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This is the second of two volumes presenting the results of data recovery investigations at the Dutch Canal Ruin (AZ T:12:62 [ ASM]), conducted by Desert Archaeology, Inc., at the western end of the North Runway, Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport. The Dutch Canal Ruin is a prehistoric agricultural site, dating between 1,700 and 500 years ago, consisting of fieldhouses and farmsteads scattered along a network of canals on the geological floodplain of the Salt River. The first volume (Henderson, ed. 2003) presented site-specific results of the Sky Harbor Airport (SHA) North Runway Expansion project. Descriptions of features and data recovery methods, analyses of artifacts and biological remains, and a synthesis that elucidates the activities of prehistoric farmers at the Dutch Canal Ruin are included there. The current volume, in contrast, includes an assortment of specialized studies whose ultimate purpose was to enhance our ability to interpret and understand the prehistoric past. This chapter provides background for the direction of SHA research and context for the specific studies.

The Tonto Creek Archaeological Project (TCAP), funded by the Arizona Department of Transportation (ADOT), was conducted by Desert Archaeology, Inc., in advance of the 1994-1996 realignment of Arizona State Route 188 in the Tonto Basin of east-central Arizona. From 1992 to 1996, portions of 27 archaeological sites were investigated. Site components ranged in date from the Middle Archaic period to the Late Historic era. Most dated to the Colonial, Sedentary, and early Classic periods, circa A.D. 750-1325. A total of 108 pithouse, pitroom, and mason surface structures were excavated, as well as numerous other cultural features. These are discussed in Anthropological Papers No. 22, which contains the site and non-mortuary feature descriptions as well as background information on project methods, chronology, and the local environment. More than 300 burials were recovered, with early Classic inhumations accounting for nearly 90 percent of the sample. The burial descriptions and analyses of osteodontic remains and artifact classes recovered primarily from mortuary contexts are presented in Anthropological Papers No. 24. The artifact classes include shell and ground stone jewelry, bone artifacts, wooden objects, and clay-lined painted baskets. Anthropological Papers No. 23 (Volume 1) reports on the various analyses conducted on the ceramic assemblage recovered from both domestic and mortuary contexts in the project area. This volume, Anthropological Papers No. 23 (Volume 2) discusses the analyses of flaked and ground stone, pollen, botanical, and faunal remains. Among the important findings of the flaked stone analysis (Chapter 9) is the association of "high" side-notched projectile points with Miami/Hardt phase contexts. This point type is one of the few diagnostic artifacts from this pivotal and inadequately resolved interval. The proliferation of projectile points during the Classic period, in terms of both quantity and types, and potentially more lethal design suggests increased conflict shortly before final abandonment of the project area. The meager Classic period faunal assemblage (Chapter 13) is dominated by small animals, indicating the heightened interest in projectile points is not related to an increase in large game hunting. Temporal trends in ground stone (Chapter 10) include an increase, over time, in the proportion of designed artifacts over expedient tools. The variety of tools and the range of activities in which they are utilized also increase. By the Classic period, a significant portion of the ground stone tool assemblage was used in nonfood-processing activities such as architectural construction, shaftsmoothing, hideworking, and woodworking. Several unique contexts are also described in detail, including a cache of ground and unworked stone items recovered from a floor pit in a small pre-Classic pithouse that may have been used as a sweat lodge. Sagebrush was the only economic pollen type recovered from this structure. A large and varied collection of macrobotanical remains (Chapter 11) and pollen (Chapter 12) was recovered from the project area. The presence of maize in Early Agricultural contexts at the Boatyard site indicates this cultigen has a long history in the Tonto Basin, extending back at least into the first millennium B.C. Although maize continues to be an important resource throughout the prehistoric sequence, the TCAP macrobotanical record documents a dramatic increase in agave and wild grass exploitation during the perhaps "not-so" Sedentary period. Notable trends in the Classic period botanical assemblage include continued high maize and agave ubiquities and a substantial increase in cotton ubiquity. The latter may be related to an expansion of irrigation systems in the adjacent Tonto Creek floodplain as indicated by elevated Evening Primrose Family pollen counts.

