Tonto Basin Research Articles

Cenozoic drainage reversal on the southern margin of the Colorado Plateau, east-central Arizona, USA

Laramide northeast-flowing streams from the ancestral Mogollon highland beveled gently northeast-dipping Late Proterozoic to Cretaceous strata across the southern Colorado Plateau Transition Zone. Late Eocene renewed uplift rejuvenated northeast-flowing streams incising paleocanyons. Apache paleocanyon was incised into the Mogollon highland, including the north-trending Laramide Apache uplift bounded by major reverse faults/monoclines. The Mogollon Rim sequence aggraded in Apache paleocanyon and on a broad alluvial plain to the east. Middle Cenozoic tectonic subsidence of the Transition Zone, aridification, and volcanism combined to aggrade Apache paleocanyon with sedimentary and volcanic rocks from 37.6 to 18.63 Ma. Emplacement of the Mogollon-Datil caldera complex and Chuska erg on the southeastern Colorado Plateau forced streamflow to northwest-dispersal of fluvio-eolian sediment from 34 to 26 Ma. Following erosion by northwest-flowing streams on the southern Colorado Plateau from ~26 to 16 Ma, lake sediments of the lower Bidahochi Fm were deposited. Southwestward reactivation of Laramide faults was underway by ~25 Ma coeval with extensive 25 to 20 Ma Natanes Plateau basalt flows and extreme crustal thinning southwest of the Transition Zone. As northeastward streamflow gradually diminished, a Superstition field ash flow tuff ended northeastward flow at 18.63 Ma and was followed by a period of sluggish southwest stream flow and ponding until after ~14.84 Ma. Southwestward structural subsidence and possible spillover from ancestral Lake Hopi on the Colorado Plateau southern margin caused incision of the southwest-directed Dagger Canyon paleovalley after 14.84, which followed the path of the earlier Apache paleocanyon and possibly to the Sespe delta on the California coast before opening of Gulf of California. Structural collapse of the Tonto Basin to the west induced deposition of the Dagger Canyon Conglomerate in the Dagger Canyon paleovalley before the modern Salt River incised all previous deposits and became integrated with the Gila River during the Plio-Pleistocene.

Least Cost Paths and Movement in Tonto Basin, Central Arizona

Perched high above Roosevelt Lake in Tonto Basin, central Arizona, the Upper and Lower Tonto Cliff Dwellings have been commonly excluded from archaeological narratives for the basin. Although one of the few sizeable settlements inhabited in Tonto Basin during the Gila phase (A.D. 1350–1450), the cliff dwellings fell outside the boundaries of several large cultural resource management projects, and are a settlement type atypical for the basin. A disconnect between studies of the Tonto Cliff Dwellings and the rest of the basin therefore exists. Least cost paths (LCPs) are therefore calculated from the Tonto Cliff Dwellings to settlements around Arizona to identify and contextualize possible travel routes between Tonto Basin and beyond. It is argued that reconstructing and refining travel in the ancient Southwest requires the creation of multiple LCPs among multiple start and end points, verification through artifact and feature documentation, and insights from traditional knowledge.

Neogene drainage reversal and Colorado Plateau uplift in the Salt River area, Arizona, USA

UPb detrital zircon and 40Ar39Ar detrital sanidine dating of paleoriver deposits refines the timing of the mid-Cenozoic drainage reversal from NE- to SW-flowing rivers across the southern edge of the Colorado Plateau. NE-flowing paleorivers of the Mogollon Rim Formation were of multiple ages: ≤59.38 Ma for the Flying V outcrop and ≤37–33 Ma for other outcrops. These NE-flowing paleorivers were defeated by construction of the 38–23 Ma Mogollon–Datil volcanic field and extensional collapse of the Mogollon Highlands. The 37.6–21.8 Ma Whitetail Conglomerate of the Salt River paleocanyon records the transition from NE-flowing rivers to internal drainage that persisted from 30 to 14.67 Ma during continued extensional collapse. The SW-flowing proto-Salt River was established by about 12 Ma and flowed into Tonto Basin ~7 Ma. The Salt River extended its length to near Phoenix via basin spillover from the Tonto and Verde basins about 2.8 Ma and became established in its present path only in the past ~500 ka. Between 3.0 and 0.52 Ma, incision rates of the Salt River's headwaters have been steady at 95 m/Ma as calculated using the age and height of four far-traveled basalt runouts from the Springerville volcanic field. These incision rates contrast with 10 m/Ma rates for downstream areas near the Sentinel-Arlington volcanic field on the Gila River over the past 2.37 Ma. This 85 m/Ma of differential incision was a geomorphic response of headwater drainages to changes in base level (base level fall plus headwater uplift) that, at least in part, was a consequence of top-down integration of the Salt and Verde river systems via spillover. Neogene headwater uplift is proposed to have set the stage for and perhaps driven this downward integration by increasing river gradients, and progressive uplift in the past 3 Ma may help explain post-integration steady headwater incision. Surface uplift components include construction of the Springerville and San Francisco volcanic fields and related mantle-driven epeirogenic uplift of the southern rim of the Colorado Plateau. Long-term differential incision rates for the Salt River (85 m/Ma) are less than for the Colorado River system (140 m/Ma across Grand Canyon) suggesting west-up neotectonic tilting of the Colorado Plateau.

