Archaeological Investigations at AZ U:6:87, U:6:105, and U:6:253(ASM) on the Fort McDowell Mohave-Apache Indian Community, Maricopa County, Arizona: Report

The Bureau of Reclamation (Reclamation) assisted the Fort McDowell Indian Community (FMIC) with cultural resource investigations in advance of widening and realigning portions of Fort McDowell Road (also known as Mustang Way). These improvements were required to facilitate increased road use associated with the construction and operation of the Fort McDowell Indian Community Irrigated Farmland Development Project.

Reclamation requested that Archaeological Consulting Services, Ltd. (ACS) conduct testing to identify the nature and extent of subsurface cultural resources at three archaeological sites (AZ U:6:87[ASM], U:6:105[ASM], and U:6:253[ASM]) that could be adversely effected by planned improvements to Fort McDowell Road on the Fort McDowell Indian Reservation. ACS had previously reported on surface collection, subsurface boundary delineation, and subsequent limited archaeological testing at U:6:87(ASM) (Adams 1994a;Adams et al. 1994). No previous excavations had been conducted at U:6:105(ASM) and U:6:253(ASM),which were mapped as part of the relocation and assessment of 12 sites (Adams 1994b).This project involved data recovery at U:6:87(ASM), limited testing and data recovery at U:6:105(ASM), and limited testing and archival research at U:6:253(ASM). Data recovery at U:6:87(ASM) resulted in the investigation of 21 features, including middens, pithouses, and extramural pits. Limited testing and data recovery at U:6:105(ASM) involved investigation of 56 features, including middens, pithouses, and extramural pits. Limited testing at U:6:253(ASM) revealed no subsurface features or in-situ deposits. The materials recovered from the excavations suggest hamlet-level settlements at U:6:87(ASM) and U:6:105(ASM). Ceramic and chronometric dating indicate a Sweetwater and early Snaketown phase occupation at U:6:87(ASM); a Gila Butte and Santa Cruz phase and an Early Formative occupation were identified at U:6:105(ASM). The archaeological data in combination with the archival research results suggest that U:6:253(ASM) is the only remaining record of a temporary settlement by the Cline family. This homesteading effort dates to the years between the military and reservation uses of the land, a little-understood period in the history of the Fort McDowell area.
The research design and testing plan of work can be found at tDAR ID: 393828.