The archaeology of the Sulphur Spring Valley, Arizona

Item Type text; Thesis-Reproduction (electronic)

Authors Caywood, Louis R. (Louis Richard), 1906-

Publisher The University of Arizona.

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THE ARCHAEOLOGY OF THE SULPHUR SPRING VALLEY, ARIZONA

"by

L o u is R. Cay wood

S u b m i t t e d in p a r t i a l f u l f i l l m e n t o f th e

r e q u i r e m e n t s f o r t h e d e g r e e o f

MASTER OF ARTS

i n th e C o l l e g e o f L e t t e r s , A r t s , and S c i e n c e s , o f t h e

U n i v e r s i t y o f A r i z o n a

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ACKNOWLEDGMENT

The w r i t e r w i s h e s t o acknow ledge

h i s i n d e b t e d n e s s t o t h e f o l l o w i n g p e r s o n s f o r t h e i r

h e l p f u l s u g g e s t i o n s a n d i n t e r e s t d u r i n g t h e w r i t i n g

o f t h i s p a p e r :

D r . Byron Cummings, head o f t h e

D e p a r tm en t o f A r c h a e o lo g y a t t h e U n i v e r s i t y o f A r i z o n a

and D i r e c t o r o f th e A r i z o n a S t a t e Museum, f o r h i s a s ­

s i s t a n c e , s u g g e s t i o n s , and i n s t r u c t i o n ;

Mr. W i l l i a m Kardon o f B i s b e e , A r i z ­

o n a , f o r h i s s u g g e s t i o n s , i n t e r e s t , and h e l p a t a l l

t im e s in t h e f i e l d work c a r r i e d on;

Mr. C a r l T r i s c h k a o f B i s b e e , A r i z o n a ,

f o r p h o t o g r a p h s ;

And t o t h e s t u d e n t s o f t h e D e p a r tm en t

o f A rc h a e o lo g y f o r t h e i r i n t e r e s t and a s s i s t a n c e .

90539

TABLE OF CONTENTS

In troduction ...................................................... 1

P h y s io g ra p h y ........................................................... . 11

H i s t o r y ...................... 14-

Geology ............................................................................ l 6

Archaeology ................................................................... 19

Southern Sub-Area ......................................... 21

Middle Sub-Area . ........................... 35

northern S u b - A r e a ............................................4-4-

S um m ary........................................................ 4-7

B ib lio g r a p h y ............................................................ 52

THE ARCHAEOLOGY OF THE SULPHUR SPRING VALLEY, ARIZ.

Ill TRODUCTIOII

An in trod u ction to the study o f North

American archaeology r e v e a ls human h is to r y and p reh isto ry

as "being d iv ided in to c u ltu r e s and cu ltu re areas to fa c ­

i l i t a t e the understanding o f the development o f the

e a r l ie s t in h ab itan ts of t h is co n tin en t. "C ulture, or

c iv i l iz a t io n ,'* as d efined by E. B. T y lo r , "taken in i t s

wide ethnographic sen se , i s that complex whole which in ­

c lu d es knowledge, b e l i e f , a r t , m orals, law, customs and

any other c a p a b i l i t ie s and h ab its acquired by man as a1

member o f so c ie ty ." C u ltu r a l.remains are the imple­

ments, ornaments, and o b je c ts that p r im itiv e people made

and developed through which they expressed th e ir "know­

led g e , b e l i e f , a r t , m ora ls, law, custom s," e t c . and

a rch a eo lo g ica l cu ltu re areas show the geograph ica l d i s ­

tr ib u tio n o f th ese a r t i f a c t s .

1. E. B. T y lo r , 1

- 2 -

To the student of n orth American arch­

aeology the main a rch a eo lo g ica l cu ltu re areas are the Mayan,

T oltec and Aztec in Mexico and C entral America, the Pueblo

in the Southwest, and the Moundbuilder in the M is s is s ip p i

V a lley .

The Southwest area in clu d es a l l o f the

s ta te s of Utah, New M exico, Arizona, and part o f south­

w estern Colorado, w estern Texas, sou th eastern Nevada, south­

eastern C a lifo rn ia , northern Sonora, and northwestern Chi­

huahua.

The Southwest area is ch aracterized by a

cu ltu re showing a good degree of development in a r c h ite c tu r e ,

ceram ics, and ornaments worked from ston e , bone, and s h e l l .

In turn th is area can be subdivided in to geographical c u l­

ture a re a s . The p r e h is to r ic in h ab itan ts liv e d in d if fe r e n t

se c t io n s much as we do today, but to them water and food

were most im portant; so they e s ta b lish e d them selves where

th ese were o b ta in a b le . These various sub-areas had th e ir

own d is t in g u ish in g t r a i t s due, perhaps, to the c r e a t iv e ­

n ess of in d iv id u a l minds w ith in th e groups, to geographic

i s o la t io n , to the m a ter ia ls a t hand from which they d evelop ­

ed th e ir a r t s , or to a com bination o f any o f th e se .

The sub-areas o f the Southwest have

been named geograp h ica lly according to the drainage a reas.2

Kidder in h is work on the Southwest l i s t s n ine such areas,

2 . K idder, 47

P l a t e I

1I___

COLORADO

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R I Z 0 \NA

4

N E w M E X i & O s

SONORAC u l t u r e . Areal'S \ \

1. S a fi i T u a n 6. M / m b r e s 1 1Z. N orthern Pe,rif»h*iral 7- C/nhuahua. ) /3 E a s te r n Peripheral 8 U p p e r Ci la4 .Pto Grande. 9 L o w e * " Gilo. / /

5 L i t t l e Colorado to Mi d d l e Gila.1

1 \CHIHUAHUA'

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X

- 3 “

"but some changes have been made s in ce because o f recent

a rch a eo lo g ica l work. A more lo g ic a l c la s s i f i c a t io n i s as

f o l lo w s : (1) San Juan, (2) Northern P er ip h era l, (3) E ast­

ern P er ip h era l, (4) Rio Grande, (5) L i t t l e Colorado,

(6) Mimbres, (7) Chihuahua or Casas Grandes, (8) Upper -

G ila , (9 ) Lower G ila , and (10) Middle G ila . The map r e ­

presented in P la te I c le a r ly brings out the d if fe r e n t areas.

In order to have an idea o f the r e la t iv e

exten t of the sub-areas o f the Southwest each w i l l be b r ie f ­

ly review ed.

The San Juan area i s b est known because

more a rch a eo lo g ica l work has been done th e re . I t seems to

have been the cen ter o f d if fu s io n for the b asic t r a .it s of

the Southwestern c u ltu r e . This is only h y p o th e tica l be­

cause in most other areas the remains are not as w e ll pre­

served as they are in the caves o f the San Juan.

The San Juan River r i s e s in New Mexico

w ith some feed ers from southw estern Colorado and flow s west

through northern New Mexico and southern Utah u n t i l i t

em pties in to the Colorado R iver. This area i s an arid and

barren p la teau cut by a m ultitude of deep, narrow, rock-

w alled canyons. In th ese canyons huge caves have been worn

out by the a c tio n o f w inds, r a in s , and f r o s t s . And in th ese

n a tu ra l caves p r e h is to r ic d w ellin gs are found. Sm all springs

send fo r th c le a r bubbling water in the bottoms of the canyons,

but the overflow q u ick ly sinks in to the sand to seep away

beneath the su r fa c e . I t was to these sp rin gs that the ea r ly

- 4 -

in h ab itan ts owed th e ir e x is te n c e .

The San Juan area i s d iv id ed in to three

important d i s t r i c t s which are the Kayenta, Mesa Verde, and

Chaco Canyon.

Hot a great d ea l is known about the two

p erip h era l areas as y e t , but n otab le work has been done in

both the northern and E astern P er ip h era ls .

The northern P erip h era l in clu d es Arizona

n orth o f the Grand Canyon, part of sou theastern Hevada, and

most of Utah. The ru in s in th is area are not nearly as

ex ten siv e or imposing as those o f the San Juan area, but

the r e s u lt s ob ta ined , when fu r th er work i s done, w i l l pro­

bably do much to en lig h ten a rc h a e o lo g ists about c e r ta in

p eriod s of p r e h is to r ic c u ltu r e .

The Eastern P er ip h era l area in clu d es

eastern Hew Mexico, sou theastern Colorado, northw estern

Oklahoma, w estern Texas, and p o ss ib ly n ortheastern Chihuahua

and northw estern C oahuila. Hew f in d s are being made and the

borders are being c o n tin u a lly pushed fu rth er out.

The Rio Grande R iver r is e s in the h igh

mountains of southwestern Colorado and a f te r flow ing eastward

turns south in to Hew Mexico where i t runs through the c e n tra l

part of that s t a t e . In th is drainage area cer ta in s e c t io n s

have been c a r e fu lly explored and fu l ly s tu d ied , but there

are others which s t i l l aw ait ca r e fu l in v e s t ig a t io n . The coun­

try ranges from sandy d esert to lo f t y mountain peaks, and the

v eg e ta tio n i s as varied w ith c a c t i , sage-brush , ced ars, and

pinyons.

- 5 “

tThe Rio Grande area d i f f e r s from other

p arts o f the Southwest w ith the excep tion of the L i t t l e

Colorado area in that i t i s occupied hy th e l iv in g tr ib e s

who even today re ta in much the same a r t , s o c ia l organiza­

t io n and customs as did th e ir p r e h is to r ic a n ces to r s . So

a r c h a e o lo g is ts working in th is region are ab le to work from

known data , which can be used as c r i t e r ia fo r the arch­

a e o lo g ic a l problems presented by the ru ins excavated .

The L i t t l e Colorado R iver r is e s in w est­

ern New Mexico and flow s a l i t t l e north o f w est through

Arizona to empty in to the Colorado R iver . About on e-fou rth

of t h is drainage area l i e s in northw estern New M exico; the

r e s t being in Arizona.

The e le v a t io n above sea le v e l shows more

v a r ia tio n than any other sub-area. The low est e le v a tio n i s

2,800 f e e t at the mouth o f the L i t t le Colorado River where

i t em pties in to the Colorado R iver and the h ig h est p o in t

i s Agassez peak in the San F rancisco Mountains which r i s e s

to 12,794 f e e t . Between th ese two e le v a t io n s a varied

topography p resen ts i t s e l f . In some p arts i t i s purely a

d esert region and in others heavy growths o f y e llo w p in e ,

D ouglass F ir , and spruce abound.

