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Proposed wetland restoration and flood control by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) associated with the north bank of the Salt River, near confluences of the Agua Fria and Gila rivers, requires the identification of cultural resources as laid out in Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act. The project area involves a wide, stable floodplain terrace below Frank Midvale’s Cashion Ruin. After the completion of a records search, archeologists from the Corps surveyed the project’s area of potential effects (approximately 700 acres) in the summer of 1999, identifying the historic St. Johns Canal (AZ T:11:93 [ASM]), and a possible Hohokam habitation site (AZ T:11:94 [ASM]). The historic canal is not eligible for listing in the National Register of Historic Places given its extensive modifications over time. The prehistoric site is potentially eligible for the National Register. The possibility exists for additional sites buried within the floodplain. In addition to National Register evaluations of the prehistoric site, subsurface exploration and geomorphic studies of the floodplain are proposed.

The Sonoran Desert of Southern Arizona was once occupied by the prehistoric Hohokam, a group of agriculturalists who constructed thousands of kilometers of irrigation canals as well as public architecture, including platform mounds and bailcourts. They also appear to have been keen astronomical observers, although the subject of Hohokam archaeoastronomy remains underexplored. This paper summarizes previous Hohokam archaeoastronomy studies, discusses O'odham (Piman) Indian calendar systems, outlines a theoretical framework for studying Hohokam archaeoastronomy, and present the results of a study of a fortified hill site in the Phoenix Mountains, Arizona. This site appears to have served as an observatory, where the Hohokam marked the appearance of solstices and equinoxes with light patterns in an artificially constructed rockshelter, and by the location on the horizon of sunrise and sunset in relation to architectural features. Furthermore, some of the petroglyphs at the site which may be associated with astronomical observations are described. The implications of a Hohokam calendar system also are discussed.

At the request of Salt River Project, the Museum of Northern Arizona conducted an archaeological survey of a proposed 500kV transmission line between the Palo Verde Nuclear Generating Station (near Wintersburg, Arizona) and the Kyrene Substation (near Tempe, Arizona). During survey of the 73.3 mi right-of-way, evidences of historic and prehistoric activity were recorded at 10 sites and 43 loci of isolated artifacts or features. With few exceptions, all identified remains could be assigned to the Hohokam culture. The Museum recommends, where feasible, that all cultural remains be avoided. In instances where sites or portions of sites cannot be avoided specific mitigation recommendations are presented. This file includes related correspondence.

The Central Arizona Project (CAP) , Indian Distribution Division (IDD) is designed to deliver allocated CAP water to Indian users. The Middle Gila Basin Overview is the initial cultural resources planning study for the system. It summarizes and evaluates the extant data in an area 3,570 square miles (9,139 sq km) large, centered on the Gila River. The data suggests that archaeological sites in this area are numerous and varied, but most of all poorly-studied despite 100 years of research. A defensible culture history and chronology exists for only 35 percent of the 12,000 years of human history in the Basin. Given this, an assumption that basic interpretive frameworks are available to support sophisticated processural arguments is inaccurate. Further data analysis shows that site distributions correspond to physical and biotic zones in only the most general sense. Sites tend to be large and densely-clustered on the second terraces of major rivers; large sites, less-closely spaced are also in higher interior valleys. Sites on upper bajadas slopes appear to be specialized activity areas, while valley bottom sites contain material suggestive of encampments and villages. Most important, the patterns of previous field investigdtions more than anything else are responsible for apparent clusterings of sites. Large areas of the Middle Gila Basin remain unexplored. CAP-IDD systems are likely to encounter substantial archaeological remains along almost any intended, gravity- flow canal alignment, and in many field areas proposed for agricultural development. Of these remains, the majority can qualify, probably, for inclusion in the National Register of Historic Place because, in reality, we know so little about them. See the appendices for a full site list.

This report provides a regional archaeological overview prepared for the Montezuma Hydroelectric Pumped-Storage Project by the Office of Cultural Resource Management, Department of Anthropology, Arizona State University, under contract with the Salt River Project, Phoenix, Arizona. Specifically, it is designed to fulfill the archaeological data requirements for the Phase I Regional Study outlined by Wirth Associates, the consulting firm coordinating all environmental studies connected with the Montezuma Project. The Phase I archaeological research resulted in the compilation of a complete archaeological resource inventory for the study area defined by Wirth Associates. Data were collected on 337 previously recorded sites representing Hohokam, Yuman, Pima, Maricopa, and modern Yaqui activities, and these were evaluated in terms of their potential archaeological value. Based on the assumption that similar environments will have had similar prehistoric usage, the various environmental zones within the research area were evaluated in terms of predicted site density and average potential site value and were ranked in terms of their overall archaeological significance. Hohokam-Pima National Monument and Hohokam-Pima Irrigation Sites National Historic Landmark were evaluated as the most highly significant archaeological resources in the area while the South Mountains, the Montezuma Project Upper Reservoir, and the undisturbed portions of the main Gila River floodplain were designated as highly significant. Moderate significance was attributed to the upper bajada zones surrounding the mountainous portions of the area, the secondary floodplain area, and the disturbed portions of the major floodplain. The remainder of the study area was held to be of low archaeological significance.