University of Arizona Archaeological Field School
Spring, 2010
Submitted by:
School of Anthropology
1009 E. South Campus Drive
P.O. Box 210030
University of Arizona
Tucson, AZ 85721
520-621-2088
Prepared by:
Suzanne K. Fish
Paul R. Fish
School of Anthropology
September 15, 2009
PROJECT SUMMARY
Date: October 1, 2009
Project Name: University Indian Ruin Archaeological Field School
Project Sponsor: University of Arizona School of Anthropology
Sponsor Project Name: Archaeological Field School (ANTH 442a,b; 642a,b)
Applicable Laws: Arizona Antiquities Act
Applicable Permits: Arizona Antiquities Act Project-specific Permit
Tribal Consultation: Burial Agreement Case Number 09-39: Tohono O’odham Nation
and Hopi Tribe
Project Description: The University of Arizona School of Anthropology will offer a
semester-long archaeological field school at University Indian Ruin (AZ BB:9:33-ASM).
Most records for a variety of excavations prior to 1940 at this important Hohokam
Classic Period platform mound site are lost. Earlier findings are only briefly mentioned
in Julian Hayden’s (1957) publication of his final large project in 1940. Therefore, 2010
research goals focus on: 1) relocating and accurately mapping architecture excavated
prior to 1940; 2) refining the chronology of previously excavated architecture; and 3)
assessing its preservation and further research potential. These objectives will be
accomplished through: 1) examining partial and little-studied collections from the site at
the Arizona State Museum; 2) systematic survey of surface artifact distributions; 3)
shallow exposure to trace the walls of previously excavated architecture and detection of
unexcavated walls by ground penetrating radar; and 4) sampling of previously excavated
rooms to assess preservation and remaining research potential such as the presence intact
floor features or undisturbed subfloor deposits. If human remains are unexpectedly
encountered, the Tohono O’odham Nation and Hopi Tribe will be contacted as per the
existing burial agreement.
Final Disposition of Project Artifacts and Records: Arizona State Museum.
Location: County: Pima County, Arizona.
Ownership: University of Arizona
Description: NW1/4 of the NW1/4 of the SE1/4 of Section 31, T13S, R15E
Area of Potential Effect: Ground disturbance will be limited to wall tracing and the
removal of fill to test a sample of previously excavated rooms. Surface artifacts will be
systematically sampled by grid unit, largely analyzed in the field, and replaced.
Permanent selective collections will be limited to diagnostic sherds and other diagnostic
artifact types.
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Number of Sites: 1
List of Register –Eligible Properties: University Indian Ruins- AZ BB:9:33 (ASM)
List of Register-Ineligible Properties: N/A
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INTRODUCTION
During spring, 2010, the School of Anthropology at the University of Arizona
will conduct an archaeological field school at University Indian Ruin (AZ BB:9:33 ASM)
in Tucson, Arizona. The field school, directed by Paul Fish, Suzanne Fish and Gary
Christopherson, will include approximately 15 undergraduate and graduate students from
the University of Arizona and other academic institutions. University Indian Ruin is
considered eligible for the National Register of Historic Places. A draft nomination, to be
submitted by the School of Anthropology, is under preparation. The site is significant as
one of a few Hohokam platform mound centers in the Tucson Basin that has escaped
major agricultural and urban destruction, and one of two such centers that was
constructed on the valley slopes, away from the irrigated floodplain of the Santa Cruz
River.
Field School research will emphasize: 1) relocating and accurately mapping
architecture excavated prior to 1940 and locating additional architecture; 2) refining the
chronology of site occupations and previously excavated architecture; and 3) assessing
preservation of excavated architecture and its further research potential. These objectives
will be accomplished through: 1) examining little-studied old collections from the site; 2)
systematic survey of surface artifact distributions; 3) shallow exposure of the walls of
previously excavated architecture and detection of unexcavated walls by ground
penetrating radar; and 4) sampling of previously excavated rooms to assess preservation
and remaining research potential due to the presence of intact floor features or
undisturbed subfloor deposits. Results will include a comprehensive collation of existing
site records and collections, an analysis of surface artifact distributions, and a detailed
map of previously excavated architecture with additions as revealed by ground
penetrating radar. Investigations have been designed to minimize impacts to both
surface artifact distributions and previously unexcavated deposits.
