Archaeological Investigations of Cultural Resources Located Along Reach 2 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 archaeological survey of Reach 2. Reach 2 of the Granite Reef Aqueduct extends about 18 miles from the Bouse Hills east to Highway 72, near Vicksburg.
OCRM archaeologists identified and documented 30 field loci and 13 isolated artifacts during the Reach 2 survey. Based on relative density of cultural material dispersion, the majority of the field loci were grouped into seven sites: AZ S:1:1 (ASU); AZ S:1:2 (ASU); AZ S:1:3 (ASU); AZ S:2:2 (ASU); AZ S:1:4 (ASU); AZ S:1:5 (ASU); and AZ S:1:6 (ASU).
Mitigation was completed at four sites in January of 1978. The cobble features at AZ S:1:1 (ASU), AZ S:1:4 (ASU), and S:2:2 (ASU) were mapped and tested. In addition, surface collection, mapping, and sample-based testing of the cobble rings at AZ S:1:5 (ASU), a prehistoric trail, was completed. No subsurface features or artifacts were identified.
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.