The Archaeology of Schoolhouse Point Mesa, Roosevelt Platform Mound Study: Report on the Schoolhouse Point Mesa Sites, Schoolhouse Management Group, Pinto Creek Complex

This report describes the archaeological investigations and results for studies of sites on Schoolhouse Point Mesa, a large geographic unit naturally bounded by the Salt River on its northern end and by major washes on its eastern and western sides (see Figure 1.1). Although people living on the mesa may have interacted with people living on the other side of major washes or rivers, the ease of interaction among people living on the mesa would have made them relatively more interdependent.

The concentration of sites on the northern end of the mesa, each within easy walking distance of the others, is evidence of the likely interaction among the inhabitants of those sites. This volume focuses on Schoolhouse Point Mesa, these sites were part of an extensive settlement on the southern bank of the Salt River. A portion of this area that includes large sites (such as platform mounds) and smaller sites (such as compounds and field houses) was a part of the Roosevelt Platform Mound Study (RPMS) called the Pinto Creek Complex (see Figure 1.2).