This volume presents analyses of the ceramics collected from excavations conducted by Desert Archaeology, Inc. as part of the Tonto Creek Archaeological Project (TCAP) in the Tonto Basin, Gila County, of east-central Arizona. The project was funded by the Arizona Department of Transportation prior to the widening and realignment of State Route 188 from 1994 to 1996. Over the course of fieldwork from 1992 to 1996, 27 sites were investigated through mapping, surface collection, and excavation. Site components ranged in age from the Middle Archaic to the late Historic era. This volume reports on materials from ceramic period components at prehistoric sites, generally dating from about A.D. 700 to A.D. 1350. A synthetic period-level approach is taken, rather than site-by-site treatment; site-specific discussions are found in Anthropological Papers Number 22, Volumes 1 and 2. The primary goal in this volume is to examine basin-wide temporal trends of functional and stylistic change in ceramic assemblages, patterns of production and distribution, and general ceramic technology. The Pioneer, Colonial, Sedentary, and early Classic periods are represented in the ceramic assemblage. Investigated sites include seasonal farmsteads and year-round habitation sites, as well as several limited-activity sites. Occupational, functional, and temporal variation are well established in the data set. In addition to extensive sherd collections from domestic contexts (architectural and general refuse), 1,259 whole and reconstructible vessels from all contexts were analyzed, including 1,044 from mortuary contexts. Analyses focused on temporal trends in ceramic assemblages, production and exchange, functional variation, and stylistic variation. Chapter 1 provides an overview of the ceramic collection. General temporal trends are summarized, the project area is placed in regional context, and basic research questions are formulated. Chapter 2 addresses chronological issues, including site dating, temporal trends in settlement, and temporal variation in ceramic wares and vessel forms. Chapter 3 details the petrographic analysis used to model production and exchange of utilitarian pottery manufactured within the Tonto Basin. A synthetic treatment of ceramic production and exchange is presented in Anthropological Papers Number 25. Chapter 4 presents a detailed analysis of whole and reconstructible vessels, including variation in form and size. Chapter 5 explores functional variation in the whole vessel collection. A study of the worked sherds, particularly perforated disks (or "spindle whorls"), is presented in Chapter 6. A stylistic analysis of decorated whole vessels is the topic of Chapter 7, focusing on attributes that distinguish "local" or Tonto Basin design structures from nonlocal designs. Chapter 8 synthesizes the preceding chapters. Conclusions are drawn from the detailed analyses that bear on the general research questions posed in Chapter 1. Temporal and regional implications of these results are also discussed.

The Tonto Creek Archaeological Project (TCAP) area was located in the Tonto Basin of east-central Arizona. The project, funded by the Arizona Department of Transportation (ADOT) was undertaken by Desert Archaeology in advance of the 1994-1996 realignment of Arizona State Route 188. The area available for investigation was a 61-m-wide (200-ft) corridor centered on the planned route for the realigned highway. The corridor followed a 13.3-km (8-mi) stretch of the western terrace overlooking Tonto Creek floodplain. The two volumes of Anthropological Papers Number 22 contain the site and non-mortuary feature descriptions in addition to background information regarding project methods, chronology, and the local environment. Volume 1 contains the introductory material and the Slate Creek and Sycamore Creek site descriptions. Volume 2 is devoted entirely to sites investigated in the Punkin Center section. Mortuary features descriptions are presented in Archaeological Papers Number 24.

