The Pinta Site

Site AZ CC:15:82 (ASM), the Pinta site, is a large prehistoric artifact scatter interspersed with several intermittent drainages. The site is located on privately owned land and land managed by the Bureau of Land Management within the eastern foothills of the Dos Cabezas Mountains.

The Pinta site contains two discrete artifact concentrations and several rock features. Artifact concentration 1 is located at the southern portion of the site and consists of large amounts of pottery, chipped stone, and ground stone interspersed with over twenty rock piles.

Several diagnostic sherds were identified from artifact concentration 1 including Cerros Red-on-white, Dos Cabezas Red-on-brown, Encinas Red-on-brown, and unidentified Black-on-Red. Also identified in the field were unidentified red wares (including polychromes).

Artifact concentration 2 is located at the northern portion of the site and consists of series of rock alignments with a sparse scatter of artifacts. Artifacts identified within concentration 2 include ceramics, ground stone, and chipped stone.

Not many identifiable decorated ceramics were recorded for this concentration. However, several types were recorded including Black-on-red, Black-on-white, thin-lined Red-on-brown, and red wares. A lot of the same kinds of ceramics are present in artifact concentration 1.

Site Age and Function:

The rock alignments and the rock piles represent a specific type of agriculture known as Ak-chin farming. This type of agriculture relies on rainwater and runoff water. The rock alignments are laid out perpendicular to the drainages and would have blocked portions of the water disbursing it in front of the rock alignment. Rock piles are known to hold soil, water, and heat, providing a good place for growing food. Without excavation, it is not possible to know what types of food were being grown in the rock piles and behind the rock alignments.

Based on the ceramics, the site was occupied for several hundred years, probably between AD 700 and AD 1100. The site was probably not occupied continuously throughout this time, however.