A Contextual Analysis of Ritual Fauna and Socially Integrative Architecture in the Tonto Basin, Arizona

The frequent deposition of animals in public spaces suggests a key role in public rituals in the prehispanic U.S. Southwest. Using ethnographic evidence and large-scale analysis of faunal remains in the Tonto Basin area of central Arizona, I ask whether ritual fauna cluster in socially integrative spaces and what implications this had for integrating migrant Puebloan populations with local people. The Tonto Basin area is typically considered Hohokam, but exhibits influence from neighboring Sinagua and Puebloan regions. The emergence of the Salado phenomenon and public architecture in the region is evidence of broad sociopolitical and religious change involving specific treatments and storage of fauna. I find that ritual fauna cluster in room contexts associated with socially integrative architecture suggest a centralization of ritual practice and storage. Ultimately, Tonto Basin communities targeted specific taxa for the enactment of public activities, aiding in the integration of non-local people.

Arizona Salado turquoise: source studies with proton-induced X-ray emission and X-ray diffraction

We compare the composition of turquoise source materials from Arizona to prehistoric blue-green stone artifacts recovered from Salado platform mounds (ca. AD 1275-1450) in the Tonto Basin of Central Arizona. Turquoise samples from known source areas in Arizona including Kingman, Castle Dome, in the Globe- Miami area are compare with others that may have been potential sources of turquoise artifacts recovered from the Salado platform mounds. The complementary techniques of proton-induced X-ray emission (PIXE) for chemical analysis and X-ray diffraction (XRD) for mineralogical signatures are used for nondestructive characterisation of both source area samples and archaeological artifacts. The results of the source area sample characterisations are compared quantitatively with the results of archaeological samples, which are evaluated in terms of their likelihood of being from each of the regional sources. The combination of mineralogical and chemical data to identify source materials provides a more thorough identification of the complex variations within turquoise related materials that may not be distinguished by visual inspection. The PIXE and XRD analysis are compared using a set of multivariate statistics including principal components analysis and discriminant analysis. Additionally, a set of Munsell colour charts specifically for the blue-green range of colours is used to objectively qualify colour in comparison to chemical and mineralogical signatures, as colour alone is not a reliable indicator of composition. The results provide objective data to assess directionality of procurement of turquoise and regional social and economic ties to better understand Salado regional connections during this dynamic period in the American Southwest.

Traces of the Individual in Prehistory

AbstractThere is considerable and largely untapped potential in individual-scale research in the discipline of archaeology. Innovative methods described in this article were developed to identify the work of individual prehistoric flintknappers. Theoretically, the approach was informed by previous researchers' discussions of technological style and utilizes an individual- or nano-scale focus for that concept. New analytical methods were then used to investigate individual flintknappers' participation in the community organization of the prehistoric eastern Tonto Basin, Arizona. Specifically, small triangular stone projectile points (n = 149) collected from Roosevelt phase (A.D. 1275–1325) sites were analyzed to inform an assessment of the spatial distribution of individuals' handiwork in late prehistoric multi-site settlements. This research illustrates how improved individual-scale techniques may provide new insight on topics of considerable interest to archaeologists. For the Tonto Basin case, this project offers a new perspective on the integration of immigrants into local systems and the strength of community ties across natural barriers such as the Salt River during the Roosevelt phase.