UNIVERSITY INDIAN RUIN (AZ BB:9:33 ASM)
University Indian Ruin is a Hohokam center of the Classic period (A.D. 11501450) with public architecture in the form of a platform mound and related adobe
buildings within a compound wall. Residential compounds, trash mounds, and assorted
extra-mural facilities surround the mound complex. The site is located in Tucson’s
Indian Ridge neighborhood about seven miles east of downtown, near the confluence of
Tanque Verde Creek and Pantano Wash. The School of Anthropology at the University
of Arizona owns and maintains the site, 13 preserved acres of a formerly more extensive
Hohokam settlement. The property was donated to them by a former archaeology student
in 1933 to be used for student training.
During the 1930s, the site was operated as an “outdoor” laboratory for University
student training in archaeology. Numerous excavations in both the platform mound
precinct and residential areas were conducted, first as university field schools under the
overall supervision of Byron Cummings of the Department of Archaeology, and later as a
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Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) work project under the direction of Julian Hayden for
the National Park Service. A caretaker’s home, an archaeological laboratory, and guest
house were constructed by the CCC in the 1930s and are included in the inventory of the
site’s cultural resources. Under a cooperative agreement between the University, Pima
County, and the National Park Service, the site was opened to the public between 1940
and 1942 for a self-guided tour of the ruins and excavation areas (Hill 2005).
University Indian Ruin was a unique and prominent center with public buildings
in the late prehispanic settlement pattern of the eastern Tucson Basin. Its boundaries
extended well beyond the present 13-acre preserve. Most Classic period centers with
platform mounds are located along the Santa Cruz River in situations favoring riverine
irrigation (Doelle et al. 1995; Fish et al 1992); University Indian Ruin is a notable
exception in its position on the valley slope near two major tributaries of the Santa Cruz.
Like most platform mound settlements, it served as the focal point for a much larger
community of interrelated and dispersed populations living in surrounding hamlets and
smaller villages (e.g. Doyel and Fish 2000; Fish et al. 1992). Tree ring dates (Street
2003) and ceramics (Hayden 1957) demonstrate that occupation extended well into the
later portion of the Classic period. A Spanish majolica bowl reported on the floor of one
room (Hayden 1957: 178) suggests that at least some of the site’s adobe buildings were
still standing in the seventeenth or eighteenth centuries. Possible post-contact surface
sherds also appear to indicate an indigenous presence in the area post-dating what
archaeologists define as the Hohokam sequence.
Both the 1930s buildings and archaeological site are eligible for the National
Register of Historic Places. Under Criterion A, prominent early archaeologists (e.g.
Byron Cummings, Emil Haury, Julian Hayden) conducted excavations here that
contributed to a distinctively U.S. form of archaeology. Cooperation of private
stakeholders, the University, and various governmental entities to develop the site as an
archaeological park and research facility was also a pioneering effort. Under Criterion D,
the archaeological remains hold considerable potential to answer many research questions
concerning the dramatic changes in Hohokam culture during the occupational span
represented by University Indian Ruin (A.D. 1150 to 1450). Such questions include the
initial appearance and evolving functions of platform mounds in Hohokam society, the
social and political organizational correlates of the transition from the Early Classic
period to the Late Classic period, the nature of Classic period demographic change in the
Tucson Basin, and circumstances surrounding the transformation of the prehispanic
Hohokam lifeways to those of the O’odham of later times. Dr. T. J. Ferguson, School of
Anthropology, is preparing a nomination to the National Register, detailing these criteria.
A BRIEF HISTORY OF ARCHAEOLOGICAL RESEARCH
AT UNIVERSITY INDIAN RUIN
Byron Cummings with his students from the University of Arizona initiated
research at AZ BB:9:33 (ASM) between 1930 and 1934 (Figure 2). He excavated an
unknown number of rooms in five different room blocks or compounds (Kelly 1936).