Here the descendants of the once num­

erous pueblos s t i l l e x i s t on three mesas and in seven towns

of which Walpi, S h ip au lov i, Mishongnovi, H o te v il la , and

O raibi are the la r g e s t and most im portant. P r e h is to r ic

- 6 -

ru ins are found in most p arts o f the L i t t l e Colorado area

and they range from the e a r l ie s t p it houses to the w e ll

constructed pueblos o f the Late Pueblo P eriod w ith a l l

sta g es o f development p resen ted .

The Himbres River r is e s in the Black

Mountains o f southeastern Hew Mexico and flow s southward

in to an inland basin which i s part of the in land drainage

system o f northern Chihuahua. The upper r iv er i s a good

s ized running stream bordered by tr e e s and the v a lle y on

e ith e r sid e is e a s i ly ir r ig a b le and f e r t i l e . I t was here3

the s o -c a lle d Mimbrenos b u i l t th e ir b e st p u eb los. Further

south when i t emerges from the mountains the water of the

r iv e r sinks in to the sand and on ly appears here and there

and then in sm all flow s or seep s.

The ru in s o f the Mimbres V a lley are

noted for th e ir very f in e and extraordinary type of p o ttery

fo r which the d i s t r ic t i s famous. The ty p ic a l Mimbres wareV

is in the form o f ab lack -on-w hite bowl decorated on theA

in te r io r by geom etric d esign s and n a tu r a l is t ic f ig u r e s .

The Casas Grandes V alley l i e s in the

northw estern part o f the s ta te of Chihuahua, Mexico. Chi­

huahua i s bounded on the north by ITew Mexico and Texas,

on the ea st by C oahuila, on the south by Durango and S in a loa ,

and on the west by Sonora. The northern part o f the s ta te

i s on a p la teau 4 ,000 f e e t in a lt itu d e w ith h i l l s here and

3 . Ib id . 101.

- 7 -

there which are "barren o f v eg e ta tio n except for m esquite

"bushes, g ra ss , and a few shrubs. Through t h is "barren

region .1 the Rio Casas Grandes flow s from south to north

u n t i l i t nears the Hew Mexico s ta te l in e and then i t makes

a great bend eastward and south and flow s in to Lake Guzman.

In the dry season no water flow s above ground in the r iv e r

bed except in the one s e c t io n near Casas Grandes i t s e l f .

Here in a long wide v a lle y formed by the Capulins and the

S ierra de la Escondida to the e a s t , and the S ierra Hadre to

the west the r iv e r flow s the year round and crops can be

e a s i ly grown.

Long ago in th is region a p r e h is to r ic

cu ltu re e x is te d . Today one fin d s large mounds o f various

s iz e s which are the remains o f great houses o f adobe in

which these people l iv e d . And to the w est in the canyons

of the S ierra Madre a r e . found many groups o f c l i f f - d w e l l ­

ings o f wood and adobe. The S ierra Madre w est o f t h is

region i s rugged and in p la ces almost im passable. Deep

canyons drop hundreds of fe e t to rushing streams below

m aking-travel to the w est over th ese mountains very d i f ­

f i c u l t .

The e n t ir e area covered by th is p re­

h is to r ic cu ltu re and known as the Casas Grandes Area ex ­

tends from the In tern a tio n a l boundary l in e between Hew

Mexico and Chihuahua south to the Mexican town of Temosachic,

roughly a d istan ce o f some two hundred and f i f t y m ile s .

- 8 -

A rch aeo log ica l in v e s t ig a t io n in th is

region has "been very scant u n t i l recent years although

many of the e a r l ie s t exp lorers v is i t e d h ere . B a r t le t t

f i r s t saw the Casas Grandes ru ins in the e a r ly f i f t i e s .

They were so named "because of the th ick n ess and h eigh t o f

the w a lls . Some t h ir t y - f iv e years la te r B andelier d es­

cribed them and the w a lls were s t i l l stand ing . Lumholtz

explored, here in the ea r ly n in e t ie s and secured p o ttery

which is now in the American Museum o f N atural H istory .

B la ck isto n v i s i t e d the c l i f f - d w e l l in g s and the mounds in

the ea r ly part o f the tw en tie th cen tu ry . In 1922 when

Kidder v is i t e d the ru in s the w a lls were almost a l l crumbled

and eroded away and only the o u tlin e s o f the stru c tu res

d escrib ed by the ea r ly v i s i t o r s could be made ou t. In 1927,

1928, and 1929, Henry A. Carey was in th is reg ion making

surveys and excavating sev era l mounds. In 1931 Donald Brand

a lso made a b r ie f survey o f the area.

Q u a n tities o f m ateria l from the mounds

and caves have found th e ir way in to American museums through

Mexican sp ecu la to rs in p o tte r y . P ot-hunting has been prac­

t ic e d in the mounds fo r many years by Mexicans in hopes o f

f in d in g rare a n t iq u it ie s which could be so ld . Much harm

has been done to the houses in th is way, but many cerem onial

o b jec ts from b u r ia ls under the f lo o r s have been brought to

l i g h t .

The Upper G ila l i e s in ea stern Arizona

and w estern New Mexico. I t in clu d es the drainage areas o f

- 9 - -

the B lue, White, T ularosa, San F rancisco , and G ila R ivers

and dovna tbs G ila River to By la s , around Mt. -Graham and

along the C hiricahuas, then d escr ib in g an unknown curve

south and ea st to meet the c o n tin e n ta l d iv id e again some- •

where near the In tern a tio n a l boundary. Thus, t h is area

in clu d es San Simon V a lley in sou theastern Arizona and

southwestern Hew Mexico.

The Lower G ila area extends from the

town of G ila Bend to the mouth o f the G ila R iver where i t

em pties in to the Colorado R iver. Ruins in the reg ion as

fa r as i s known are sm all and c o n s is t c h ie f ly of camp s i t e s .

Very l i t t l e is known o f the reg ion because o f i t s extrem ely

dry and sandy w a stes . Some large ru ins have been reported

by the surveyors and hunters but th ese rep orts have not

been v e r if ie d .

The Middle G ila area between the Lower

and Upper G ila areas extends from Bylas to G ila Bend in an

ea st-w est d ir e c t io n . The northern boundary i s the d iv id e

between the S a lt and L i t t l e Colorado R iv ers. The Verde

R iver drainage area is a lso included in the Middle G ila .

Overlapping i s encountered in p o ttery types in the p e r i­

pheral regions of the L i t t l e Colorado and Middle G ila a reas,

but the drainage d iv id e between the two areas seems to be

the b est boundary l in e .

On th e south , the Middle G ila in clu d es

the Santa Cruz, San Pedro, and Sulphur Spring V alley reg ion s

in southern A rizona. How fa r south the area extends i s as

y e t unknown. The Sulphur Spring V alley i s included in the

Middle G ila , although i t i s in the Yaqui drainage area,

"because o f the s im ila r ity of c u ltu r e .

PHYSIOGRAPHY

The Sulphur Spring V alley l i e s in south­

eastern Arizona and extends north-northwestward fo r a d i s ­

tance of n in e ty m iles from the in te r n a tio n a l "boundary, which

has b e e n .a r b itr a r ily taken as i t s southern l im it . The aver­

age w idth o f the v a lle y is about twenty m iles and i t s t o t a l

area is more than 1,800 square m ile s .1

0 . E. Me Inzer has g iven us a very good

d esc r ip tio n o f the geography o f the reg ion in h is work on

the geology and water resou rces o f the v a lle y as fo llo w s:

"The v a lle y i s bordered on each sid e by a chain of mountain ranges. The mountains on the west separate i t from San Pedro V a lley , which drains northward into G ila R iver; the mountains on the e a s t separate i t from San Simon V a lley , which drains northward in to the G ila , and from San Bernardino V a lley , which drains southward in to Yaqui. N early 1,000 square m iles of the border­ing mountainous areas shed th e ir storm waters in to Sulphur Spring V a lley . Thus the v a lle y and the mountains whose drainage i s tr ib u ta ry to i t comprise an area o f about 2 ,800 square m ile s .The southern tw o - f if th s of t h is area i s t r ib ­utary to Whitewater Draw, which drains in to the Yaqui; the northern t h r e e - f i f t h s forms a depres­sion w ith no drainage o u t le t but w ith a large barren a lk a l i f l a t in the low est p a rt. N orth of th is depression i s A rivaipa V a lley , which drains northwestward in to the San Pedro."

1. Me In zer , 9

- 1 2 -

The mountain chain on the w est from north

to sou th in clu d es the G aliuro, W inchester, L i t t le Dragoon,

and Mule M ountains/ The chain on the e a s t from north to

south includes the P in a len o , Dos Cahezas, C hiricahuas, Sw iss-

helm and P e r i l ia Mountains. Between th ese mountain ranges

p asses occur lead in g t o : the San Pedro on the west , the G ila

on the north , and the San Simon and San Bernardino oh the

e a s t , Through th ese p asses a l l o f the t r a v e l has taken

p lace from the time p r e h is to r ic man f i r s t entered the v a lle y

up to the p resen t time when good roads have been "built across

th ese p a sse s .

' ‘ The c lim ate i s arid and most of the rain

f a l l s during the ra iny season which occurs between the f i r s t

of July and the middle o f September. The dry, c lo u d le ss

atmosphere accounts for the great changes in temperature

between day and n ig h t. ' ' •

In the C hiricahua:and P inaleno mountains

there i s ' s u f f ic le n t r a in f a l l to support a growth of t a l l

y e llo w p in e . There are springs and stream s in the m ountains,

but no permanent stream descends to the v a lle y .

The" e le v a t io n above sea l e v e l ranges from

around 3 ,900 f e e t where Whitewater Wash cro sse s the in te r ­

n a tio n a l boundary to more than 5»000 f e e t on the mountain

s lo p e s . The h ig h est peaks r i s e to more than 9 ,000 f e e t .