A method for chronological apportioning of ceramic assemblages

Artifact assemblages from long-inhabited sites may include ceramic types and wares from multiple time periods, making temporal comparisons between sites difficult. This is especially problematic in macro-regional data sets compiled from multiple sources with varying degrees of chronological control. We present a method for chronological apportioning of ceramic assemblages that considers site occupation dates, ceramic production dates, and popularity distribution curves. The chronological apportioning can also be adjusted to take into account different population sizes during the site occupation span. Our method is illustrated with ceramic data from late prehispanic sites in the San Pedro Valley and Tonto Basin, Arizona, U.S.A., compiled as part of the Southwest Social Networks Project. The accuracy of the apportioning method is evaluated by comparing apportioned assemblages with those from nearby contemporaneous single component sites.

Stewart Mountain Terrace: A New Salt River Terrace with Implications for Landscape Evolution of the Lower Salt River Valley, Arizona

Stream terraces of the Salt River form the interpretive backbone of Plio-Pleistocene landscape evolution of central Arizona, because they represent the base level of all tributary streams. This paper presents a new addition to T.L. Péwé' s Salt River Terrace sequence (in decreasing topographic position and age: Sawik, Mesa, Blue Point, and Lehi) that has been unrefined for the last 30 years. The existence of an older, higher terrace was predicted by research suggesting that the lower Salt River originated by lake overflow from an ancestral Pliocene lake in the Tonto Basin. Field reconnaissance, aerial photo interpretation, and sedimentological analysis revealed this terrace on the north side of the Salt River, named here the Stewart Mountain Terrace (SMT). Where exposed, the fluvial sediments of SMT overlay Tertiary basin fill unconformably. SMT sediments are characterized by ∼50 m thick fluvial gravels found more than 70 m above remnants of the Sawik Terrace. Although the gravels are distinctly Salt River in origin, Stewart Mountain gravels differ from the lower and younger Salt River Terraces. The clast sizes are much larger on average and host a significantly different lithology. Because of these differences the SMT has profound implications for the understanding of regional drainage reorganization after basin and range extension. The existence of this terrace and its distinct gravels are consistent with, but do not prove, a lake overflow mechanism for the initiation of through flowing drainage in the Salt River Valley.

Proton-induced x-ray emission analysis of turquoise artefacts from SaladoPlatform Mound sites in the Tonto Basin of central Arizona

During the Classic period (AD 1280–1450), prehistoric native Americans usedturquoise for adornment, pigment and rituals at the Salado PlatformMound communities of the Tonto Basin in central Arizona. These rare,but valued, artefacts were obtained through social and trade connectionsto settlements and resource zones in adjoining and distant areas. Wesystematically examine the chemical signatures of turquoise artefacts to assessdifferences in access to turquoise sources between two large, competingPlatform Mound communities (Cline Terrace Mound and Schoolhouse PointMound) and determine whether they shared the same trade network. PIXE(proton-induced x-ray emission) is used to non-destructively characterizethe chemical signatures of the turquoise artefacts; x-ray diffraction isused on a subset of artefacts to precisely identify mineralogical variabilitywithin copper-based blue-green minerals. Examples of multiple and mixedphases are further examined. These controlled chemical and mineralogicalstudies are used to guide the PIXE analysis of the larger dataset and toassess differences in source accessibility between the Cline Terrace andSchoolhouse Point Platform Mounds. Results indicate differential accessto turquoise sources, similar to obsidian and decorated ceramics, andfurther delineate the regional social networks of this prehistoric culture.

Tracking Prehistoric Migrations: Pueblo Settlers among the Tonto Basin Hohokam. Jeffrey J. Clark

Previous articleNext article No AccessBook ReviewsTracking Prehistoric Migrations: Pueblo Settlers among the Tonto Basin Hohokam. Jeffrey J. Clark Arleyn W. SimonArleyn W. Simon Search for more articles by this author PDFPDF PLUS Add to favoritesDownload CitationTrack CitationsPermissionsReprints Share onFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmail SectionsMoreDetailsFiguresReferencesCited by Journal of Anthropological Research Volume 59, Number 1Spring, 2003 Article DOIhttps://doi.org/10.1086/jar.59.1.3631457 Views: 4Total views on this site Copyright 2003 The University of New MexicoPDF download Crossref reports no articles citing this article.