Cummings was assisted for two years by Ben Wetherill, who reportedly found a
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restorable Spanish majolica bowl on a room floor that was stratigraphically sealed by
roof collapse (Hayden 1957: 178). Several schematic and conflicting maps of these
excavated compounds and unlabeled photographs are the only records still known to
exist. Notable sherds, other special artifacts, and restorable vessels are catalogued in
Arizona State Museum collections, along with additional boxes of unexamined artifacts.
It is unknown how representative of compound assemblages these collections may be. In
fact, it is currently unclear whether the various architectural units excavated by
Cummings were built and inhabited in the earlier or later parts of the Classic period, or
both.
Emil Haury succeeded Cummings in using the site for student field training in
1938 and 1939. Haury excavated a stratigraphic test trench through the edge of a trash
mound and several rooms in a residential compound. The most extensive excavations
were sponsored by the Conservation Corps in 1940 under the direction of Julian Hayden,
who published the results in 1957. Hayden’s field work focused on the platform mound
and one of its associated room blocks, revealing a complex sequence of building and
rebuilding throughout the Classic period. The location of the majority of artifacts
resulting from both Haury’s and Hayden’s work is unknown. Other than Hayden’s 1957
volume, University Indian Ruin publications (Danson and Wallace 1957; Ferg 1985; Qi
1983) have largely been based on the partial collections housed at the Arizona State
Museum. Reanalysis of 47 tree-ring samples by David Street (2003) has recently
produced dates ranging between AD 1300 and 1380 from different room blocks.
Just to the north of the University Indian Ruin property, Jeffrey Jones (2006)
encountered three Classic period pit houses and two extramural pits during a Tierra Right
of Way Services project. These are situated on the edge of the same stream terrace on
which the platform mound and surrounding compounds were built. As part of the 2005
University of Arizona Archaeological Field School directed by Suzanne Fish, Paul Fish,
and Gary Christopherson, a two-week investigation at University Indian Ruin placed
Hayden’s excavations on a current map and tentatively relocated excavations of
Cummings and Haury, for which locational information is less precise (Figure 1). The
field school also established a comprehensive grid system.
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Figure 1. Locations of previously excavated architectural features at University Indian
Ruin. UTM coordinates for the comprehensive site grid system are indicated at the map
edge.
RESEARCH PLAN AND OBJECTIVES
Significant archaeological themes can be addressed at University Indian Ruin,
such as social and demographic reorganization during the Hohokam Late Classic period,
the site’s role in community and regional organization in late prehispanic times, and the
linkage of Late Classic Tucson residents to the O’odham peoples of post-contact times.
To follow these archaeologically and anthropologically relevant inquiries, however,
requires maximal retrieval of information from the preceding extensive and poorly
reported investigations. The focus of the 2010 field school is a synthesis of new and
existing knowledge as a basis for moving research forward. Comprehensive compilation
and analysis of existing records and artifacts, accurate and detailed site maps of
excavated and unexcavated architecture, and an assessment of feature and assemblage
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data still available from previously excavated architecture, and will provide a firm
foundation for future research at University Indian Ruin.
Mapping University Indian Ruin
An important objective of 2010 investigations is the construction of a
multifaceted geodatabase for the 13 acre archaeological preserve that can support wideranging analyses using geographic information systems (GIS). Information will be
collected on artifact distributions, surface indications of archaeological features, and
subsurface architecture revealed by ground penetrating radar. The 2005 Field School
established a comprehensive grid system for the University Indian Ruin archaeological
preserve and it provides a reference for all subsequent mapping data. Gary
Christopherson, Director of UA Geography and Regional Development’s Center for
Applied Spatial Analysis, will guide these aspects of the research program and student
training.
Surface Feature Indications and Artifact Distributions. Surface artifacts will be
collected, counted, and classified by student teams within grid units 10 meters on a side.
Diagnostic ceramics will be classified according to ware and type under the direction of a
graduate student supervisor. Other materials will be classified and counted according to
the scheme used by the Marana Platform Mound Project (Fish, Fish, and Bayman
2004a,b). Only artifacts unfamiliar to project investigators, diagnostic artifact with the
potential to yield additional chronological information, and artifacts likely to be removed
by unauthorized collectors will be removed and curated at the Arizona State Museum.
