Recent Research on Western Apache Roasting Pits

Hundreds of Western Apache roasting pits have been documented by archaeological surveys in Central Arizona, but prior to A.D. 2000 few had been excavated. These large, visible, accumulations of fire-cracked rock and dark soil are essentially the only enduring Western Apache modifications of the physical landscape and the best candidates for planned research on past Western Apache experience, as pre-reservation sites and features in the region are often far more subtle. Two large roasting pits, similar in their surface appearance, were excavated as part of the on-going State Route 260 – Payson to Heber project, substantially augmenting available information. We present the results of the new and previous fieldwork and analyses, compare those with investigations of earlier Hohokam roasting features in the same region, and draw on ethnographic and historical documentation to explore the potential of these features to answer questions about chronology, land use, foodways, and cultural persistence from the pre-reservation to post-reservation period.