The n orth basin of Sulphur Spring V alley

a t one time contained a lake which, accord ing to Me Inzer,

was approxim ately twenty m iles in len g th and e leven m iles

- 1 3 -

in w idth w ith a shore l in e o f n early f i f t y m ile s . The area

covered would he n early one hundred twenty square m ile s .

The water stood at a l e v e l o f f o r t y - f iv e f e e t above the

present le v e l of the dry lake bed and covered the presen t

s i t e o f W illcox w ith a shallow sheet of w ater.

Around most o f the an cien t lakeu there

are beaches. On the e a s t s id e , the beach extends fo r a

d ista n ce of about ten m ile s . On the w est s id e i t extends

fo r about n in eteen m iles , and on the southw est fo r about

four m ile s . The in flu en ce o f these beaches on human develop

ment is seen very p la in ly by the fa c t th at both the pre­

h is to r ic in h ab itan ts, and the p resen t w hite in h ab itan ts were

a ttr a c ted by the s i t e and b u i l t th e ir h a b ita tio n s th ere .' - - ~ ** ' • * •

; On the southern end o f the great dry lake

i s found a sulphur spring and i t i s from t h is spring th a t

the v a lle y has rece iv ed i t s name. On the w est s id e o f -the

dry lake are a number o f springs known as Croton Springs

from which flow brack ish w ater.

In the south end o f the v a lle y near the

Double Adobe school house on Whitewater Wash another an cien t

lake area is found, but t h is lake seems older than the one

p rev io u sly m entioned. I t may have been more o f a swamp in

ch aracter than a la k e . Here have been - found the. remains o f

P le is to c e n e anim als.

■ 1 4 -

HISTORY

There i s very l i t t l e e a r ly h is to r y con­

nected w ith th is reg io n . The Spanish ex p lo rers and m is­

s io n a r ie s avoided i t because o f the C hiricahua Apache

In d ians. And la t e r the Mexican and American s e t t l e r s had

con sid erab le trou b le w ith th ese In d ians.

In 1853 the land south o f the G ila R iver

was acquired by the Gadsden Purchase from M exico. And in

1855 two exp lor in g p a r t ie s crossed Sulphur Spring V a lley .

One was the Mexican Boundary Survey headed -by W. H. Emory

and the other was led by L ieutenant John G. Parke to re -1

con n o iter fo r a tra n sco n tin e n ta l ra ilro a d ro u te .

Then from 1859 u n t i l 1872 the Apache

Indians under Cochise and Geronimo went on the warpath.

Innumerable bloody ra id s were made on the Mexicans and •

Americans. The United S ta te s army had a number of encount­

ers w ith them, but spent most o f th e ir time chasing them

from one p lace to another. Nothing was done u n t i l 1872

when General 0 . 0 . Howard made - a tr e a ty o f peace w ith

C och ise. As a r e s u lt o f th is tr e a ty the Chiricahua Reserva

1 . M einzer, 11

- 1 5 -

t io n was e s ta b lish e d to include most o f the v a l le y . How­

ever, in 1876, two years a f te r Cochise had d ied , fu rth er

trou b le arose and the Chiricahua Apaches were removed to

the San Carlos R eservation and Sulphur Spring V alley was2resto red to p u b lic domain.

Fort Grant had been e s ta b lish e d in 1872

and the f i r s t c a t t le ranch was s ta r ted that year by H. C.

Hooker, who had reached Sulphur Spring V alley in . 1867 w ith

a large herd of c a t t l e . He e s ta b lish e d the S ierra B onita

Ranch in the northern end of the v a l le y and t h is ranch to ­

day i s one o f the la r g e s t c a t t le ranches in the v a l le y .

Trouble continued from time to time, when

bands o f Apaches escaped, from the San C arlos R eservation

and went on ra id in g p a r t ie s . In 1886 such a band led by

Geronimo and H aiche, son o f C ochise, surrendered to .G eneral

IT. 0 . M iles and were, deported to Fort P ick en s, F lo r id a .

- ; , , In i860 the main lin e , of the .Southern

P a c if ic R ailroad was b u i l t across the northern end o f the

v a lle y and W illcox sprang in to e x is te n c e . Douglas sprang

up in 1902 when the E l Paso and Southwestern R ailroad was

b u il t and soon a f te r a sm elter was erec ted . These are the

two most important towns in the v a lle y at the p resen t.

P earce, Courtland, and G leason, a l l o f which were once

f lo u r is h in g mining camps, are now abandoned.

2 . B ancroft, $6 6 .

- 1 6 -

geology

I t i s necessary to know something o f the

geology o f t h is v a lle y to "better understand the p h y sica l

environment in which the people liv ed and the part i t played

in shaping the l iv e s o f th ese p r e h is to r ic p eo p les .

The most ex ten siv e and valuab le work on1

the geology o f th is v a lle y was done by F. L. Ransome in

1902 when he in v e s t ig a te d the B isbee m ining d i s t r i c t . Other

work had been done p rev io u sly in 1857 by Thomas A n t is e l l and

C. C. Parry. In 1873 G. K. G ilbert w ith the Wheeler Survey

made valuab le ob servation s on the n ortheastern part o f the2v a l le y . 0 . E. Me Inzer worked on the geology and ground

w aters in 1913 and i t is h is work that p resen ts to us the

most prominent fea tu res o f the geologr o f the v a lle y .

The g eo lo g ic form ations date from the

Quaternary back through the T ertia ry , C retaceous, Carbon­

ifero u s , Devonian, Cambrian, and in to the Pre-Cambrian

epochs.

The Quaternary geology i s a l l that we are

in te r e s te d in . The v a lle y l i e s in a rock trough made by the

1. Ransome, F. L. , U . S . G . S . , 1904, p . 12.2 . Me In z e r , 4 4 .

- 1 7 -

deform ation and erosion of the rocks that make up the moun-

ta in sran ges on e ith e r s id e . The rock f lo o r on which the

v a lle y f i l l r e s t s i s very irreg u la r and v a r ies in depth

from numerous b u ttes r is in g out o f the f i l l to o ther p la ces

where the th ick n ess reaches a depth o f se v era l thousand f e e t

"below the su rfa ce . This v a lle y has "been made up of stream

d ep o s its which have "been "built up and spread out from the

mouths o f the canyons.

B esid es stream d ep o sits there are e v i ­

dences of surface lake d e p o s its as p rev io u sly mentioned and

a lso o f "buried lake d e p o s its , found "by w e ll d r i l l in g . These

lake d ep o sits are made up o f f in e c lay "beds which are s o f t

and p la s t ic . In a d d itio n to lake d ep o sits there are wind

d ep o s its and d ep o s its made "by ground w ater. The wind de­

p o s it s r e s t on the stream d ep o s its and an cien t "beach g r a v e ls .

The ground water has d ep osited layers of c a lic h e made up of

lime carbonate and other p r e c ip ita te s which have firm ly

cemented the v a lle y f i l l a t depths of two and three f e e t

below the su rface . A lk a li and sulphur d ep o s its are a lso

found in some p arts o f the v a lle y . The c h ie f sulphur de­

p o s it s are a t Sulphur Springs and Croton S prings.

Two m ile s ea s t o f Douglas a dark v e s icu ­

la r ex tru siv e bed o f b a s a lt ic lava l i e s a t the su rface o f a

low mound. This same so r t o f lava is found in the h i l l s o f

the Galiuro Mountains w est o f Hooker’ s ranch. I t has a lso

been encountered in w e ll d r i l l in g a t Douglas a t a depth o f

884 f e e t .

- 1 8 -

Prom t h is b r ie f account o f the study o f

the most recent g e o lo g ic a l changes which have taken p lace

in the v a lle y , i t i s seen th a t there have been produced r e ­

s u l t s which have in flu en ced to some degree the p r e h is to r ic

in h a b ita n ts .

- 1 9 -

ARCHAEOLOGY

The Sulphur Spring V alley i s not part o f

the G ila drainage area, hut l i e s in the Yaqui drainage area.

However, because cu ltu re a f f i l i a t i o n s are so s im ila r to

those o f the Middle G ila cu ltu re area, and because so very

l i t t l e i s known about the Yaqui drainage area south o f the

In tern a tio n a l boundary, the Sulphur Spring V a lley w i l l be

placed in the Middle G ila area for the p resen t d isc u ss io n .

As p rev io u sly mentioned, the northern end o f the v a lle y

drains in to the large dry lake w hile only the southern end

i s included in the Yaqui drainage.

The nature of th is v a lle y makes i t doubly

hard fo r the a rc h a eo lo g ist to obtain d e f in ite inform ation

about the p r e h is to r ic in h a b ita n ts . In the f i r s t p lace many

of th e s ig n s o f ea r ly v i l la g e s have been com pletely erased

by denudation. In other p la ces the e n t ir e s i t e s have been

covered by a l lu v ia l d e p o s its . Again, there are no caves in

the surrounding mountains which might show some sig n s of

h a b ita tio n by an early p eo p le . Caves would rev ea l p e r ish ­

able as w e ll as im perishable a r t i f a c t s , which would more

e a s i ly lin k th is region w ith a b e tter known cu ltu re area .

~ 20 —

The fa c t s to he determined are the d ir e c t r e s u lt o f remains

found on the v a lle y s i t e s where only the im perishable o b jec ts

have remained.

In order to be ab le to study more c lo s e ly

and sy s te m a tic a lly the archaeology of the v a lle y , i t has been

found b est to d iv id e i t into three sub-areas because o f the

d iffe r e n c e s in c u ltu r a l remains found in each, and for

greater ease in handling the work. These s e c t io n s w i l l be

c a lle d the Southern, the M iddle, and the Northern su b -areas.

The Southern sub-area in clu d es the lower

end of the v a l le y from the In tern a tio n a l boundary l in e to a

l in e drawn between Gleeson and the h ig h est p o in t in the

Swisshelm Mountains.

The Middle sub-area in clu d es the c e n tr a l

portion of the v a lle y n orth to a l in e drawn between the

easternm ost p ortion o f the W inchester Mountains and the

northwestern end o f the Dos Cabezjbs Mountains.

The Northern sub-area in clu d es the r e ­

mainder of the v a lle y to the d iv id e between the A rivaipa

and Sulphur Spring v a l le y s .