The Roosevelt Community Development Study (RCD) involved the testing and excavation of 27 sites in the Lower Tonto Basin of central Arizona. This is one of three related data recovery projects undertaken in the Tonto Basin for the Bureau of Reclamation prior to the raising of the Roosevelt Lake dam. The results of the RCD project are presented in four Anthropological Papers of the Center for Desert Archaeology: Anthropological Papers No. 12 is the research design; Anthropological Papers No. 13 (two volumes) contains background information and the site descriptions; Anthropological Papers No. 14 (three volumes) includes the artifact and environmental analyses; and Anthropological Papers No. 15 presents the synthesis and conclusions. The project was situated within the Tonto National Forest and covered a four-mile, continuous area along the north bank of the Salt River. Sites within the project area exhibited a great range of functional, temporal, and, possibly, cultural diversity. These included two sites with platform mounds (the Meddler Point and Pyramid Point sites); a 10Q-room masonry pueblo (the Griffin Wash site); smaller masonry compounds (e.g., the Porcupine site); and pithouse hamlets and farmsteads (e.g., the Hedge Apple and Eagle Ridge sites). Temporal components ranged from the Early Ceramic period (A.D. 100-600), at Locus B of the Eagle Ridge site, through the Roosevelt phase (A.D. 1250-1350) of the Classic period. The Early Ceramic component of the Eagle Ridge site is now the earliest documented ceramic period site in the Tonto Basin and provides definitive evidence for an indigenous ceramic-using population. The project area was inhabited most intensively during the Roosevelt phase, when platform mounds, pueblo room blocks, and small masonry compounds were occupied. Architectural and artifact variability suggest the presence of several different cultural groups co-residing in the Tonto Basin at this time, and migration is believed to have been a significant process in Tonto Basin prehistory. The RCD project area was largely abandoned by A.D. 1325, prior to the large-scale aggregation that occurred during the Gila phase; very few Gila Polychrome sherds were recovered from project area sites. The mandate of the RCD project, as spedfied by the Bureau of Reclamation, was to investigate the temporal and developmental sequence of the prehistoric populations within this area. To meet these goals, six sites were intensively examined through full-scale excavation, and an extensive data set was gathered from the remaining 21 sites. The three volumes in Anthropological Papers No. 14 contain the artifact and environmental analyses. More than 150,000 artifacts were recovered from the RCD excavations. This volume (Volume 3) presents the paleobotanical and osteological data. Included are analyses of the pollen (Chapter 18), flotation (Chapter 19), faunal (Chapter 20), and mortuary (Chapter 21) assemblages. Data from the subsistence analyses are combined and synthesized in Chapter 22. Volume 1 of Anthropological Papers No. 14 presents the analyses of the chipped stone, ground stone, jewelry and personal ornament, and shell assemblages. The ceramic artifact assemblage is examined in Volume 2 More spedfic information on the individual sites and the project background can be found in Anthropological Papers No. 13. Anthropological Papers No. 15 integrates and synthesizes these data to provide a more inclusive view of the prehistoric occupation of the RCD project area and the Tonto Basin.

The Roosevelt Community Development Study (RCD) was one of three data recovery mitigative studies that the Bureau of Reclamation funded to investigate the prehistory of the Tonto Basin in the vicinity of Theodore Roosevelt Dam. The series of investigations constituted Reclamation's program for complying with historic preservation legislation as it applied to the raising and modification of Theodore Roosevelt Dam. Reclamation contracted with Desert Archaeology, Inc. to complete the research for this investigation. The RCD study involved involved the testing and excavation of 27 sites in a four-mile continuous area along the north bank of the Salt River, in the lower Tonto Basin of central Arizona.The Center for Desert Archaeology's Anthropological Papers No. 13 consists of two report volumes that present project background and provide descriptive information on the excavation and testing of sites in the project area. These reports include site and feature descriptions, site and feature maps, general artifact data, and preliminary interpretations of the individual sites. Volume 1: Introduction and Small Sites (Anthroplogical Papers No. 13) presents project background and provides descriptive information on the excavation and testing of the small sites in the project area. Volume 2 describes work at the larger sites of Meddler Point, Griffin Wash, and Pyramid Point. Sites within the project area exhibited a great range of functional, temporal, and likely cultural diversity. These include two sites with platform mounds (the Meddler Point and Pyramid Point sites), a 100-room masonry pueblo (the Griffin Wash site), smaller masonry compounds (e.g., the Porcupine site), and pithouse hamlets and farmsteads (e.g., the Hedge Apple and Eagle Ridge sites). Temporal components ranged from the Early Ceramic Horizon (A.D. 100-600) at Locus B of the Eagle Ridge site through the Roosevelt phase (A.D. 1250-1350) of the Classic period. The Early Ceramic component of the Eagle Ridge site is now the earliest documented ceramic period site in the Tonto Basin, and it provides definitive evidence for an indigenous pre-Hohokam population. The project area was the most intensively inhabited during the Roosevelt phase, when platform mounds, large pueblos, and small masonry compounds were occupied. It was largely abandoned by A.D. 1325, prior to the large-scale aggregation that occurred during the Gila phase; very few Gila Polychrome sherds were recovered from project area sites.

