Membership Information Click Here

Class	Date	Time	Location	Instructor	Contact	Phone	E-mail
TBD

Calderwood Project

The Agua Fria Chapter has continued work on the Calderwood project which was conducted as AAS' first excavation from 1965 - 1971. Through Don Dove and Ed Pritchett, Donna Ruiz y Costello located the excavation materials in 2001 and retrieved them from Richard Bliss who had them stored very carefully and in an organized fashion at his home in west Phoenix. As suggested by general chapter advisor Maurice Shoger, Larry Robertson conducted a complete inventory of the materials received from Richard Bliss over several months in 200l. At a preliminary planning meeting held at Mr. Shoger's home, the inventory list was shared by laboratory principals with professional archaeologists Mark Hackbarth and Tom Wright in late summer of 2001. In the fall of 2001, sorting, assignation of laboratory specimen numbers and washing began with a series of laboratory classes taught by Maurice Shoger. These classes have continued throughout the chapter's first five years and have included: Laboratory Techniques I, Ceramics ID and Analysis, Lithic ID and Analysis, and Shell ID and Analysis. Faunal ID and Analysis was conducted by Lydia Pyne, Dr. Curtis Marean's Ph. D. candidate, at the ASU faunal laboratory in the summer 2005. From 1965 through 1971, under leadership of Don Dove and others, principal investigators for the Calderwood excavation were Ed Pritchett (field director) and Walter "Dutch" Duering (assistant field director in the final years). Materials are in process of being analyzed by the Agua Fria Chapter with report(s) and curation decision pending.

In 2003, Walter "Dutch" Duering came on board as the Calderwood project advisor. His presence has served as a valuable bridge between 1971 and the present and will ensure continuity for the final report.

Linda Dorsey is the primary laboratory director. Specialists for the project are Dutch Duering (ceramics), Linda Dorsey (lithics), Paulette Gehlker (shell), Donna Ruiz y Costello (faunal and human osteology), Dutch Duering (architecture, overall site report, and ACCESS database). Donna Ruiz y Costello is the excavation historian. As of January 2007, all ceramic sherds (~11,00) have been labeled and level 1 Analysis has begun. A Ceramic Analysis Manual is being written by Walter "Dutch" Duering as part of this project. All primary lithic specimens have been labeled and Level 1 analysis has been completed. Level 2 analysis has begun on the lithic materials. Work on shell analysis and Faunal analysis is progressing well

The various analysis projects present an opportunity for all members to get involved and to learn. Previous experience is not required. Experienced members are available to train newcomers to the project. Any member who is interested in joining this effort should contact Linda Dorsey or the specialist for the specific area of interest.

The initial 2001 research design is pending rewrite by Walter "Dutch" Duering. Temper typologies, lithics studies, shell trade and production, faunal studies coordinated with lithics and Don Dove's previous agricultural work, and architectural affinities with upper Agua Fria sites will play a role in response to informal questions already realized from the literature review and inferred from the materials during processing.

Casa de Peidras, Coldwater and Quass Site Materials Preservation

Materials from these three sites in the West Valley were excavated in the 1980's and have never been curated into a museum. Chapter member Donna Ruiz y Costello, now working on her Masters's degree in Museum Studies has taken on this project as part of her internship with the Archaeological Research Institute.  Chapter members will be working with Donna in readying these collections for curation.

Gatlin National Historic Landmarks Site

The Gatlin Site is a platform mound Hohokam village on the bend of the Gila River dating from between 800-1200 AD. The town of Gila bend now owns the site and the town is in the process of making it an interpretive park.

Although the work at the Gatlin Site is not an official Project of the Chapter, our Advisor, Dr. David Doyel is the archaeologist working closely with the town of Gila Bend to make this happen.  As a result, Chapter members in helping to make this a reality have donated many hours.  Work such as clearing brush, assisting with stabilization, the building of replica pithouses, building fences and eventually helping build a replica of the platform mound are all ways the Chapter has and is working at Gatlin.  Roy and Ella Pierpoint, Chapter members, are the folks working most closely with Dr. Doyel and the town, and their dedication and hard work are the drivers behind this undertaking.

Pierpoint Project

The Agua Fria Chapter continues with work started on this site in 2001.  We are working in conjunction with the Bureau of Land Management archaeologist Cheryl Blanchard and with our Advisor, Dr. David Doyel, archaeologist at Luke Air Force Base.  We have almost completed a thorough survey and mapping project as well as recording all the rock artweb47.ixwebhosting.com found at the site.

The Pierpoint Site is located in the Gila Bend Mountains, just upriver from the town of Gila Bend.  It is a late Classic Period Hohokam site situated up a narrow, boulder filled canyon with arroyos that empty into the Gila Bend River in rainy weather.  There are numerous “rock circles” which are perhaps habitation sites as well as remnants of two stone walls that span the canyon.  Except for a few “clean-up” details at the site, the crew is beginning the writing phases of the report to be published by the Chapter.

Click Here to view the Agua Fria Bylaws