Each grid square will be mapped at a scale of 1”= 1 meter, depicting any evidence of
surface features and point proveniences for diagnostic artifacts and artifacts removed for
long-term curation.
Ground Penetrating Radar. Preliminary tests of ground penetrating radar (GPR)
at University Indian Ruin by Larry Conyers (2009) of the University of Denver has
demonstrated this to be an effective, efficient, and nondestructive technique for detecting
the site’s adobe architecture. Conyers will continue GPR mapping during the 2010 field
season with a focus on defining the compound wall surrounding the platform mound and
mapping off-mound room units within the compound. A Geophysical Survey System
Subsurface Interface Radar System #3000 Controller will be used (Conyers 2004). GPR
data slices will be collected in long transects spaced at 50 cm intervals within the overall
site grid system in the vicinity of the suspected architectural targets and this data will be
used to construct maps with the program Surfer. Localized, shallow exposures will be
used to confirm walls identified by GPR. Floors, pits, and other features are likely to be
revealed in the GPR results, but will not be evaluated further during the 2010 field
season.
Excavation
Once previously excavated compounds or room blocks are relocated with
certainty, a sample of outlined rooms will be selected for re-excavation. The goal is test
one to two rooms in each residential unit to assess preservation and seek evidence
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relating to function and chronology. Because the condition and depth of rooms is
unknown, the extent of individual room exposures may be adjusted to accomodate
sampling all or most room blocks during the field season.
Rooms will be re-excavated according to procedures described in the Marana
Platform Mound Project Excavation Manual (Fish, Fish, and Bayman 2004a). Briefly
summarized, room walls will be exposed and the room subdivided into one-quarter units.
A one-meter wide trench will be placed across the length of the room using alternating
quarters. The fill will be then removed from alternating quarters in order to provide the
greatest exposure of stratigraphic profiles. Once the profiles have been recorded, fill
from the remaining two quarters will be removed. All fill will be passed through quarter
inch mesh screen to recover artifacts. Floor surfaces will be carefully cleaned and
exposed features excavated or re-excavated. Depending on room and floor preservation,
excavation may be discontinued upon the completion of any aspect of this sequence if the
recovery of new information proves unlikely.
Because no individual room maps survive from excavations prior to 1940,
preserved room floors will be carefully mapped and photographed and adobe wall details
recorded. If time permits, restricted subfloor tests may be made to determine the
existence of Classic Period remodeling sequences as at the Marana Mound site (Fish and
Fish 2000) or in the mound precinct at University Indian Ruin (Hayden 1957). These
excavations offer the opportunity for real-life experience for students and have limited
impact on the archaeological resources themselves. At the same time, they offer the
opportunity to collect significant information about previous fieldwork at the site, a
context to better understand artifactual remains in Arizona State Museum collections, and
a basis for evaluating future research potential at University Indian Ruin.
Evaluation of Former Site Extent
The current 13 acre University Indian Ruin archaeological preserve is only a
central fragment of what was once a much larger residential site before modern urban
development. Many homeowners in the Indian Ridge Neighborhood are known to have
artifacts recovered from the surface and found during the construction of buildings or
swimming pools. Twice last year, School of Anthropology faculty (Barbara Mills, T.J.
Ferguson, Paul Fish, and Suzanne Fish) met with Indian Ridge Neighborhood
Association members in order to identify artifacts from their yards. Some residents had
substantial collections of diagnostic artifacts which, if mapped, could contribute
significantly to a better understanding of site extent and history.
A March, 2010 open neighborhood open house at the site will be used as an
opportunity to continue collecting information on site extent. A letter will be sent to all
members of the neighborhood association with an invitation to visit University Indian
Ruin and, for those who have not already done so, to bring artifacts found on their
property for identification and recording. Artifact will be photographed and described
with provenience according to neighborhood house lot number. Information will be
solicited about artifactual deposits and architectural indication previously and currently
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visible in the neighborhood. The 2009 and 2010 outreach to neighborhood residents must
be considered only an initial effort to document the extent of the University Indian Ruin
settlement.