The method involved in the study o f the

archaeology of these three sub-areas was to v i s i t as many

of the known important s i t e s as p o ss ib le and to try to

d iscover other s i t e s . At each s i t e a sherd c o l le c t io n was

made and such a r t i f a c t s as were on the su rface were gathered .

Also a t each s i t e the typ es o f s tru ctu res were determ ined,

i f p o s s ib le , from su rface in d ic a t io n s .

- 2 1 -

SOUTHEM SUB-AREA

SITES ;

In the Southern sub-area alm ost a l l o f

the important s i t e s are located on the mountain pediment

which is the s lo p in g area between the base o f the mountains

and the v a lle y f lo o r . The surface here is o f s im ila r slop e

throughout and the summer ra in s and summer streams from the

mountains spread out in f lo o d sh ee ts making wonderful a g r i­

c u ltu r a l s i t e s .

x More a rch a eo lo g ica l s i t e s appear on the

w estern sid e of Whitewater Draw than on the eastern s id e .

The three most important lo c a tio n s are camps Ho. 1, Ho. 2 ,

and ITo.3 (See map in b ack ). The word camp may p o ss ib ly

seem a misnomer, but no other a p p e lla tio n i s su ita b le fo r

th ese s i t e s , because the co n d itio n in which they are found

resem bles a camp more than a v i l la g e . Camp Ho. 1 i s lo ca ted

in S ectio n s 27 and 28, Township 22 South, and Range 25 E a st.

The area covered i s about two square m iles and at no p lace

i s there enough s tr u c tu r a l evidence to c a l l such a s i t e a

v i l la g e or pueblo. Camp Ho. 2 i s loca ted four and o n e-h a lf

m iles d ir e c t ly north o f the f i r s t camp in S ectio n s 33* 34",

and 35, Township 21 South, and Range 25 E a st. Camp Ho. 3

is lo ca ted in one of the p asses between the Sulphur Spring

and San Pedro v a l le y s . I t i s in Township 20 South, Range

24 E ast, and is about four m iles southwest o f the town o f

tileeso n . B esid es th ese s i t e s there are a number o f other

- 2 2

sm all camps sca ttered over the area. These are numbered

4 , 5, 6 , 7. 8 1 and 9» and are lo ca ted on the map in the

back o f th is paper. A ll o f th ese s i t e s are pure Red-on-

Buff in c u ltu r e .

On the ea stern sid e o f the v a lle y in

Township 22 South, Range 28 E ast, and near Mud Springs are

two s i t e s , Ho. 10 and Ho. 11 , which can r e a d ily be c a lle d

v i l la g e s because of the grouping o f rooms. These two s i t e s

are G ila Polychrome w ith a mixture of Red-on-Buff and Casas

Grandes wares.

AGRICULTURE:

S evera l fea tu r es mark the ea r ly inhab i­

ta n ts o f th is sub-area as sedentary a g r ic u l t u r a l is t s . In

the f i r s t p la ce , the fa c t th a t they liv e d in such large

camps marks them as more than h u n ters. Secondly, th e ir

ceramic industry was w e ll developed, showing th at they were

fa r advanced in the art o f preparing fo o d s tu ffs . Then, the

numerous manos and m etates c le a r ly show that much corn was

ground by the women. And la s t ly , the lo c a tio n o f the camps

w ith the surrounding arab le land lea v es no doubt in the mind

o f anyone fa m ilia r w ith the fa c t s that a g r icu ltu re played

an important part in the l iv e s o f th ese ea r ly p eop le .

Ho p o s it iv e tra ces of ir r ig a t io n d itc h e s

are found at any of th ese s i t e s but some p o s s i b i l i t i e s occur

where the remains o f can a ls (?) are found branching from the

w ashes. There are s e c t io n s o f land which may have been

- 2 3 -

flooded during the rainy season 'ey a llow in g the water to

spread over them. These s e c t io n s have teen terraced by

b u ild in g long re ta in in g w a lls of stone behind which the

ground had been c u lt iv a te d . The remains o f some o f these

w a lls can be traced fo r ,s e v e r a l hundred f e e t where they

fo llo w the contour of the land. Behind th ese r e ta in in g

w a lls are found other tr a c e s of a g r icu ltu re where the sur­

face stones have been n e a tly p ile d to improve the ground

and make more space fo r p la n tin g . The ground was probably

cleared annually and fo r a long period o f time from the

s iz e o f the p i le s o f rock s.

The only ev id en ces of a g r ic u ltu r a l pro­

ducts which have been found in t h i s area were the charred

tra ces of k ern els o f corn in the bottom of the small"Red-

on-Buff bowl shown in P la te X III . The products here must

have c o n s is te d of squash and beans in ad d ition to corn, as

th ese same products were ra ised in other reg ion s of the

Southwest.

HOUSE TYPES:

House types are the b est b a s is fo r the

chronology of the Southw est. The ev o lu tio n o f house b u ild ­

ing is e a s i ly traced from the ea r ly c ir c u la r p ith ou se through

the various s ta g es o f development to the large heavy-w alled ,

m any-storied pueblo. The same house types are to be found

in the Sulphur Spring V a lley as are found in other p arts o f

the Southwestern cu ltu re area .

- 2 4 -

C ircu lar P ith ou ses of the Southern Sub-area

The c ir c u la r p ith ou see found at Camp No. 1

and Camp No. 2 mark th ese s i t e s as "belonging to the Early

Pueblo p eriod . No other tra ces o f h a b ita tio n s are found in

the Southern sub-area except at Mud Springs where surface "

pueblos were co n stru cted . I t i s in te r e s t in g to note that

th ese c ir c u la r p ith ou ses are located on the w estern sid e o f

Whitewater Draw w hile the su rface s tru ctu res are on the e a s t ­

ern s id e .

The c ir c u la r p ith ou ses at both camps were

constructed in the same manner averaging from eigh teen to

twenty f e e t in d iam eter, a lthough some are as sm all as ten

f e e t , w hile others are as large as th ir ty f e e t a cr o ss . Other

h a b ita tio n s here were probably no more than brush s h e lt e r s ,

a l l ev idences o f which have disappeared long ago.

The c ir c u la r p ith ou se w a lls (P la te VI) are

marked by a c i r c l e o f s to n es on the su r fa ce . Sometimes th ese

c ir c le s occur in groups o f twos and th rees but g en era lly they

are separate . They are not arranged to form a pueblo or

v i l l a g e , but are sc a tter ed over a large te r r ito r y , most of

which has been denuded by ero sio n ; so th at very l i t t l e remains

of the m ateria l cu ltu re except the houses them selves and what

they might co n ta in . The rocks making up the w a lls are angular

and broken and show s ig n s o f having been f i r e burned. No

tra ce s o f post h o les have been found; so the manner o f roof

co n stru ctio n is p ro b lem a tica l. Domed ro o fs were probably used.

P/a-te 2T

E t c a y e c t e d If ~I4- -50

P la - te HZ

o o

-25“

In the cen ter o f each c ir c u la r p ith ou se

a huge hearth or f i r e p i t was sunk "below the f lo o r su r fa ce .

(See P la te V) The f lo o r is about a fo o t "below the o r ig in a l

ground le v e l and the "bottom o f the hearth i s about four

f e e t below the f lo o r l e v e l . The hearth i s u su a lly shaped

s im ila r to an o l la w ith a f l a t bottom. In t h is bottom some

form o f d epression always occurs, the reason fo r which is

unknown.

Fourteen of these c ir c u la r p ith ou ses and

hearths have been excavated . The f i r s t hearth to be excav­

ated was by Hr. W. P. Harden on November 14, 1930. This one

is fig u red on P la te II and in the s e r ie s o f photographs in

p la te s VII, V III, and IX. This type has been c a lle d the

”doughnut” because of i t s s im ila r ity in shape to a large

doughnut. There was a sk e le to n found ly in g on top o f the

rocks and ashes w ith which the hearth was h a lf f i l l e d . The

w a lls were c la y lin ed and w e ll baked.

The second hearth was excavated November

28, 1930, by Mr. W. P. Harden, Mr. Carl T rischka, and m y se lf.

I t was found on a sm all wash which had already swept away

part of the c ir c u la r rock w a ll o f the p ith ou se and had ex­

posed the sm all c ir c u la r rim or l ip o f red c la y which was

the top of the hearth . This one (P la te I I I ) proved to be o f

a much d if fe r e n t type than the f i r s t one and no sk e le to n was

found in i t . About two f e e t below the su rface o f the rim ,

burnt rocks and ashes were encountered, and below th ese were

found two tren ch es, a lso f u l l o f rooks and a s h e s , making the

P / a t e H f

H e cl r~t k

v # e w

Pre^s&n't ^ur/ ice

Floe r Ie ve.1

CI ay lined.

~To p o-f o Idcree& 4>ec( 0 : . C > C > 9

0 ^ - ^ p x ) Q (S i d e vi&w

f o o

5 c « / e

Circular Piihoufe Showing Hearth

PU

t

- 2 6 -

shape o f a c r o ss . In the extreme "bottom and cen ter of the p i t

was a c ir c u la r hole tw elve inches in diam eter and e ig h t inch­

es "below the "bottom o f the trenches* This hole was f u l l o f

ashes "but no rocks.

The c la y w a ll l in in g the hearth was from

two to three inches in th ick n ess and was w e ll "baked, show­

ing th a t the f i r e had produced great h ea t. Part of the l ip

or rim o f t h is immense hearth which had not "been carried

away "by erosion showed th a t i t f la re d s l i g h t ly outward sim­

i la r to the rim o f an o l l a . This c h a r a c te r is t ic i s more

c le a r ly "brought out in P la te IV.

As o th er c ir c u la r p ith o u ses and hearths

were excavated , i t was found th at the usual type o f hearth

which had "been "built was s im ila r to the one in P la te IV.

Here there are s ix h o les around the large hole in the cen­

te r o f the "bottom. Other hearths had seven or e ig h t o f

th ese h o les "besides the one in the ce n ter . Two o f the

"doughnut" type (P la te s I I and IX) were found, one of the

"cross" type and the remainder have round h o le s in the

bottom s. (P la te IX)

In two of the hearths sk e le to n s were

found. (P la te s VII and XI) These inhumations were pro­

bably e ith e r made la t e r by an in tru s iv e people or a t the

time the s i t e was abandoned by the o r ig in a l in h a b ita n ts ,

but probably the former because the Red-on-Buff people

cremated th e ir dead. The s k e le ta l m a ter ia l was too f r a g i le

fo r measurement.

