Survey and Recovery and Analysis of Human Remains Along a Portion of an SRP Lateral in Greenwood Cemetery, Phoenix, Arizona: Report

The Bureau of Reclamation (Reclamation) identified a possible prehistoric Hohokam cremation eroding from the bank of an unlined Salt River Project (SRP) irrigation lateral that traverses a modern cemetery in central Phoenix. It was thought that two additional burial pits might be present in the lateral, but only the above-mentioned possible cremation was currently affected by erosion. The possible burial was discovered earlier in the year and was monitored by a Reclamation archaeologist while Native American Graves Protection Act consultation was carried out. To limit additional erosion in the short-term, the burial was stabilized with clean fill. Because the cemetery is located on a portion of the extensive prehistoric Hohokam site Las Colinas (AZ T:12:10[ASM]), it was critical to determine if additional burials might be subject to eventual erosion.
At Reclamation’s request, Archaeological Consulting Services, Ltd. (ACS) surveyed the lateral right-of-way (50 ft wide) to identify other burial features that might be exposed in the lateral walls and to determine if any of these might be in imminent danger from erosion. Reclamation also requested that ACS excavate, map, and draw the one possible eroding cremation, remove all associated funerary objects, and perform nondestructive analysis prior to repatriation. All work was conducted on Reclamation property.
This is the project report.
Photos of the modern canal works and water control gates (no photographs were taken of the human remains or associated funerary items) can be found at tDAR ID: 393977.
The photo log can be found at tDAR ID: 391346.