Archaeological Investigations Within a Borrow Area Associated with Reach 5, Granite Reef Aqueduct, Central Arizona Project, Maricopa County, Arizona

Under contract with the Bureau of Reclamation, the Office of Cultural Resource Management (OCRM), Department of Anthropology, Arizona State University, recently undertook the investigation of two sites located within a borrow area along Reach 5 of the Granite Reef Aqueduct. The sites were initially located and recorded during an archaeological clearance survey that OCRM archaeologists conducted in February, 1976 (Brown 1976a) (see https://core.tdar.org/document/393057). The fieldwork was completed in 1.25 worker days on June 7, 1976.

This report describes the results of the archaeological data recovery along Reach 5 of the Granite Reef Aqueduct. The ceramics recovered from the borrow area indicate that Hohokam, River Yuman, and Upland Yuman groups used the area between A.D. 1150 and the Historic period. It is probable that these sites represent the remnants of a trade route, which was likely established between the mountains and the lower Gila at a prehistoric date and was perhaps maintained by historic groups. The presence of sherds in the project area can be generally attributed to trail breakage. The recovery and interpretation of these data ultimately resulted in a determination of "no adverse effect" due to proposed disturbance within the borrow area.