PLATE V I

P n o to "by Cummings

P h o to "by T r i s c h k a

- 2 7 -

Many su ggestion s have been made as to the

uses o f these h ea rth s. They may have been ro a stin g p i t s fo r

large game such as deer and an te lo p e , or th ey may have been

used fo r ordinary cooking and baking purposes. The p o s s ib i l ­

i ty th a t they might have been used fo r crem ation purposes seems

hardly fe a s ib le because no tra ces o f human bones are found in

connection w ith the p it s and b esid es they are too numerous

fo r camps of such s iz e . No other hearths have ever been found

at any other R ed-on-Buff s i t e s and crem ation was p ra cticed by

a l l of these R ed-on-Buff p eo p les . Another su ggestion is that

they might have been cerem onial h ou ses, but n e ith e r does th is

seem lo g ic a l because of the number o f them, there being about

fo r ty in a l l , and such a f i r e p i t in the c e n ter o f a p ithouse

would probably have had a u t i l i t a r ia n purpose rather than

cerem onial. That they might have been sweat houses i s s t i l l

another p o s s ib i l i t y . They wouM have made com fortable l i v ­

ing quarters in the w in ter time w ith a good f i r e in the

hearth . The fa c t remains th a t no implements o f any k ind ,

except in one case where manos and m etates and p o ttery were

found, have been noted in connection w ith th ese c ir c u la r p i t -

houses. In the one where th ese a r t i f a c t s were found there

appeared to have been a la t e r occupation and th ese a r t i f a c t s

were dumped in the hearth along w ith numerous sherds o f p o t­

te r y . The uses o f these c ir c u la r p ith o u ses and h ea r th s ,

which are herein mentioned, are only c o n je c tu r a l.

Large hearths or f i r e p i t s were excavated

at the Grewe S ite by the Van Bergen - Los A ngeles Museum

exp ed ition in 1931.- "These p it s were coated w ith a carbonized

PLATE V I I

P h o t o s "by T r i s c h k a

- 2 8 -

la y er of c lay or mud about four inches th ic k . The ea r th

around the p i t s was red d ish in co lo r as though i t had been

su bjected to a great h ea t.

"When found the p i t s were f i l l e d w ith

sm all b o u ld ers, broken manos, and fragments o f rocks, a l l

of which were f i r e burned. In the bottoms o f th ese large

p i t s were sm aller d ep ress io n s .................... The usage o f th ese1

p i t s i s unknown.M

These p i t s varied in s iz e from seven

and a h a lf to e ig h t f e e t in diam eter, and from twenty inches

to three f e e t in depth. They were not o l la shaped and were

found o u tsid e o f the houses.

In the same area where the c ir c u la r p i t -

houses are found there a lso appear numerous ro ck -lin e f ir e

p i t s . These f i r e p i t s are w e ll made and range from twenty

to t h ir t y - s ix inches in diam eter and are about a fo o t deep.

Ho s ig n s o f any h a b ita tio n s are found in conjunction w ith

any o f these f i r e p i t s . One shallow c la y - lin e d f i r e p i t

was found where a wash had cu t down and exposed i t as w e ll

as part o f a f lo o r . Ho tra ces o f w a lls could be found in

connection w ith the f lo o r .

An in te r e s t in g p o in t in connection w ith

Camp No. 1 was the f in d in g of p arts o f an old t r a i l which

lead s from the main part o f the camp to the spring in Mex­

ican Canyon. Where i t had been n ecessary to go through

rocky patches o f ground, the rocks were thrown to one s id e

1. Arthur Woodward, 15

PLA TE V I I I

P h o t o s "by T r i s c h k a

- 2 9 -

and a very good t r a i l i s s t i l l v i s ib le .

Other House Types o f the Southern Sub-area

At Mud Springs water was probably abund­

ant the e n tire year a t the time o f the occupation o f the

two v i l la g e s nearby. I t has on ly been r e c e n t ly , according

to old tim ers o f the reg io n , th a t the sp rin g has f a i le d to

run the year.around. From the surface in d ic a tio n s i t would

be hard to say what type o f houses were b u i l t h ere. There

are approxim ately f i f t e e n to twenty rooms a t one s i t e w hile

the other s i t e is fa r la r g e r . I f a pueblo e x is te d here a t

one tim e, erosion has alm ost com pletely washed away the

w a lls .

At no other p lace in the Southern Sub-

area were s ig n s o f house types ex ta n t. N eith er were any

tra ce s o f debris heaps found at any of the s i t e s .

CERAMICS:

The p o ttery o f the Southern Sub-area con­

s i s t s o f p la in ware, R ed-on-Buff, and G ila Polychrome. These

three wares are n a tiv e to the reg ion south o f the G ila R iver.

On the w estern sid e o f Whitewater Draw the s i t e s are pure

Red-on-Buff w ith a few sherds o f Mimbres, which i s in tr u s iv e .

At Mud S p rin gs, where the s i t e s may have been occupied at a

la t e r date than the w estern s i t e s or may have been occupied

a number of tim es, th ere are se v era l wares found. The G ila

Polychrome i s most abundant w ith a sm all percentage o f Red­

on-B uff, Casas Grandes Polychrome, and Casas Grandes in c ised

PLATE IX

ft?

: «

4-lt

s1 \

' \ ' ' ' A /J v: <-I :j&.v , (

; ? r 3 ^ |lS" A \ ' ■ ■ ■

P h o t o s "by T r i s c h k a

- 3 0 -

ware.

The p la in and Red-on-Buff wares o f t h is

sub-area, as fa r as the tex tu re o f the p a ste i s concerned,

appear to he ind igenous. I t seems q u ite l ik e ly that th ese

people used the c la y s a t hand from which to manufacture

th e ir p ottery .and t h is f a c t accounts fo r the v a r ia tio n in

these wares compared to those found in the Santa Cruz and

G ila v a l le y s . The paste o f the p la in ware v a r ie s in co lo r

from a b righ t p in k ish b u ff through varying shades to a dark

brown, depending upon the c la y , tem pering, and f ir in g . I t

is rath er porous and seems, on the average, to be u nd erfired .

The Red-on-Buff ware i s u su a lly slip p ed and w e ll p o lish ed on

the su rface which is d ecorated , but o c c a s io n a lly a p iece i s

found that has been decorated over a rough su rfa ce . The

co lo r decoration here i s more b r i l l i a n t than the Red-on-Buff

of other re g io n s . (P la te XIVT) The b u ff and the red are

b righ t and fr e sh and the red has a t in g e o f orange. The

p aste o f the decorated ware is smoother and more compact than

that of the p la in ware and is composed o f f in e ly ground clay

and f in e sand, showing th at the p o tter s were w e ll advanced

in the a r t o f p o ttery making. The c lay was w e ll worked and

only a sm all amount o f tempering m ateria l was added.

The Red-on-Buff ceramic development seems

to be w e ll advanced as fa r as the m u lt ip l ic i t y o f v e s s e l

forms i s concerned. The most common shapes, (P la te XIV)

judging mainly from sherds, are those o f the f la r in g rimmed

bowl and the s tr a ig h t rimmed bowl. O lla s w ith and w ithout

PLATE X

P h o t o s "by T r i s c h k a

- 3 1 -

a shoulder and some w ith an alm ost f l a t "bottom are found.

The scoop and a heavy w alled v e s s e l , which has "been c a lle d

an incense "burner, have a lso "been found. A ll o f th ese

Red-on-Buff shapes are s im ila r to those found a t the Grewe

S ite in the G ila V alley near C oolidge "by the Van Bergen-2

Los Angeles Museum E xpedition in 193!•

The method o f manufacture o f a great

d ea l o f the ware of t h is sub-area was o f the paddle and

a n v il techn ique. The roughened in te r io r o f large numbers

of sherds o f o l la s and bowls’ show the im prints o f the to o ls

used in shaping the v e s s e ls . Many o f the f in e r p iec e s were

undoubtedly made by the c o ile d method. Some of the Red-on-

B uff sherds are very smooth and seem to have been made in

the la t t e r manner. G ila Polychrome and Casas Grandes sherds

from Mud Springs were a ls o made by the c o ile d method.

STORE ARTIFACTS:

Stone work reached a h igh degree o f de­

velopment along u t i l i t a r ia n and a e s th e t ic l in e s in th is sub-

area . The stone used varied from sandstone, m alapai, and

lim estone to f in e grained hard sto n es.

The grooved m etate w ith a f l a t and alm ost

rectangu lar mano i s very common. Some m etates are very large

and heavy, and are of sandstone s im ila r to the large rocks

found in the v ic in i ty o f the camps, showing th at they were

2 . Arthur Woodward, 16

z

PLATE ?!

Photo "by T r isch k a

- 3 2 -

not carried very fa r "before "being put to u se . Some were

found w ith the "bottoms "broken out from long usage. At

Hud Springs a good mortar and sev era l grind ing ston es were

found.

The ax i s the three quarter groove

v a r ie ty made from a hard green sto n e , probably d io r it e .

The hammer ston es are made o f very hard ir reg u la r rocks

and are found in great numbers.

A number o f stone zoomorphic o b jec ts

have been found. One o f the b est i s the fro g shown in

P la te X II. I t i s made o f ca lcareous shale and i s d e l­

ic a te ly carved. Another o b ject was a' p iece o f tu fa carved

in to the shape o f a G ila m onster. A number o f p h a ll ic

rep resen ta tio n s have been found, the la r g e s t being four­

teen inches long and pecked out o f a c y l in d r ic a l p iece o f

sto n e . Q,uite a number o f round rocks w ith h o les in the

cen ter resem bling doughnuts have been picked up. These

are thought to have been used fo r cerem onial purposes much

as the Pimas today use them as prayer stones in prayers to

the water s p ir i t s o f the earth .

