Posted By Bob Mason on Dec 12, 2020

A poster distributed at an open house at the Pinnacle Peak Village site featured artifacts that had been found. (Courtesy Les Conklin)

Part 1.

Pinnacle Peak Village, the archeological site, is located 1.5 miles southeast of Pinnacle Peak in Scottsdale, Arizona. In this multi-part  series, A Peek at the Peak (The Peak) is re-publish past articles about the site supplemented by information and photographs from “Pinnacle Peak, Images of America” that was written by the current editor of The Peak in 2011. We begin with Bob Mason’s article that summarizes what was found during an archeological dig that was conducted in 1988.

Part 2  describes other items found at the site and the open house that was held in 1988 at the site. Editor

Florence and Jerry Nelson Preserve History at Troon Village

By Bob Mason

As published in A Peek at the Peak, November 2002

In late 1987, as a new section was being opened for development at Troon Village, workers noticed significant numbers of broken pottery on the desert surface and curious changes in subsurface soil color in trenches. Fortunately for all of us, Jerry and Florence Nelson stopped development and notified Arizona State University archaeologists.

The Peak’s June 1999 issue features Lou Hagler’s photographs showing the area of the Hohokam village site. Photograph A (top) shows the site of the future Troon Country Club. Photographs B (bottom left) and C (bottom right) show the site before and after development, respectively. (Courtesy of The Peak)

During early 1988, professional archaeologists, aided by more than 60 volunteers, conducted an excavation on what was believed to be a prehistoric Hohokam village. In January, 21 members of the Desert Foothills and Phoenix chapters of the Arizona Archaeological Association joined Dr. Patricia Gilman to begin excavation. This author was among the group and worked nine days during the following weeks.

More than 100 pit houses, perhaps as many as 200, once existed here. Seven were partially or completely excavated. There were about 30 trash mounds and four were sampled. The earliest occupation is believed to be shortly after A.D. 300 with the largest population in the A.D. 500 to l150 period. It is likely that some occupation remained until the early 1400s, but no documented evidence of this was found.

In the project’s final report, Dr. Charles Redman, Director of the Department of  Anthropology at ASU, said, “The Pinnacle Peak Village project is what I consider to be among the finest examples of cooperative effort among a private land developer, local avocational archaeologists and professionals from ASU. Jerry and Florence Nelson, owners of the land, have demonstrated a serious concern for the preservation of these archaeological remains and a responsible handling of data recovery versus development of the property.”

The report was issued in December 1993 after artifacts were analyzed and the findings described by Dr. Gilman and her associates. They considered this location to be unique and of great importance to a better understanding of the Hohokam civilization.

For nonprofessional archaeologists, the first question about an excavation is usually, “What did they find?” Here the answer is clearly, “A lot!” In a closing sentence, Dr. Redman says, “Our findings have revealed well-built pit structures, abundant a artifacts, and unexpected luxury goods. This was a significant community.” The following paragraphs are a brief summary of the artifacts found.

Pottery Fragments

Decorated ceramic pieces (sherds) are highly prized by the professionals for they allow them to compare patterns and shapes and with other similar sherds that have been dated. By carefully documenting the exact location within each layer of soil, they are able to determine the approximate date that each painted piece was made.

Non-decorated pieces, known as plainware, are usually more numerous and have limited chronological value but an analysis of the material used to manufacture them can be useful. Sometimes this shows that certain pieces were made with clay and tempering materials that are not found nearby, thus strengthening the case for an active trading pattern.

The photograph shows a trench and exploratory excavations along its route. (Courtesy of the desert center.)

Twenty-six vessels were recovered intact, a surprising number since only seven pit houses were excavated. Nine of these were identified as jars, ten as bowls and the remainder were scoops and censers (small stone utility bowls). The experts learn much from intact vessels but they are also able to reconstruct the size of a pot or jar from only one or two sherds that include a portion of the rim and shoulder. They can determine if the vessel was a cooking or serving bowl (wide mouth) or a storage vessel (small mouth with greater vertical depth). Locations with a balanced number of storage and serving vessels tell the investigator that this was a permanent dwelling site. Locations with a high percent of wide mouth vessels suggest a temporary location such as a hunting or food harvesting camp.

Shell

As is typical of many Hohokam sites, there were many pieces of shell. Most of it likely originated in the Gulf of California with some being identified as coming from the Pacific. A complete shell pendant was found and a whole-shell ornament carved as a snake head appears to have been remade from a larger artifact. Shell was a prized ornament and is further specific evidence of a widespread trade network over large distances.

The Upland Hohokam lived in pit houses made of wood-caked brush. Locations of posts can be seen in this photograph. Seven pit houses were partially or completely excavated. (Courtesy of the ARI/OCRM Collections.)

Materials from this hearth were submitted for archaeomagnetic dating. Occupation dates were also obtained through radio carbon dating of burned roof beams and analysis of pottery. (Courtesy of the ARI/OCRM Collections.)

Part 2  describes other items found at the site and the open house that was held in 1988 at the site.

Related Articles

Excavating Pinnacle Peak Village, Part 2

The Desert Center: Special Pinnacle Peak Secret

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