Their Own Road: Archaeological Investigations along State Route 260 Payson to Heber—Doubtful Canyon Section

The planned realignment of State Route 260 (SR 260) between Payson and Heber by the Arizona Department of Transportation (ADOT) resulted in a multiphase archaeological investigation of the associated right-of-way and Area of Potential Effects (APE). The construction project includes 45.8 miles of highway. Numerous archaeological sites were identified during initial surveys in the project area along the western portion of the project area, below the Mogollon rim and on the Tonto National Forest (TNF). Archaeological sites are situated on the hills and terraces above permanent waterways, including Christopher Creek, Sharp Creek, Green Valley Creek, Tonto Creek, and Hunter Creek. Archaeological investigations within the project area are divided into six sections that include, from west-to-east: Lion Springs, Preacher Canyon, Little Green Valley, Kohls Ranch, Doubtful Canyon, and Christopher Creek. The Doubtful Canyon section is 3.5 miles long and is situated near the eastern end of the project area (Figure 1.1). This section overlaps the tie-ins constructed as part of the Kohls Ranch section. To date, archaeological investigations have been completed for the Preacher Canyon, Christopher Creek, Kohls Ranch, and Little Green Valley sections of the project area. The Sharp Creek Campground, a parcel adjacent to the Christopher Creek section, has also undergone testing and data recovery. In October 2009, nine sites in the Doubtful Canyon section were tested for eligibility for inclusion in the National Register of Historic Places (National Register) (Table 1.1). All the sites maintained their integrity, but only six had the potential to answer research questions about the prehistoric settlers of the sub-Mogollon Rim region and were considered eligible for inclusion in the National Register under Criterion D. After testing, two sites, AZ 0:12:120/AR-03-12-04-1860 (ASM/TNF), and Little Stinker, AZ O:12:121/AR-03-12-04-1861 (ASM/TNF), were considered ineligible for inclusion in the National Register. Research potential of the Sheep site, AZ 0:12:27 / AR-03-12-04-745 (ASM/TNF), Dittert's Quarry, AZ 0:12:116/AR-03-12-04-267 (ASM/TNF), and Transfer Station, AZ O:12:115/AR-03-12-04-265 (ASM/TNF), was exhausted during testing, and no further work was recommended. Data recovery was recommended for Flipping Bear, AZ O:12:28/AR-03-12-04-746 (ASM/TNF), the Spring site, AZ O:12:21/AR-03-12-04-1161 (ASM/TNF), and Tontozona Tarantula, AZ O:12:119/AR-03-12-04-1471 (ASM/TNF) (Herr and Stein 2009). Further significance testing was also recommended for the Morgan site, AZ O:12:117/AR-03-12-04-1402 (ASM/TNF). Additional testing and data recovery fieldwork was conducted between March 8 and April 22, 2010, within the APE of the Spring site, Flipping Bear, and Tontozona Tarantula. Work at the Spring site and Flipping Bear was substantial, as all features within the project right-of way were investigated. Historic wagon road, AZ 0:15:113/AR-03-12-04-652 (ASM/TNF), historic Forest Highway 11, AZ 0:12:33/AR-03-12-04-878 (ASM/TNF), and the Payson to Colcord phone line, AZ 0:12:34/AR-03-12-04-1312 (ASM/TNF), also cross the Doubtful Canyon section (Weaver 1998a). Most of the fieldwork and archival research on the road corridors and the telephone line was conducted in 2000, during the first section of the project (Herr, Stein, and Cook 2000; Herr, Thiel, and Stein 2000). A fourth site, AR-03-12-04-170 (TNF), identified as a quarry site by Dittert (1975), is located in the tie-in area between the Kohls Ranch and Doubtful Canyon sections; that site was investigated during the Kohls Ranch phase. This chert exposure lacked signs of cultural materials, and was considered ineligible for inclusion in the National Register (Herr and Stein 2001).