Arrow heads and d r i l l p o in ts are numer­

ous. Some are d e l ic a t e ly chipped o f chalcedony and ob sid ian

(P la te XII) and others not so w e ll done are o f f l i n t , rhy­

o l i t e , and ch er t. East o f Camp Mo. 2 , about one-quarter o f

a m ile toward Whitewater Draw, is an area se v e r a l acres in

ex ten t which was covered w ith arrow heads, spear heads, and

numerous chipped stone implements resem bling crude kn ives

and scrap ers. Not one o f th ese implements i s large enough

PLATE X I I

PLATE X I I I

Hop! vase found in Rucker Canyon

Red-on-Buff pottery

- 3 3 “

to "be ca lled a coup de p o in g . No tra ces o f p o ttery were

found at th is p la ce . In l e s s than three hours alm ost f iv e

hundred o f these stone implements were picked up by Mr.

W. P. Harden and m yself. Why they were so numerous a t th is

one p lace i s not known.

At Camp No. 1 and No. 2 a number o f stone

combs w ith handles have been found. These combs (P la te XV)

are s im ila r to modern combs w ith handles and average about

s ix or seven inches in len g th . Some are made o f a gray soap­

stone w h ile the r e s t are o f a red sandy s la t e . They are w e ll

made but th e ir user is unknown. The te e th are too short for

them to have been used to comb human h a ir . They may have been

used fo r the carding o f yucca f ib r e .

At Camp No. 2 part o f a th ree-leg g ed stone

bowl was found which had been worked out o f a p iece o f malapai

rock. A number of d igg ing s to n e s , scra p ers , and stone punches

were a lso found here. (P la te XVa) Numerous stone d ish es

and mud d ish es were found at th is camp. These stone d ish es

were probably used as m ortars. The mud d ish es were carved

or pecked from b a l ls of vo lcan ic mud. (P la te XVb) At the

extreme top of P la te XVb is shown a doughnut sto n e . Axes

found here were of a dark green s to n e , probably d io r i t e ,

and very w e ll made, but few have been found.

A few stone pendants and beads have been

found which show e x c e lle n t workmanship. The quartz pendant

in P la te XII when moved in the l ig h t r e f l e c t s p rism atic

co lo r s of the rainbow. The h o le fo r attachment i s s k i l l f u l l y

P l a t e X IV

V esse l Shapes

e

a. F larin g rimmed bowl

c. Globular o l la

e. Scoop

f

b. Bowl

d. O lla w ith shoulder

f . Ir cense burner

- 3 4 -

"bored and the groove around the middle i s very w e ll done.

It i s one of the t e s t p ie c e s o f jew elry from th is reg io n .

How i t was fashioned from such stone as quartz is d i f f i c u l t

to say . Two stone cro sse s which must have a lso "been used

fo r pendants show great s k i l l in stone c u tt in g and workman­

sh ip . One was made of b lack stone w hile the o ther was o f

moss a ga te . As no h o les were bored in th ese cro sse s they

were probably bound w ith some form of cord and hung about

the neck, fo r no b i t s of jew elry o f such beauty would be

carr ied in a sack unseen by these vain p eop le . The one

made of moss agate was w e ll cut and p o lish ed s im ila r to

work done on turquoise by modem pueblo In d ians. A number

of turquoise and stone beads were a lso found.

A cache o f e ig h ty -fo u r smooth water-worn

round black b a sa lt sto n es about an inch in diam eter were

found. I f only one or two o f th ese ston es had been picked

up, i t would be probable th a t they had been used fo r

p o lish in g p o ttery , but when e ig h ty -fo u r are found in one

p la c e , one wonders i f they might not have been used in a

game of some s o r t .

BONE Aim SHELL ARTIFACTS:

Hot a great d ea l o f bone and s h e l l work

has been found in the southern sub-area. A few badly burnt

bone awls were recovered from the f lo o r s o f p ith o u ses . Frag­

ments of s h e l l b r a c e le ts are o c c a s io n a lly found which are

s im ila r to the b r a c e le ts found in other p arts o f the Kiddle

PLATE XV

Photos by Trischka

“3 5 “

G ila area . Some s h e l l heads were made which show good work­

manship. Two p ie c e s o f carved s h e l l rep resen tin g b ird heads

were found on the su r fa ce . On the whole the hone and s h e l l

o b jects are rather meager in numbers, but show a good degree

of s k i l l in manufacture.

MIDDLE SUB-AREA

SITES:

The s i t e s in the Middle Sub-area are much

more ex ten siv e than those o f the previous sub-area. Most o f

the s i t e s f a l l in to the group of surface pueblos and th ere­

fore would be o f Late Pueblo o r ig in . However, there are a

number of s i t e s which belong to the E arly Pueblo Period and

i f excavation work was done many o f the Late Pueblo s i t e s

would probably be found superimposed over E arly Pueblo r e ­

m ains. Instead of covering th is sub-area g en era lly as was

done in the Southern Sub-area , each s i t e w i l l be b r ie f ly

described here.

McBride Ranch

S ta r tin g in the extreme southern end o f

th is sub-area there has been found a large pueblo co n ta in in g

s ix mounds. This s i t e i s lo ca ted in S ection 5> Township 20

South, and Range 26 E a s t , and i s on the McBride ranch a t

Webb. I t i s shown as No. 12 on the map in the back of t h is

work. The pueblo i s now alm ost overgrown w ith large mes-

q u ite tr e e s and sm all shrubs and a great d ea l o f f in e sand

has accumulated on the su rface so that very l i t t l e i s to be

PLA TE XVI

Red-on-Buff sherds showing co lo r

- 3 6 -

seen except the mounds. These average about three f e e t h igh

and cover areas o f about one hundred f e e t by one hundred f i f t y

f e e t . A few h o les have been dug in d if fe r e n t p la ces on the

mounds and large chunks o f burned roof m a ter ia l have been un­

covered which show very c le a r ly the im prints o f reeds and

sm all branches.

I was shown a complete gray corrugated

bowl which had been dug up in one o f the mounds. Judging

from i t s shape and f in e ly corrugated surface i t may have come

from the San Juan area . In ad d ition to the bow l,sherds o f

the fo llo w in g kinds were shown to me: Gray corrugated, ob­

l i t e r a te d c o i l , L i t t le Colorado, B lack-on-R ed, R ed-on-Buff,

Mimbres, R oosevelt B lack-on-W hite, G ila Polychrome, Casas

Grandes Polychrome, In c ised ware, and Old Hopi. The sherd

c o l le c t io n I obtained from th is s i t e did n ot con ta in such a

v a r ie ty .

In the fro n t yard o f the McBride Ranch

are one hundred and tw e n ty -fiv e m etates and tw e n ty -s ix mor­

ta rs which were picked up on th is s i t e . Many more must be

buried in the ru in . Stone axes of the u su a l three quarter

groove v a r ie ty are found here, but no other a r t i f a c t s were

seen . An extrem ely large population must have inhab ited

th is v i l la g e when i t was at i t s h e ig h t. I t i s loca ted on

le v e l ground which is very f e r t i l e and w i l l produce e x c e lle n t

crops. Just ex a c tly where water was obtained by the pre-

h is to r ie s i s not known, but ground water i s shallow and must

have come to the surface in the form of sp rin gs when the

pueblo was in hab ited . Whitewater Draw has cu t i t s way

- 37-

through th is se c t io n during h is to r ic tim es and probably has

drained the springs which once flowed someplace nearby. I

was to ld that tra ce s of ir r ig a t io n d itc h e s were once in

evidence here but they cannot now be seen .

Rucker Canyon

At the mouth o f Rucker Canyon and fo r

se v era l m iles up the canyon, abundant evidence o f p r e h is to r ic

occupation i s seen . In the low land next to the creek are

found sherds and arrow heads. And up on the benches above

the creek bed are found the remains of the foundations and

w a lls o f s tr u c tu r e s .

There are four s i t e s , N os. 13, 14, 15,

and 16 in Rucker Canyon. Each i s marked by rows of ston es

se t on end in c la y w a lls , some in s tra ig h t l in e s and others

in c i r c l e s . The most ex ten s iv e extant s i t e i s No. 13. This

v i l la g e i s s itu a te d on the p o in t o f a low bench below the

Meadow's ranch house and is p la in ly marked by a number of

re c ta n g le s and c ir c le s o f sto n e . This la te r c h a r a c te r is t ic

was noted by R. T. Burr, M. D . , U. S. A ., and a b r ie f report

was published in the Smithsonian Report fo r 1879• These

c ir c le s are from two and o n e-h a lf f e e t to th ree f e e t in

diam eter and the s tones are imbedded in c la y and are from

s ix inches to a fo o t ap art. The c i r c le s o f stone mark what

remains o f storage chambers which were f lo o re d w ith f l a t

s to n e s . Burr s ta te s th at when he saw th ese c ir c u la r s tr u c ­

tu res the c la y w a lls were from two to tw elve inches h igher

than the surrounding ground and were much b e tte r preserved

3 . Smithsonian R eport, 1879. 333•

“3 8 -

than the w a lls o f rectangu lar s tr u c tu r e s . Today there is no

evidence of any w a lls above the ground su rfa ce . There are

the remains of tw elve c ir c u la r stru ctu res and f i f t e e n or

more rectangu lar stru ctu res at th is s i t e . The only a r t i ­

fa c t s were a number of grooved m etates and sherds.

Hear H ick’ s Ranch (Ho. 14) are two groups

of room separated by a ra v in e . The su rface in d ica tio n s are

s im ila r to those found a t Ho. 13. Mr. John Hands sta rted

to excavate one o f the rooms and d isc lo se d a w e ll p la stered

w a ll and a f lo o r le v e l about th ir ty in d ie s below the present

su rfa ce . Later Mr. W. P . Hardon did more work in the same

p lace and found a sm all Hopi v a se . Sherds are very scarce

because at one time a cava lry troop encamped here and the

h o rse s’ hoofs p u lverized them. Part o f the ruin has been

c u lt iv a te d and a great many Red-on-Buff sh erd s, as w e ll as

a number of m etates and manos, have been brought to l ig h t .

