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Through its contractor, and utilizing funding from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), the COP Neighborhood Services Department (NSD) conducted manual excavations to expose a water meter connection in eastern Phoenix, Maricopa County, Arizona. During a review of the project, the COP Archaeology Office at PGM determined that excavations associated with the proposed improvement project could encounter subsurface deposits associated with AZ U:9:67 (ASM)/La Lomita. For this reason, the NSD requested that EcoPlan Associates, Inc. (EcoPlan) implement a program of archaeological monitoring, which was conducted following provisions of the COP generic archaeological monitoring and discovery plan (Montero and Stubing 2004) to fulfill the requirements of Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966 (NHPA), Section 802 of the COP Historic Preservation Ordinance, and A.R.S. 41-865. Archaeological monitoring was conducted in accordance with the 2007 Programmatic Agreement among the City o f Phoenix, Arizona State Historic Preservation Office, and the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation regarding HUD-Funded Program Activities. The area of potential effects (APE) is a residential lot; manual excavations within the APE measured up to 0.5 m deep and approximately 0.2 square meters in area. No archaeological materials were identified. No further archaeological work is necessary at this time.

Northland Research, Inc. (Northland) has completed archaeological testing within a 4.6-acre parcel in Phoenix. The project was conducted because the Hohokam site of La Lomita (AZ U:9:67[ASM]/AZ U:9:24[ASU]/P:3:4[GP]) and a prehistoric irrigation canal are plotted within the area of investigation. Roughly the northern 2.7 acres of the parcel fall within the recorded boundary of La Lomita. The remaining 1.9 acres fall within the 250-foot buffer around the recorded site boundaries that requires archaeological testing as per the City of Phoenix Archaeologist guidelines. In addition, a prehistoric irrigation canal is plotted within the southern portion of the project area. The purpose of the testing was to determine if subsurface features are present within the Area of Potential Effect (APE) and to assess their significance.

Under contract to Higgins Development Partners, Soil Systems, Inc. (SSI) conducted archaeological data recovery excavations between February and October 2007 at AZ U:9:264 (ASM) and a portion of La Lomita [AZ U:9:67 (ASM)] on approximately 60 acres of State Trust land in Phoenix, Maricopa County, Arizona. This parcel of State Trust land has been leased by Higgins Development Partners (ASLD Lease No. 03-105720) to be developed as the Centergate Distribution Park. The excavations at two prehistoric archaeological sites was guided by a data recovery and monitoring plan approved by the Arizona State Land Department (ASLD) and the State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO; Breternitz et al. 2006) and included testing and data recovery of prehistoric features to clear the parcel for proposed building construction. The excavations recovered human remains, architecture, and other features, all of which were fully documented. All human remains and associated mortuary artifacts have been recovered and will be repatriated to the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community (SRPMIC) per the terms of Burial Agreement No. 07-02 issued to SSI by the Arizona State Museum (ASM). A 5-m buffer zone surrounding all known features and human remains at both sites has been achieved. Analyses of the human remains, artifacts, and features is on-going and will result in a final comprehensive report to be submitted to the ASLD and SHPO. This interim report provides the documentation to support SSI’s recommendation that no further archaeological fieldwork is needed in the Phase 1 project area and that construction be allowed to proceed.