The Rye Creek Project involved testing and data recovery at 19 archaeological sites within the Upper Tonto Basin of central Arizona. The project area is situated along a 5.4 mile (8.7 km) stretch of State Route 87, approximately 10 miles south of the town of Payson, Arizona, within the boundaries of the Tonto National Forest. The project was undertaken for the Arizona Department of Transportation prior to the realignment and expansion of State Route 87. Thirteen sites were tested and then intensively investigated (Chapters 6, 7, 8, and 9) while six were only tested (Chapter 10). Considerable functional and temporal diversity was present; the sites ranged from small, isolated, single-room masonry structures and larger multiroom pueblos dating to the early Classic period (AD. 1150-1300), to earlier Preclassic period (AD. 750-1150) sites with subsurface pithouse architecture. Of the intensively investigated sites, seven dated primarily to the Classic period and six dated to the Preclassic period, although a number of these contained both Classic and Preclassic components (Chapter 25). The Preclassic period sites were for the most part more substantial; a methodological analysis of the archaeological signatures of sedentism suggests that the majority of the Preclassic period sites were sedentary in nature (Chapter 26). This contrasts with many of the Classic period sites which appear to have been seasonally occupied field houses, although a larger, more permanently occupied (but severely disturbed) pueblo roomblock was also present. Given the traditional emphasis on Classic period sites in Tonto Basin archaeology (Chapter 3), this project represents one of the most complete investigations of the less well known Preclassic period. The Deer Creek site (AZ O:15:52) contained 17 pithouses and dated primarily to the Gila Butte phase (AD. 750-850) with a possibly earlier Snaketown phase (AD. 650-750) component (Chapter 7). This is now one of the earliest excavated ceramic period sites within the Tonto Basin. Limited testing on a volunteer basis was also undertaken at Rye Creek Ruin (AZ O:15:1) which, while probably originating during the early Classic period (AD. 1150-1300), dates primarily to the late Classic period Gila phase (AD. 1300-1450) (Chapter 27). Rye Creek Ruin is one of the largest permanently occupied sites in the Tonto Basin, containing around 150 masonry rooms and two platform mounds. The site was undoubtedly the focus of the Classic period settlement of the Upper Tonto Basin. This is Volume 1 of a 3 volume series on the Rye Creek Project. This volume includes an introduction to the project and site descriptions.

The Rye Creek Project involved testing and data recovery at 19 archaeological sites within the Upper Tonto Basin of central Arizona. The project area is situated along a 5.4 mile (8.7 km) stretch of State Route 87, approximately 10 miles south of the town of Payson, Arizona, within the boundaries of the Tonto National Forest. The project was undertaken for the Arizona Department of Transportation prior to the realignment and expansion of State Route 87. Thirteen sites were tested and then intensively investigated (Chapters 6, 7, 8, and 9) while six were only tested (Chapter 10). Considerable functional and temporal diversity was present; the sites ranged from small, isolated, single-room masonry structures and larger multiroom pueblos dating to the early Classic period (AD. 1150-1300), to earlier Preclassic period (AD. 750-1150) sites with subsurface pithouse architecture. Of the intensively investigated sites, seven dated primarily to the Classic period and six dated to the Preclassic period, although a number of these contained both Classic and Preclassic components (Chapter 25). The Preclassic period sites were for the most part more substantial; a methodological analysis of the archaeological signatures of sedentism suggests that the majority of the Preclassic period sites were sedentary in nature (Chapter 26). This contrasts with many of the Classic period sites which appear to have been seasonally occupied field houses, although a larger, more permanently occupied (but severely disturbed) pueblo roomblock was also present. Given the traditional emphasis on Classic period sites in Tonto Basin archaeology (Chapter 3), this project represents one of the most complete investigations of the less well known Preclassic period. The Deer Creek site (AZ O:15:52) contained 17 pithouses and dated primarily to the Gila Butte phase (AD. 750-850) with a possibly earlier Snaketown phase (AD. 650-750) component (Chapter 7). This is now one of the earliest excavated ceramic period sites within the Tonto Basin. Limited testing on a volunteer basis was also undertaken at Rye Creek Ruin (AZ O:15:1) which, while probably originating during the early Classic period (AD. 1150-1300), dates primarily to the late Classic period Gila phase (AD. 1300-1450) (Chapter 27). Rye Creek Ruin is one of the largest permanently occupied sites in the Tonto Basin, containing around 150 masonry rooms and two platform mounds. The site was undoubtedly the focus of the Classic period settlement of the Upper Tonto Basin. This is Volume 2 of a 3 volume series on the Rye Creek Project. This volume includes artifact and specific analyses.