Vanishing River Volume 1: Part 2, Other Pre-Classic Sites in the LVAP Study Area: Chapters 5 - 6

Volume 1, Part 2 summarizes archaeological data recovery and results of work at four sites (CTC, Two Farms, Middendrum, and Dam View) located in area south of Bartlett Dam along the lower Verde River. Originally, the research plan outlined a testing program for a sample of seven sites in the area. Flooding and associated erosion along the Verde River during the field season made it almost impossible to support excavation crews at the small sites situated on narrow remnants of terraces on the east side of the river. Thus, data recovery concentrated on the broader Pleistocene terraces overlooking the west bank of the Verde. Work focused on more more-efficient archaeological investigations at CTC, Two Farms, Middendrum, and Damview.
The four sites on the west side of the Verde River represented a diversity of site types and a 500-year-long occupation from the middle Pioneer period to the middle to late Sedentary period. These included temporarily occupied farmsteads, permanently inhabited farmsteads, and small hamlets. The Middendrum site appeared to have been the earliest settlement in the area, with evidence of initial occupation in the Sweetwater phase and peak occupation during the Colonial period. Colonial period settlement appeared to have been more concentrated, with small courtyard groups composed of several houses, like the residential groups uncovered at the CTC site. Colonial period occupation was identified only at the Middendrum and CTC sites. The occupation at these two sites likely represents larger and more permanently inhabited settlements. By contrast, the succeeding Sedentary period occupation was more widespread and was dispersed in smaller and more-temporarily occupied settlements. Small Sacaton phase occupations were noted at all four sites, with the most intensive occupation at the CTC site. This shift in settlement pattern contrasts with that observed in the Horseshoe area, where the Colonial period settlement was most widespread and Sedentary period occupation was concentrated in a few settlements.