Migration, Regional Reorganization, and Spatial Group Composition at Grasshopper Pueblo, Arizona

Strontium-isotope (87Sr/86Sr) analysis of first-molar enamel of 70 adult individuals interred at Grasshopper Pueblo, Arizona, when coupled with a variety of other lines of evidence, reveal a complex pattern of immigration and settlement at the site. Thirty-three of the individuals pattern as local (most likely having been born at Grasshopper), and 13 others originate from the region immediately surrounding the site. The remaining 24 individuals are of non-local, extra-regional origin. Recent 87Sr/86Sr analysis of rodent bone from archaeological sites in several regions surrounding Grasshopper—including the Tonto Basin, Payson area, Mogollon Rim, and Chevelon Valley, as well as prehistoric human bone from the Walnut Creek/Cherry Creek region—reveal potential matches for all of the nonlocal individuals. It is suggests that immigrants at Grasshopper likely derived from the Chevelon Valley, at least two localities from the central Mogollon Rim region, and possibly the Payson area at the western edge of the Mogollon Rim. Migration occurred throughout the occupational history of the site, but patterns of migration clearly changed through time. The structure of migrations likely followed the internal frontier model of Kopytoff (1987). A number of inferences that have been postulated for Grasshopper regarding ethnicity, diversity, and social and community organization are evaluated and supported.

It all comes out in the wash: Actualistic petrofacies modeling of temper provenance, Tonto Basin, Arizona, USA

Prehistoric potters frequently tempered their pottery with sand, the provenance of which can be established petrographically. In the Tonto Basin of central Arizona, the bedrock geology is highly variable, giving rise to geographically unique sands. Zones of sands with similar compositions can be modeled at an archaeologically relevant scale. Here we use the actualistic petrofacies concept, the Gazzi–Dickinson point-counting technique, and multivariate statistics to create a petrofacies model, then apply it to sand-tempered utilitarian pottery recovered from three Tonto Basin project areas. Data analysis reveals strong temporal and spatial ceramic production and consumption patterns. Production of pottery for exchange was established in at least one petrofacies ca. A.D. 600–950, with increasing specialization through time. By ca. A.D. 1150, corrugated wares had been added, and specialized production by ware was established in two petrofacies. Provenance evidence suggests different regional affiliations for groups in different parts of the basin. © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

CORRESPONDENCE AND DISCRIMINANT ANALYSES OF SAND AND SAND TEMPER COMPOSITIONS, TONTO BASIN, ARIZONA*

Geologists use petrographic modal analysis to relate fluvial sand composition to source rock composition, thus establishing provenance. Archaeologists seeking to establish provenance of sand temper in pottery can use similar petrographic methods, but their finer scale of investigation requires more precise statistical tools than those employed by geologists. A quantitative method for performing that task is presented. It utilizes correspondence analysis and discriminant analysis of logratio transformed point‐count data to define petrofacies, or sand temper resource procurement zones. The procedure is illustrated with sand and sand‐tempered sherd samples collected from the Tonto Basin, central Arizona; temporal trends in utilitarian ceramic production c. AD 100–1350 are reviewed.

Ceramic Manufacture, Productive Specialization, and the Early Classic Period in Arizona's Tonto Basin

Compositional analysis supports a model of multiple ceramic production modes during the Miami and Roosevelt phases of the early Classic period (ca. A.D. 1150-1350) in the Tonto Basin of central Arizona. We interpret temper compositional patterning to suggest that potters in most villages made some of their plain wares and red wares. In one area of the lower Tonto Basin, we believe that potters in many villages made some of their own unslipped corrugated wares. Data described in this study also suggest that specialists manufactured certain wares in particular settlements throughout the basin. Compositional homogeneity in some red wares and most slipped corrugated wares (Salado Red, Salado White-on-red) suggests that they were the objects of specialized production. Patterning in the compositional data also suggests the possibility that some Tonto Basin settlements specialized in the production of plain wares and unslipped corrugated wares, although potters also produced these two wares at the local level.