The Escala Central City LP (Escala) is proposing the construction of a multi-structure apartment complex (apartments, clubhouse, swimming pool, associated recreational facilities, and parking) in the heart of urban Phoenix. A review of the project by the City of Phoenix Archaeologist, as part of the City’s permitting process, determined that a portion of the project area included prehistoric Hohokam site AZ U:9:67 (ASM)—La Lomita, which is eligible for listing on the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP). At the time of the investigation, the parcel was a vacant lot generally devoid of vegetation except for a variety of weeds. The site was formerly the location of the Phoenix Drive-In Theater—AZ T:12:212 (ASM) (Northland Research, Inc. [Northland] 2004). The only remnants of this facility are some concrete slabs, an underground concrete sound system, and low earthen berms on which cars parked. AZ T:12:212 (ASM) is not considered eligible for the NRHP. Prior to the drive-in theater, the area was used for agricultural purposes. Both the agricultural and commercial use of the parcel had significantly impacted subsurface archaeological deposits in the project area. In 2004, Northland prepared a Phase I archaeological data recovery plan for the project area, and this work was carried out in March 2005 by Carter Burgess (Stubing and Grupp 2005). The excavation of 970 linear meters of backhoe trenches (BHTs) resulted in the identification of seven prehistoric features. Based on the exposed cultural materials, Carter Burgess interpreted Feature 1 as an ash lens, Feature 2 as a possible pit house or midden, Feature 3 as a thermal deposit, Feature 4 as a canal, and Features 5-7 as possible pit houses. In July 2005, Escala contracted with SWCA Environmental Consultants (SWCA) to conduct Phase II data recovery in the project area. This work allowed a more precise assessment and reinterpretation of the exposed features: Feature 1 was determined to be an ash-filled pit; Feature 2 was a poorly preserved hearth and segments of a floor surface in the upper fill of a trash midden or backfilled borrow pit; Feature 3 was a small ash lens in the fill of a canal channel; Feature 4 was a large canal channel; Feature 5 was a trash midden or trash-filled borrow pit; Feature 6 was a partially preserved pit structure or field house; and Feature 7, previously identified as a possible pit house, was determined to be a smaller canal channel. Artifacts were not abundant, and few were recovered.

In May of 2005, Carter & Burgess conducted phase I data recovery at AZ 11:9:67 (ASM), also known as La Lomita, in Phoenix, Arizona, The data recovery was conducted to determine the nature and extent of the site within the proposed Escaia at Central City apartment complex, which is partially located within the recorded boundaries of La Lomita. The data recovery consisted of the excavation of 440 meters (m) of backhoe trenches within La Lomita, and an additional 30 m south of the site boundary in the plotted location of a prehistoric canal. Four cultural features were identified, consisting of an ash lens, a possible pithouse/midden, a thermal deposit, and a canal. At the request of Dr. Todd W. Bostwick, City of Phoenix (COP) Archaeologist, the phase I data recovery effort has been expanded to include an additional 500 m of backhoe trenches. The additional trenching plan was approved by the COP Archaeologist on June 14, 2005, and is currently in progress. The additional trenching will provide a higher sample percentage for phase I data recovery, and results will be incorporated into a future report. Based on the results of the initial phase I data recovery, phase II data recovery is recommended for portions of the project area. The phase II data recovery will consist of stripping overburden from above the identified features and the surrounding area, and then excavating those features. Provisions will also be made to excavate features that are found as a result of the additional phase I trenching and the stripping. A plan detailing the proposed phase II data recovery and a post-data recovery monitoring and discovery strategy are included as part of this document.

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.

In conjunction with plans for a sewer line to be constructed by the City of Phoenix Water Services Department under east Van Buren Street in Phoenix, Arizona, cultural resource data recovery was undertaken within a 3.9-acre portion of La Lomita, AZ U:9:67 (ASM). The site, located in south-central Arizona, is north of the Salt River within the Phoenix Basin. Additionally, construction monitoring was also conducted along portions of the sewer line south of the site boundaries, and irrigation features were documented and sampled as part of the data recovery program.

The project proposes to construct a buried sewer line under east Van Buren Street between 30th Street and 37th Street. From the intersection of east Van Buren and 37th Street, the sewer line will be constructed north and will pass under the Grand Canal and State Route 202L (Papago Freeway). North of the Papago Freeway, the sewer will be constructed parallel to the Freeway right-of-way to the east and will extend midway between the 37th Street and 38th Street alignments. From this midpoint, the sewer line will be constructed north and will terminate at the Portland Street alignment.

