Archaeology Southwest Magazine Vol. 32, No. 4

Issue Editors: William H. Doelle and J. Homer Thiel

This issue explores communities in the Tucson Basin across some 4,000 years. The region is part of the traditional territory of the O’odham people, who have been here since time immemorial. The Spanish place name Tucson is in fact derived from the O’odham S-cuk Son, “at the base of the black hill,” also known today as Sentinel Peak—Tucson’s birthplace. Ancestors of today’s O’odham people ranged, settled, and farmed this land, from the deep past into the historic era.

Tucson presents us all with an opportunity to understand this place in light of that deep heritage, reflected in archaeological sites, ancient fields, well-trodden trains, surrounding rock art, and the rich histories and traditions of O’odham people. More recent centuries are also attested by the material records of missionaries, European colonists, families of Mexican descent, and Euro-American settlers.

Tucson Underground, William H. Doelle

Archaeology Cafe with Paul and Suzy Fish and Bernard Siquieros, “Tumamoc Hill: More than A Place for a Good Hike” (opens at YouTube)

Video: “The NHPA in Arizona: 50 Years of Protection, 200 Generations of Heritage” (opens at YouTube)

About Carleton Watkins

Tucson over the Millennia, Catherine Gilman and Robert B. Ciaccio

Community Voice: Place and Identity, Edward D. Manuel

Tohono O’odham Nation

Gila River Indian Community

Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community

Edward Manuel & Verlon Jose, Chairman & Vice-Chairman of the Tohono O’odham Nation, For the People Facebook page

What is a Traditional Cultural Place? (opens as a PDF)

Community Voice: International Recognition from Community-Funded Archaeology, Jonathan Mabry

Tucson City of Gastronomy

Rio Nuevo

Archaeology Southwest Magazine Vol. 15, No. 1, Archaeology, History, and Community: Tucson’s Rio Nuevo Project (free PDF download)

Archaeology Cafe with Bill Doelle and Homer Thiel, “Rio Nuevo Archaeology” (opens at YouTube)

Early Farming Settlements, J. Homer Thiel

Archaeology Cafe with Jim Vint, “Early Agriculture in the Tucson Basin” (opens at YouTube)

Read blog posts about this era written by archaeologists at Desert Archaeology, Inc.

Archaeology Southwest Magazine Vol. 23 No. 1, The Latest Research on the Earliest Farmers (free PDF dowload)

Spotlight: Sunset Footprints, Suzanne Griset

Read Suzanne Griset’s full account of the find (also features a link to video footage by Pima County)

Read Doug Gann’s blog post on 3D modeling of the tracks

Early Farming Societies, Jonathan Mabry

Spotlight: Las Capas, James M. Vint

Foraging and Farming, Michael W. Diehl

In Brief: Blowing Smoke, Jenny L. Adams

Read Homer Thiel and Mike Diehl’s post about tobacco use in the distant past

Farmers with Pottery, J. Homer Thiel

All about Greater Tucson Pithouses, J. Homer Thiel

Read Homer’s blogs about pithouses here and here

Spotlight: Clearwater Site, J. Homer Thiel

View 3D models of the Clearwater site

Greater Tucson’s Hohokam Villages, AD 500–1150, William H. Doelle and J. Homer Thiel

Spotlight: Julian Wash, William H. Doelle

Community Voice: Preserving Tucson’s Ballcourt Villages, William H. Doelle

Tea & Archaeology with Henry Wallace, “Ballcourt Societies and the Re-Creation of the Hohokam in the 8th and 9th Centuries AD” (opens at YouTube)

Spotlight: Valencia/Valencia Vieja, Henry D. Wallace

Spotlight: Honey Bee Village (and the Cañada del Oro Community), Henry D. Wallace

Read Jane Sliva’s blog post about the balancing act undertaken at Honey Bee

Spotlight: Shamrock Ruin, Robert Heckman and Jeffrey Altschul

Greater Tucson’s Hohokam Villages, AD 1150–1450, William H. Doelle, Henry D. Wallace, and J. Homer Thiel

