Archaeological Investigations Along Reach 12 of the Granite Reef Aqueduct, Central Arizona Project

Under contract with the Bureau of Reclamation, the Office of Cultural Resource Management (OCRM), Department of Anthropology, Arizona State University, completed an archaeological survey of Reach 12 and associated access roads. Reach 12 of the Granite Reef Aqueduct extends about 11 miles from Taliesin West Architectural School east to Schlechts Butte.
OCRM archaeologists identified and documented 3 field loci, 55 isolated artifacts, recent features, and a petroglyph location were recorded during the Reach 12 survey. Based on relative density of cultural material dispersion, field loci were grouped into two sites: AZ U:6:4 (ASU) and AZ U:5:70 (ASU).
Mitigation was completed at these two sites in the winter of 1980. Surface collection at AZ U:6:4 (ASU) was conducted based on a stratified sample using a 2 X 2 meter grid. The petroglyphs at AZ U:5:70 (ASU) were photographed, measured, and traced.
The investigations identified a pattern of secondary resource zone exploitation in the desert areas between the river valleys. Researchers defined and described a secondary resource zone as an area which did not support a permanent population, but was utilized intermittently, probably on a seasonal basis, in the exploitation of wild plant and animal food resources by people whose primary subsistence was derived from a different zone.