, 33 percent of the projectile points and preforms were made of nonlocal obsidian, suggesting trade in finished items. Resource mobilization may have been one option for provisioning events such as funerals and other ceremonies.

The Impact of Raw-Material Scarcity on Ground-Stone Manufacture and Use: An Example from the Phoenix Basin Hohokam

Current models of ground-stone design, which relate tool morphology and size to subsistence economies, are based on assumptions of energy efficiency and processing constraints of the foodstuffs being ground. These models do not consider the impact of raw-material scarcity on ground-stone technologies. This impact is investigated here using an assemblage from the Classic-period Hohokam site of Pueblo Grande, Arizona. The current model of ground-stone design is modified to account for raw-material scarcity. Specifically, it is demonstrated that raw-material scarcity affects ground-stone manufacture, use, and discard patterns. It is argued here that studies using ground-stone assemblages to reconstruct subsistence economies must take these factors into consideration in areas where raw-material scarcity occurs.

On Rivers and Boundaries in the Phoenix Basin, Arizona

ABSTRACTBased on the distribution of non-local pottery recovered from Hohokam sites in south-central Arizona, Patricia Crown (1987) proposed that the Salt and Gila rivers served as boundaries for Hohokam exchange systems. Additional analysis based upon a larger sample of trade pottery does not uniformly support this proposition. Both similarities and differences existed in the spatial distribution of imported pottery in the Phoenix Basin during the Late Formative period (A.D. 700–1050). An increase in the acquisition of non-local pottery coincided with increasing regional similarity across the Phoenix Basin during the late Classic period after A.D. 1300. A spatial model based on proximity to source area accounts for most but not all of the distributions of imported pottery within the Phoenix Basin.

Small Site Function and Duration of Occupation in the Hohokam Northern Periphery

A site typology developed for the Hohokam core area in the Phoenix Basin is evaluated for sites in the northern periphery using excavated data from small sites on the New and Verde rivers. Assumed differences in the tasks carried out at limited activity locations, field houses, farmsteads, and hamlets are examined using the ceramic and lithic assemblages recovered at these sites. This study evaluates the applicability of the Hohokam site typology to sites outside of the Phoenix Basin and the appropriateness of functionally based site typologies in general. An alternative interpretation of small sites is offered relying on differences in duration of occupation, rather than differences in function. Additionally, the analysis suggests the New River and Verde River areas may have been exploited in different ways by the Hohokam.

A Study in Sourcing Hohokam Basalt Ground Stone Implements

ABSTRACTGround stone implements were important tools for the Hohokam because they relied heavily on plant foods in their diet. Current data suggest that in the Phoenix Basin vesicular basalt materials were favored for the rectangular mano and trough metates common at most Hohokam sites. The distribution of basaltic materials is relatively limited' however, and specific outcrops were exploited as quarries. Experiments with low-power reflected light and BSE-EDX microscopic sourcing techniques indicate that several regional basalt sources exist, and that these sources may be identifiable in ground stone assemblages. The composition of various source materials at different sites has the potential to provide insights into Hohokam ground stone production and trade.