Hohokam Archaeology along the Salt-Gila Aqueduct Central Arizona Project, Volume I: Research Design

This volume is the first in a series of publications associated with the Salt-Gila Aqueduct Archaeological Data Collection Studies and Supplemental Class 3 Survey Project (SGA). The project focuses principally upon data recovery at those sites potentially subject to impact as a consequence of Central Arizona Project construction along a route extending 97 km from a point south of Apache Junction, Arizona, to the Picacho Reservoir. This initial volume incorporates the results of test excavations and preliminary reconnaissance with the research design subsequently developed for investigation of the SGA sites.
Significant archaeological sites identified as potentially subject to direct impacts are principally Hohokam, with some possibility of Archaic components at four of the sites (Stein 1979a). Substantial habitation sites, smaller habitation sites that may have been fieldhouse locations, and a variety of specialized activity sites including agricultural systems are included in the SGA sample. The sites are located in a variety of environmental contexts, including the Gila River Valley, major intermittent drainages, and interdrainage areas.
The environmental, functional, and chronological diversity of these archaeological sites suggests a research design focusing on the effects of local environmental conditions upon the occupants of environmentally distinct areas, the economic and social relationships between groups occupying these areas, and change through time in relationships between groups in these areas. It is believed that through addressing these problems it will be possible to make significant contributions to our understanding of the regional development of the Hohokam system.