This preliminary report of archaeological data recovery for the City of Phoenix Sewer Relief Project has been prepared to summarize the results of data recovery efforts. Mechanical trenching and stripping on ASLD revealed 24 features: 3 pithouses, 3 pithouse remnants, 3 cremations, 1 partial secondary inhumation, 1 homo, 1 thermal pit, 4 non-thermal pits, 2 middens, and portions of an isolated vessel. In addition, four previously documented prehistoric canals and a newly identified settling basin were identified. Mechanical trenching, on City of Phoenix public right-of-way, identified a single canal. One archaeological site, AZ U 9:67 (ASM), La Lomita, and nine prehistoric canal alignments were identified through background and archival research. La Lomita is a large sedentary village that was occupied during the late Santa Cruz and Sacaton periods. Previous archaeological investigations at the site have documented 44 pithouses, 23 burials, 13 prehistoric canal segments, and numerous pits (Mitchell, D. R. 1990; Mitchell, D. R. and T. N. Motsinger 1997). Based on the results of previous archaeological testing and data recovery projects at the site, La Lomita is considered to be National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) eligible.

A small archaeological data recovery program was conducted October 16-21, 1996 at the prehistoric Hohokam site of La Lomita, AZ U:9:67 (ASM), Phoenix, Arizona. The current archaeological work augments previous testing, data recovery, and monitoring efforts conducted prior to, and during, construction and renovation of buildings within the school grounds. The archaeological investigations and monitoring within the grounds were conducted by SWCA, Inc. for Balsz School District No. 31. Four prehistoric pithouses and a pit, were investigated during this data recovery project. Monitoring of the construction and renovation activities was conducted between October 1996 and April 1997, which resulted in the identification of an additional pithouse and a prehistoric trash midden. These additional features all appear to date to the Santa Cruz phase of the Colonial period and the Sacaton phase of the Sedentary period, between about A.D. 850 and 1000.

Under contract to Balsz School District No. 31, SWCA, Inc., Environmental Consultants carried out a program of archaeological data recovery at a portion of the prehistoric Hohokam village of La Lomita, in Phoenix, Arizona, during August of 1995. Three areas were excavated in portions of the school property where future improvements are planned. Overburden was removed, and hand excavations were conducted at a total of 21 archaeological features, including ten pithouses or house fragments, three cremation burials, two pits, two canals, two potbreaks, a midden, and a surface or trash area. All the pithouses were investigated, and the remaining features were test excavated or mapped. The excavations resulted in the collection of over 8,000 artifacts, most of which were ceramics. Ceramic analysis revealed a shift in external socioeconomic relationships between the Colonial and Sedentary periods. Botanical analyses (pollen and flotation) identified the remains of corn, cotton, squash, and a variety of non-domesticated plants. Faunal remains were dominated by rabbit and other small mammals. The features excavated are similar to those investigated at the northern part of La Lomita in 1988. This part of the village was found (through archaeomagnetic dating and ceramic seriation) to date to the late Santa Cruz and early Sacaton phases, between about A.D. 900 and 1000.

Archaeological testing was conducted in east-central Phoenix, Arizona. Test trenches were systematically excavated at both schools to identify the presence and distribution of subsurface features. Seven features were identified and a site number was assigned to this area, AZ U:9:134 (ASM). This site roughly corresponds with the location of a map that was created in the early part of this century. The features included a roasting pit, an ash stain with sherds, two large pits or middens, two ash lenses, and one deposit with glass and metal (which may be modern). Twenty-four features were identified during the testing, which is within the boundaries of the prehistoric site of La Lomita (AZ U:9:67 ASM). Features identified included 7 pit houses, 8 canals, 5 various pits, a historic surface, and 3 burials. At both sites, the predominant occupation was between A.D. 850 and 1000, which coincides with what archaeologists call the Hohokam Colonial and Sedentary periods. It is recommended that the features be avoided by any future construction at the schools. However, if this is not possible, the impact to the areas of highest feature density should be mitigated through a combined strategy of monitoring and data recovery.