Artifact Analyses
Artifacts from previous investigations at University Indian Ruin are not
comprehensively integrated into Arizona State Museum collections. Some materials
(complete ceramic vessels, some categories of special artifacts, shell, faunal remains, and
human remains from excavations prior to those by Julian Hayden) are accessioned and
part of the permanently catalogued collection. Large numbers of sherds with detailed
provenience information from Byron Cummings excavations are part of the Museums
Type Sherd Collection. Addition sherds and other bulk artifacts are stored in boxes but
never have been accessioned. The disposition of Julian Hayden’s collections and original
notes are not known. Fieldwork will cease beginning April 1 and laboratory efforts will
be directed towards locating Julian Hayden’s records and artifacts, segregating and
removing University Indian Ruin sherds in the Museum’s type collection, and
accessioning and analyzing materials in the bulk artifact boxes.
Provenience information for recovered field school artifacts will be based on the
University Indian Ruin grid coordinates using Arizona State Museum provenience
designation (pd) and field specimen (fs) system. In-field and laboratory artifact analyses
will use standardized forms developed during the Early Classic period Marana Platform
Mound project, with ceramics minimally classified to ware and type. Laboratory and
artifact analysis procedures are described in the Marana Platform Mound Laboratory
Procedures Guide (Fish, Fish, and Bayman 2004b).
HUMAN REMAINS
Discovery of human remains is not anticipated during 2010 research because
wall-tracing will be limited to near surface deposits and other excavations will be in
previously investigated deposits.. However, in the unlikely event that a suspected burial
is found, ground disturbance will immediately cease and the Tohono O’odham Nation
and Hopi Tribe will be contacted in order to determine disposition.
PERMITS, CURATION, AND REPORTING
Because the University Indian Ruin property is owned by the University of
Arizona, an Arizona Antiquities Permit will be required to conduct the monitoring
program outlined in this plan. Permit application to the Arizona State Museum will be
made upon completion of the monitoring plan review by the State Historic Preservation
Office. The Arizona State Museum will curate all artifacts, reports, notes, and other
records generated by the project. A final report that follows required formats and
contents will be submitted to the Arizona State Historic Preservation Office and the
Arizona State Museum at the conclusion of the project.
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FIELD SCHEDULE AND EFFORT
Fifteen students will be accepted to the field school on a competitive basis.
During the spring 2010 semester, there will be two field/laboratory days per week with
lectures and field trips scheduled on a third day. A variety of field and laborator tasks
will be ongoing concurrent and groups of students will be assigned to specific activities.
Students will rotate to different tasks every two weeks (Table 1).
Site Extent
Surf. Artifact Dist.
GPR Mapping
Wall Trenching
Room Excavation
Field Artifact
Analysis
Existing Collection
Doc
Person
Days
15
75
45
60
70
75
160
January
-------------
February
-----------------------------------------------------
March
April
May
-------------- ------ ------ ----
------------ --
Table 1. Level of effort in student persons days and task scheduling for the 2010
University Indian Ruin Archaeological Field School.
2010 UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA ARCHAEOLOGICAL
FIELD SCHOOL STAFF
Paul R. Fish (Curator of Archaeology, Arizona State Museum; Professor of
Anthropology, School of Anthropology, University of Arizona), Suzanne K. Fish
(Curator of Archaeology, Arizona State Museum; Professor of Anthropology, School of
Anthropology, University of Arizona), and Gary Christopherson (Director, Center for
Applied Spatial Analysis, Geography and Regional Development, University of Arizona)
will serve as project principal investigators and University Instructors of Record for the
field school. The principal investigators have worked together in field school contexts at
Tumamoc Hill and have extensive experience in Hohokam archaeology. Their vitae are
appended to this document.