Mr. George W inkler's ranch house has

been b u il t on a mound which at one time was a f lo u r ish in g

v i l la g e (Ho. 15)• He k in d ly uncovered one of the w a lls fo r

me so that I could see the w e ll p la stered su rface of the

in te r io r . W h ile le v e lin g h is yard he excavated se v era l

rooms and about s ix ty -se v e n f e e t of w a ll, forming one s id e

of a s e r ie s o f rooms of a pueblo s tru c tu r e . In the rooms

he found the charred remains o f p o sts th at had supported the

ro o fs o f the s tr u c tu r e s . He uncovered a number of a r t i ­

fa c t s includ ing burnt p iec e s o f roof p la s te r w ith the im­

p r in t o f p o les and brush in them, two stone d ish e s , one

- 39-

th ree-q u arter groove ax, one f u l l groove ax, three arrow

sh a ft s tr a ig h te n e r s , and one scrap er. Sherds were very

sca rce , hut I did see some L i t t le Colorado Black-on-Red

and a p iece of red ware w ith cord in c is io n s about the ou t­

sid e of the rim.

About o n e-h a lf m ile e a s t o f W inkler’ s

ranch in Rucker Canyon on the l e f t s id e of the road as one

goes up the canyon is one more v i l la g e , (Mo. l 6 ) . Rows of

ston es mark the w a lls o f the rooms. The arrangement o f

the v i l la g e is a p a tio surrounded by four groups of s tr u c ­

tu r e s . The e n tire area is now alm ost com pletely covered

by a l lu v ia l d e p o s it . One w a ll was. p a r t ia l ly excavated

and proved to be that o f a surface pueblo s im ila r to the

w a lls found at the r e s t of the s i t e s in Rucker Canyon.

P inery Canyon

On Frank Hands’ ranch in P inery Canyon

is a Late Pueblo ruin (Mo. 17) • This s i t e i s noted in the4*

report by Sauer and Brand . on the pueblos of sou theastern

Arizona. A very good sherd c o l le c t io n is on f i l e in the

Arizona S tate Museum from th is lo c a t io n . A ll evidence o f

w a lls was destroyed when an orchard was p lanted by Mr.

Frank Hands. He sa id th a t when he f i r s t occupied the land

there were tra ces of ir r ig a t io n d itch es near the pueblo,

but no such evidence now e x i s t s .

4 . Sauer and Brand

—4-0—

Near the R ig g s’ ranch on Pinery Creek

there is a rectangu lar p ithouse v i l la g e (No. 1 8 ). Two rooms

were excavated in 1931 "by a group o f stud en ts under the d ir ­

e c tio n o f Byron Cummings. The f lo o r s are two and o n e-h a lf

f e e t helow the su rface and are of c la y . The w a lls are o f

the n a tu ra l d ir t covered w ith c la y p la s te r . The p o ttery

found co n s is te d mainly o f p la in ware, some Red-on-Buff and

a very few ea r ly Blaclc-on-W hite sherds.

Other S ite s in the C hiricahuas

S ite s are found in a l l o f the canyons

on the eastern s id e o f the Chiricahua Mountains. And each

s i t e seems to he s im ila r to those already mentioned.

In Turkey Creek se v e r a l mounds have

heen reported which are marked hy rows of s to n e s . In L e s lie

Canyon on the Hunsaker ranch remains o f w a lls o f rooms are

found which appear to he arranged around a p a t io . Another

s i t e known as L e s lie Ruin i s found about s ix m iles from

Hunsaker’ s ranch on the road to Rucker Canyon. Erosion has

been g r e a t , hut the o u t lin e s o f about twenty rooms can be

traced . Many m etates and xnanos are found, but sherds are

sca rce .

Grantham Ranch - No. 19

At Grantham's ranch a number of r e c ­

tangular p ith ou ses have been found. One of th ese measuring

eigh teen f e e t by th ir te e n f e e t was excavated by Hr. John

5. Sauer & Brand, 440.

—4 1 -

Hands. The w a lls were w e l l p la stered and have a core o f

f la t s to n e s . This f lo o r was alm ost three f e e t helow the

present su rfa ce . Q u an tities o f burnt roof c la y was found

during excavation . Only p la in and corrugated sherds were

found.

Cooper Ranch - No. 20

About a m ile west o f Grantham’ s ranch

i s an ex ten siv e ru in w ith ten or more mounds in ev idence.

In one se c tio n o f the ruin four large mounds en close a

patio;, covering an area approxim ately one hundred f e e t by

one hundred f e e t . Met ate s and manos are numerous. The

sherds are G ila Polychrome, Casas Grandes Polychrome, Cor­

rugated O b literated C o il, R ed-on-B uff, B lack-on-Red, and

p la in ware. H alf of a round b u ff co lored d isc w ith b lack

con cen tric r in g s around a hole in the cen ter was shown to

me by Mr. Grantham. B esides the p o ttery , many arrowheads,

turquoise pendants, and broken s h e l l ornaments have been

found.

Sulphur Springs and V ic in ity

At Sulphur Springs Butte (No. 21) there

are tw enty-three mortar h o le s in the rocks on the summit.

At the base of the butte toward the north i s one spring and

toward the southwest o f the h i l l are found two more. These

sp rin gs have never been known to become dry and they pro­

bably have always been the m eeting p lace fo r p r e h is to r ic

- 4 2 -

p eo p les . A few sherds were picked up, hut not enough to he

o f any importance. On the northeast s id e o f the h i l l are

tra ce s o f f i r e p i t s and a number of m etates and manos were

found h a lf buried . Probably a t one time sherds were p le n t i ­

f u l , but many people have v is i t e d th is p lace and must have

picked up most o f the sh erds.

On the northwest sid e o f Three S is te r s

B u tte , which is a l i t t l e over a m ile ea st of Sulphur Springs

B u tte , there are remains o f a camp. Many m etates and manos

and a few movable mortars have been found around the base o f

the b u tte . Very few sherds were seen and those were p la in .

A number of b u r ia ls , marked by large sto n es , have been found,

and there are probably many more. In large boulders around

the base of t h is b u tte numerous mortar h o les are found.

Sometimes as many as ten or more appear in the same boulder.

In the gap between the two northern

b u ttes o f Three S is te r s Butte and up the ea stern sid e o f

the northw estern butte are a number o f rock f o r t i f i c a t io n

w a lls . There are three rows o f w a lls up one sid e and the

top o f the b u tte is covered w ith sm all f o r t i f i c a t io n s .

Midway between Sulphur Springs Butte and

Three S is te r s Butte on h igh ground i s another camp s i t e

(Ho. 23) from which I gathered a f a ir ly good sample o f

sh erds. Theie seems to be a number o f sm all mounds, but

the ground has been com pletely covered by a lk a l i d ep o sits

so th a t th is i s u n certa in .

-4-3-

On the w est sid e of Sulphur Spring

V alley on the road from C ochise to Johnson in the L i t t l e

Dragoon Mountains (No. 24) i s found a R ed-on-Buff s i t e .

I t has been plowed a number of tim es so that no tra ces o f

w alls are v i s ib le . Sauer and Brand noted th is ruin in6

th e ir rep o rt.

Along the an cien t beach on the western

sid e of the dry lake near Croton Springs, m etates and manos

have been found, but no fu r th er ev idences o f h a b ita tio n

were seen .7 -

Me Inzer in h is work on the geology of

the v a lle y noted a camp in S ection s 14 and 23, Township

14 South, Range 25 E a s t , one and on e-h a lf to two m iles from

the n ortheastern margin o f the barren f l a t on a chain of

sand h i l l s about f i f t y f e e t high (No. 2 5 ) • On top o f these

h i l l s were found "a great number o f stone r e l i c s , c o n s is t ­

ing o f large m etates, sm all stones w ith p o lish ed su rfaces

ev id e n tly used for grind ing on the m etates, one broken but

c a r e fu lly rounded c y l in d r ic a l implement su g g estin g a p e s t l e ,

a wedge-shaped stone about f i f t e e n inches long p lanted deep

in the ground a t a sm all angle w ith the v e r t i c a l , and num­

erous angular f l i n t chips such as might have been produced

in making arrowheads or spearheads. The implements and

fragments are grouped to some ex ten t on bare patches of

6 . Sauer & Brand, 435.7. MeInzer, 17.

- 4 4 -

ground , commonly surrounding a large m etate . The implements

have become p a r tly covered w ith a w hite ca lcareous co a tin g .

A ll the stones must have been brought from some d istan ce

fo r on the sand h i l l s sto n es do not n a tu r a lly occur at the

su rface ."

There are probably a few more s i t e s in

th is sub-area, but th ese mentioned are the la r g e s t and the

most e a s i ly traced on the su rface . I t w i l l now be n ecessary

to turn to the Northern Sub-area fo r a d escr ip tio n of the

ruins found th ere .

NORTHERN SUB-AREA

This sub-area i s separated from the

G ila drainage area to the north by a very g e n tle d iv id e . In

f a c t , the d iv id e can hardly be n o ticed when i t i s cro ssed .

The A rivaipa flow s in to the, San Pedro which in turn flow s

in to the G ila . The people who e s ta b lish e d pueblos on the

G ila gradually spread and many co lo n ized the northern sub-

area of the Sulphur Spring V a lley . The cu ltu re o f th is sub-

area i s id e n t ic a l w ith th a t o f the G ila area.

At the S ierra B onita ranch house (N o.27)

is a large mound o f the Late Pueblo p eriod . The area around

the ranch is f l a t and w e ll su ited for a g r ic u ltu r e . At

Hooker’ s Cienega there i s p len ty o f w ater, making th is

lo c a tio n id ea l fo r th ese p eop le. The sherds found here are

p la in , G ila Polychrome, B lack-on-R ed, and a few are Casas

“4-5“

Grandes. Part of the mound was used to make adobes fo r a

co r ra l w a ll in the ea r ly days and many sherds can now be

seen in th is w a ll.

About f iv e m iles northw est of the S ierra

B onita ranch i s a sm aller ruin (Ho. 2 8 ) . I t i s marked by

rows o f stones showing the rectangu lar w a lls o f houses. The

f lo o r s are from tw elve to e igh teen inches below the su r fa c e .

The sherds were p la in and Early G ila Polychrome.