Archaeology Cafe with Mark Elson, “700 Years Ago in Tucson: Making a Living in the Hohokam Classic Period” (opens at YouTube)

Spotlight: Zanardelli Site, Jeffrey T. Jones, Ellen C. Ruble, and William H. Doelle

Spotlight: Marana Mound, William H. Doelle

The Village of S-cuk Son and Mission San Agustín, J. Homer Thiel

Archaeologist James Vint provided the following comments on Kino’s 1696-1697 map reproduced on page 31 in this issue:

“It is reproduced in:
Burrus, Ernest J., S. J.
1965 Kino and the Cartography of Northwestern New Spain. Arizona Pioneers’ Historical Society, Tucson.

“The caption is:
‘Plate IX Kino’s original 1696-1697 map, likewise drawn to illustrate the biography of his martyred Jesuit missionary companion, Father Saeta. The cartographical reproduction, preserved in the Central Jesuit Archives, was unknown until modern times.’

“Regarding the location being the “‘Central Jesuit Archives,’ I think Burrus did in fact find the map and other relevant documents in the archives at the Jesuit Curia in Rome (rather than one of the parochial archives here in in the States).”

The Tucson Presidio, J. Homer Thiel

Read Homer’s February 2019 blog post on Presidio households

Suppertime at the Presidio

Setting the Presidio Table

Read Homer’s blog post on Donald Page

In Brief: Historic Tohono O’odham Pottery, James M. Heidke

Read Jim Heidke’s blog post about Native American pottery in historic period Tucson

In Brief: Fallen Anvils, Richard R. Willey †

Flandrau Science Center and Planetarium

Community Voice: Think of Me, J. Homer Thiel

Community Voice: The Camp Grant Massacre, Chip Colwell

Massacre at Camp Grant: Forgetting and Remembering Apache History, University of Arizona Press, 2007

Historic-Era Farming, J. Homer Thiel

Community Portrait: The León and Siqueiros-Jácome Families, J. Homer Thiel

Archaeology Cafe with Homer, “Spanish Colonial and Mexican Period Life in Tucson” (opens at YouTube)

Read Homer’s blog post on Soledad Jacome

Community Portrait: Jack Boleyn, Tucson’s First Fire Chief, J. Homer Thiel

Read Homer’s blog post on this character!

In Sickness and in Health: Medicine in Territorial Tucson, J. Homer Thiel

Read Homer’s blog post on Block 91 excavations

Archaeology along the Train Tracks, J. Homer Thiel

Read more about the sampling works

Community Portrait: Tucson’s Chinese Community, J. Homer Thiel

The Tucson Chinese Cultural Center

Read Homer’s blog post on the Chinese farming community

The End of Life in Tucson, William H. Doelle

The Alameda–Stone Cemetery, Michael Heilen and Marlesa A. Gray

In Brief: Los Angelitos, Michael Heilen and Kristin Sewell

The Forgotten Court Street Cemetery, J. Homer Thiel

Read Homer’s blog post on these two forgotten burials

Archaeology Cafe with Homer Thiel, “A drear, bleak, desolate place (Tucson’s Forgotten Historic Cemeteries)” (opens at YouTube)

Community Portrait: Helping Us See, Kate Sarther

Check out more of Catherine and Rob’s work

Read Rob’s blog post on his craft

Read Catherine’s blog post on her craft

Preservation Spotlight: Tucson’s Birthplace, William H. Doelle

Friends of Tucson’s Birthplace

Tucson Presidio Trust for Historic Preservation

Back Sight, William H. Doelle

Saguaro National Monument

Catalina State Park

Archaeology Southwest Magazine Vol. 27, No. 1, In the Mountain Shadows (free PDF download)

Archaeology Cafe with Linda Mayro and Julia Fonseca, “Ten Years After—The Sonoran Desert Conservation Plan” (opens at YouTube)