Lawrence B. Conyers (Associate Professor of Anthropology, University of
Arizona) is an internationally known expert on remote subsurface archaeological
prospecting techniques. He will design and oversee the ground penetrating radar
program. Mark Elson (Senior Archaeologist, Desert Archaeology) has extensive
experience in the Eastern Tucson Basin and with Hohokam Classic Period remains
throughout southern Arizona and will participate in all phases of the project from design
through analysis and reporting. Patrick Lyons (Associate Curator of Archaeology,
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Arizona State Museum, University of Arizona) will guide a refined analysis of Salado
polychrome ceramics and will assist in assembling artifacts from previous excavations
for study. Matthew Pailes (M.A., Ph.D. candidate, School of Anthropology) and
Meredith Reifschneider (Ph.D. student, School of Anthropology) will be teaching
assistants for the Field School. Both are experienced in Tucson Basin Hohokam
archaeology and with adobe architecture in the Southwest and elsewhere.
REFERENCES CITES
Conyers, Lawrence B.
2004 Ground Penetrating Radar for Archaeology. Altamira Press, Walnut
Creek, California.
2009 Report on GPR Mapping at University Indian Ruin and Marana Mound
Site, Tucson, Basin, Arizona, 2008-2009. Report on file, Arizona State
Museum, University of Arizona, Tucson.
Danson, Edward B. and Roberts M. Wallace
1956 A petrographic study of Gila Polychrome. American Antiquity 22: 180183.
Doelle, William H., David A. Gregory, and Henry D. Wallace
1995 Classic period platform mound systems in southern Arizona. In The
Roosevelt Community Development Study: New Perspectives on Tonto
Basin Prehistory, edited by M.D. Elson, M.T. Stark, and D.A. Gregory,
pp. 385-440. Anthropological Papers No. 15. Center for Desert
Archaeology, Tucson.
Doyel, David E. and Suzanne K. Fish
2000 Prehistoric villages and communities in the Arizona desert. In The
Hohokam Village Revisited, edited by D. Doyel, S. Fish, and P. Fish, pp.
1-36. Southwestern and Rocky Mountain Division of the American
Association for the Advancement of Science, Glenwood Springs,
Colorado.
Ferg, Alan
1985
Avifauna of the University Indian Ruin. The Kiva 50: 111-128.
Fish, Paul R., Suzanne K. Fish, and James B. Bayman
2004a Marana Platform Mound Site (AZ AA:12:251): Field Guide and
Excavation Manual. Ms. on file, Arizona State Museum, University of
Arizona, Tucson.
2004b Marana Platform Mound Site (AZ AA:12:251): Laboratory Manual.
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Ms. on file, Arizona State Museum, University of Arizona, Tucson.
Fish, Suzanne K., Paul R. Fish, and John Madsen
1992 The Marana Community in the Hohokam World. Anthropological Papers
No. 56. The University of Arizona Press, Tucson.
Hill, Matthew
2005 History of Archaeological Research at University Indian Ruin (AZ
BB:9:33-ASM). Manuscript on file, Arizona State Museum Library,
University of Arizona, Tucson.
Hayden, Julian D.
1957 Ecavations, 1940, at the University Indian Ruin, Tucson, Arizona.
Technical Series No. 5. Southwestern Monuments Association, Globe,
Arizona.
Jones, Jeffrey T.
2006 Archaeological Monitoring, Testing, and Data Recovery Investigations
near the Northwestern Periphery of University Indian Ruin, AZ BB:9:33
(ASM) in Pima County, Arizona. Tierra Archaeological Report No. 200589. Tierra Right-of-way Services, Tucson.
Kelly, William H.
1936 University Ruin. The Kiva 1: 1-4.
McKee, Brian R.
2003 Cultural Resource Report for Archaeological Monitoring, Proposed Sewer
Line Improvements at the University of Arizona Indian Ruins Site.
Arizona State Museum, University of Arizona, Tucson.
Qi, Guo-Qin
1983 The analysis of faunal remains from the University Indian Ruin. The Kiva
49: 81-104.
Street, David
2003 Eight Tree-ring Dates from the University Indian Ruin (AZ BB:9:33).
Manuscript on file, Laboratory of Tree Ring Research, University of
Arizona, Tucson.
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