S cattered along the w estern sid e of the

P inaleno Mountains w ith in an area about ten m iles long and

from one to four m iles wide are a number o f mounds and e v i ­

dences everywhere of p r e h is to r ic occupation . The cen ter of

the area i s a t Fort Grant, but i t extends to B on ita . This

area i s very f e r t i l e and pediment flo o d in g from the moun­

ta in s is important during the rainy season . The ru in s must

have been two s to r ie s h igh . The w a lls are w e ll p la stered on

the in s id e . A great number of sherds are found; the most

p le n t i f u l being p la in and G ila Polychrome. R ed-on-Buff,

B lack-on-W hite, Black-on-Red, and Casas Grandes Polychrome

are a lso found. I f excavated , th ese ru in s would probably be

found to r e s t on e a r l ie r s tr u c tu r e s , because the area pre­

sen ts a long period o f occupation . There are rep orts th a t

ir r ig a t io n d itch es were in evidence when the ground was c u l­

t iv a te d by w hite men, but none are now seen .

Fourteen m iles northwest of W illcox , I

was shown what remains o f a ruin (Ho. 26)". The s i t e had

- 4 6

been c u lt iv a te d fo r a number of years so th a t nothing now

remains except an in d is t in c t mound. P la in and B lack-on-

White sherds were c o l le c te d , but no other ev idences of

h a b ita tio n s were noted . I was to ld th at numbers of m etates

and manos and a few axes have been carried away by v i s i t o r s .

Ruins are reported in the G aliuro Mountains,

e s p e c ia lly in R iley Creek, but I was unable to lo ca te any

of th e s e . I was shown very good Middle G ila Black-on-Red

sherds from a ruin in R iley Creek. Beyond mention of these

ru in s , there apparently are no other large enough to be

worthy of note in th is su b-area .

- 4 7 -

SUMMARY

In the preceding review of the arch­

aeology of the three sub-areas o f the Sulphur Spring V alley

only the bare f a c t s were presented w ith very l i t t l e attempt

at in te r p r e ta t io n . I t was d i f f i c u l t in some cases to g iv e

even the fa c t s because o f the incom plete nature o f the data

a v a ila b le . In the fo llo w in g d iscu ss io n the fa c t s presented

w i l l be in terp reted and c o r r e la te d , as fa r as p o s s ib le ,

w ith in the area under co n sid era tio n and w ith the neighbor­

ing areas.

The Sulphur Spring V alley is surrounded

by se v e r a l d if fe r e n t cu ltu re areas or d iv is io n s th e reo f . On

the w est in the San Pedro and Santa Cruz v a lle y s i s found

the s o -c a lle d R ed-on-Buff c u ltu r e . This cu ltu re probably

had i t s o r ig in in the G ila area a t Casa Grande or other

ru ins which show very e a r ly cu ltu re remains. The Grewe s i t e

p resen ts the e a r l ie s t known house types and a r t i f a c t s o f

th is cu ltu r e , but fu r th er work i s rap id ly bringing to l ig h t

other ea r ly lo c a tio n s at various p la c e s . The fa c t th a t

some of the s i t e s in the Sulphur Spring V alley show ea r ly

- 48-

p o ttery developments and house types lead s us to "believe that

i t was inhabited a t the same time the Grewe s i t e was f lo u r is h ­

ing or immediately a fterw ards.

The e a r l ie s t ware i s a p la in undecorated

p o ttery o f coarse p a s te , which is found in a very few p la ces

a sso c ia ted w ith crude stone knives and p o in ts . A few sherds

of Red-on-Buff are a lso u su a lly found w ith t h i s p la in ware.

The R ed-on-Buff sherds are of the e a r ly unslipped v a r ie ty .

The e a r l ie s t decorated ware was, no doubt, th is R ed-on-Buff,

which penetrated from the west through the p a sses between the

mountain ranges. That i t was the e a r l ie s t ware is proved by

the fa c t th a t i t i s found on alm ost a l l camps, but on pure

Red-on-Buff s i t e s there are no other kinds o f sherds found,

u n less i t be an o cca s io n a l Mimbres sherd, su g g estin g con­

tem poraneity between the two.

The R ed-on-Buff v i l la g e s in the Southern

Sub-area belong to the E arly P ithou se p eriod . The c ir c u la r

house types and f i r e p i t s or hearths are d is t in c t iv e in that

none l ik e them have been found in any other area. A number

of s i t e s in the Middle sub-area a lso belong to the Early

P ithou se period , but are o f la t e r type than those of the

Southern sub-area. These are the rectangu lar p ith ou ses found

by Byron Cummings a t the R ig g s’ ranch (No. 18) and the one a t

the Grantham ranch (No. 19) uncovered by Mr. Hands. Other

ev idences o f ea r ly occupation would undoubtedly be revealed

beneath Late Pueblo remains i f excavation was ca rr ied on at

- 4 9 -

any o f the larger ru in s .

To the north o f the v a lle y on the G ila

R iver is a cu ltu re very s im ila r to that o f the Santa Cruz

V a lley . The region i s ch aracter ized by the G ila P o ly ­

chrome p ottery which i s decorated by p la c in g a w hite or

cream co lo r over the foundation s l ip of red; on th is w hite

background i s painted the decoration in b lack . Other wares

n a tiv e to the Middle G ila area are the B lack-on-W hite,

Black-on-Red, and corrugated wares. During the Late Pueblo

period there seems to have been con sid erab le m igration of

th ese Middle G ila people from the G ila V a lley up the San

Pedro and A rivaipa v a lle y s and in to the northern end o f the

Sulphur Spring V a lley . The h e igh t of the Late Pueblo Period

had been reached and people were seek ing new lands because

of crowded co n d itio n s in the cen ters o f c i v i l i z a t i o n . Along

the fo o t o f the P inaleno Mountains is a s tr ip o f very f e r t i l e

ground about ten m iles long by three or four w ide. Here

th ese people e s ta b lish e d one o f the most d en sely populated

areas in the e n t ir e v a lle y . Another se ttlem en t was made at

Hooker's Cienega or the S ierra B onita Ranch about seven m iles

southw est. In the Middle sub-area at No. 12 and in the

Southern sub-area a t Nos. 1C and 11" are found Middle G ila

rem ains. A ll o f th ese s i t e s are very w e ll adapted fo r

a g r ic u ltu r a l purposes and have or have had abundant water

su p p lie s in the p a s t.

On the eastern sid e o f the v a lle y in ’

the canyons o f the C hiricahua Mountains another th ic k ly

30539

—de­

populated area is found. Here ru ins occur in large numbers

in a l l o f the canyons. The sherds show a m ixture o f c u ltu r e s .

L it t le Colorado wares and Casas Grandes wares are p le n t i f u l

along w ith G ila Polychrome and some R ed-on-Buff. The Red-

on-Buff sherds, when found in abundance, are not mixed w ith

those o f other c u ltu r e s , hut are on separate lo c a t io n s . The

L it t le Colorado, Casas Grandes, and Middle G ila wares are

found interm ixed on the various s i t e s and p e r s is te n t a sso c­

ia t io n of these three wares in d ica te s th e ir p a r t ia l con­

tem poraneity. These la s t two mentioned wares may have been

traded in by the peop le who made the G ila Polychrome ware.

This, o f course, would only hold true fo r some s i t e s because

Casas Grandes in flu en ce i s shown in the region ad jo in in g the

v a lle y on the south and e a s t in the San Bernardino V alley

where pure Casas Grandes s i t e s are found. Probably the

people from the two or even three areas met here.

The development o f the v a lle y proceeds

from a p ithouse stru ctu re ranging from eigh teen inches to

three f e e t in depth w ith n a tu ra l or rock lin e d w a lls covered

w ith c la y p la s te r to the la t e s t type o f surface stru ctu res

comparable to th ose found in the large pueblos o f the b e t te r

known areas. The p o ttery in turn ranges from crude p la in

unslipped ware, which is found in the p ith o u ses and on camp

s i t e s , to the b e a u t ifu lly decorated wares o f the Late Pueblo

P eriod . Developments in the a r ts and m anufactures--bone,

s to n e , and s h e l l —would no doubt fo llo w the same l in e o f pro­

gress i f examples were as numerous as those of p o ttery and

- 5 1 -

house ty p es. The a g r ic u ltu r a l development was from d esu ltory

ex ten siv e working of the land to h igh ly developed in te n s iv e

a g r icu ltu re aided "by ir r ig a t io n .

I f system atic a rch a eo lo g ica l work could

he carried on in th is v a l le y , a great many other in te r e s t in g

developments would he rev ea led .

- 5 2 -

bibliography

1. B ancroft, Hubert Howe1889 H istory of Arizona and Hew Mexico,

San F ra n cisco , 1889.

2. Hough, Walter1907 A n tiq u it ie s o f the Upper G ila and S a lt

R iver V alleys in Arizona and Hew Mexico, Bureau of American Ethnology, B u lle t in 35, Washington, 1907.

3 . Kidder, A. V.1924 An In trodu ction to the Study of South­

w estern Archaeology. Hew Haven, 1924.

Geology and Water Resources o f Sulphur Spring V a lle y , A rizona. Water Supply Paper 320, United S ta te s G eo log ica l Sur­vey, United S ta te s Department of the In­t e r io r , Washington, 1913*

Geology and Ore D ep osits o f the B isbee Quadrangle, A rizona. P r o fe s s io n a l Paper U nited S ta tes G eo log ica l Survey Ho. 21, Washington, 1904.

and Brand, DonaldPueblo S ite s in Southeastern Arizona, U n iv ers ity of C a lifo rn ia P u b lica tio n s in Geography, Vol. 3 , Ho. 7, B erkeley , 1930.

7* Smithsonian Report1879 Washington, 1879*

8. Tylor, Edward B.1889 P r im itiv e C ulture, Researches in to the

Development o f M ythology, P hilosophy, R e lig io n , Language, Art and Custom,V ol. 1, Hew York, 1889.

4 . Me In zer , 0 . E 1913

5* Ransome, F. L 1904

6 . Sauer, C arl, 1930

9 . Woodward, Arthur1931 The Grewe S ite , Los A ngeles Museum of

H istory , Science and A rt, O ccasional P ap ers, Ho. 1, Los A ngeles, 1931*

w.zie. m.zze. H.Z3 c. R . 2 5 g . R .2 6 g . R Z 7 E-. R.zac. If.M 6 R.aoe.

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