Social Boundaries Set in Clay: Trade Ware Patterning in the Tonto Basin of East-Central Arizona

Ceramic exchange networks reflect the socioeconomic ties of the individuals and groups who are party to the exchange. Distributions of trade wares are examined for the Classic period in the Tonto Basin of central Arizona. Initially all of the Tonto Basin appears to have had relatively equal access to distant trading partners. By the fourteenth century, however, trade ware ceramics had differential distributions in the basin, supporting the interpretation that platform mound communities at the eastern end of the Tonto Basin traded with settlements in different areas than platform mound communities at the western end of the basin did. These differences likely represent social boundaries among competing polities in the same local region.

PIXE analysis of Salado polychrome ceramics of the American Southwest

Prehistoric Salado polychrome ceramics of the American Southwest show temporal variation in pigment use depending on location of manufacture during the Classic Period ( a.d. 1250–1450). Proton-induced X-ray emission (PIXE) analysis was undertaken to characterize chemical differences among Pinto, Gila, and Tonto Polychrome paints found in the Tonto Basin, Arizona. White slip samples on pottery from Roosevelt phase ( a.d. 1250–1320) sites are compared to samples from Gila phase ( a.d. 1320–1450) sites. A significant difference was found between the white slips used on the early (Pinto) versus the late (Gila and Tonto) Salado polychrome decorations, suggesting technological and economic changes in pottery manufacture over time.

The effect of landscape and hydrologic variables on the prehistoric Salado: Geoarchaeological investigations in the Tonto Basin, Arizona

Geoarchaeological investigations in the Tonto Basin, Arizona provide insights into the Classic period Salado occupation from A.D. 1150 to 1450. Geomorphic reconstructions show that the Salado pursued irrigation agriculture on an intermediate Holocene terrace that was protected from flooding, while permanent settlements were located on stable Pleistocene landforms overlooking the field areas. Carrying-capacity-based calculations show that the population during the Classic period numbered in the low thousands. The development and subsequent cultural changes during the Classic period are tied to streamflow variations and cultural factors. The final abandonment of the Tonto Basin around A.D. 1450 is not the result of a major landscape change, but instead is linked to high frequency hydrologic variations that influenced food production coupled with cultural factors. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Labor Investmnent and Organization in Platform Mound Construction: A Case Study from the Tonto Basin of Central Arizona

Southwestern archaeologists have long recognized that platform mounds required a considerable amount of labor and organizational skill to build. Attempts to specify these behavioral dimensions have generally met with failure, however, either due to a lack of data or because researchers have been unable to place mound construction within a larger social context. Recent excavations at the Meddler Point site in central Arizona provide important new data for addressing these issues. In this article, the material and labor costs involved in building the Meddler Point platform mound are considered. The implications of these figures for understanding Classic period social organization at the site are then examined.

Labor Investment and Organization in Platform Mound Construction: A Case Study from the Tonto Basin of Central Arizona

Labor Investment and Organization in Platform Mound Construction: A Case Study from the Tonto Basin of Central Arizona

The Pinal Schist, southeast Arizona, USA: contraction of a Palaeoproterozoic rift basin

The Palaeoproterozoic Pinal Schist of southeast Arizona comprises mainly greenschist facies turbiditic metasedimentary rocks with associated volcanic rocks. The deformation history of the Pinal Schist includes foliation and elongation-lineation development within sedimentary protoliths during early basin contraction, followed by gentle warping of the metamorphosed sediments into upright, regional-scale horizontal folds with 10 km wavelengths. Continued contraction caused development of shear zones approximately parallel to anticlinal axial surfaces, and syn-kinematic granitic rocks intruded into anticlinal cores. Such shear zones occur throughout southeast Arizona in the turbiditic rocks of the Pinal Schist as well as in rocks of more continental character associated with the Tonto Basin Supergroup in the Mazatzal Mountains. It is proposed that shear zone distribution in both the Pinal Schist and the adjacent Tonto Basin Supergroup, reflects control by a pre-existing rift margin. The Pinal Schist and Tonto Basin Supergroup therefore represent distal and proximal rift-margin facies, respectively. Reactivation of early extensional faults as reverse shear zones during margin contraction controls shear zone distribution in southeast Arizona with deformation character changing from ductile to brittle with shallowing crustal level. This model explains shear zone and lithological distribution and deformational style in southeast Arizona, and it also implies a continuum of sediment deposition and deformation throughout this part of the Mazatzal orogeny.