Michael Diehl | Desert Archaeology, Inc. (original) (raw)

Papers by Michael Diehl

Desert Archaeology, Inc., implemented an archaeological testing project in the northeastern corne... more Desert Archaeology, Inc., implemented an archaeological testing project in the northeastern corner of the historic Court Street Cemetery, AZ BB:13:156 (ASM). The project area is within the Catholic portion of the cemetery. The cemetery was in use for only 34 years, between 1875 and 1909, but research suggests that more than 8,000 individuals were interred during that time. The project was undertaken for the City of Tucson prior to improvements and the sale of a portion of the land. Archaeological investigations were conducted in three areas, all of which were tested through the backhoe stripping of the ground surface and the removal of overlying sediments. Previous archaeological investigations in other areas of the cemetery showed that backhoe stripping was an effective method for identifying the outline of burial plots and coffins. The goals of the testing program were to determine if human remains were present in the project area and to locate the eastern and northern edges of th...

106 Hegmon, Nelson, Schollmeyer, Elliott and Diehl and for whom (Brosius 1999). Proponents of the... more 106 Hegmon, Nelson, Schollmeyer, Elliott and Diehl and for whom (Brosius 1999). Proponents of the concept argue for the need to examine how humans impact ecosys-tems and what changes are required to reduce this impact to levels that allow species, resources, societies, and ...

Technical Report 2002-12., 2003

Desert Archaeology Technical Report 2002-12 Site report on archaeological deposits from late-19th... more Desert Archaeology Technical Report 2002-12 Site report on archaeological deposits from late-19th early 20th century Barrio Libre, Tucson, Pima County, Arizona.

Authors: Allison C. Diehl, Judi L. Cameron, Michael W. Diehl, James M. Heidke, J. Homer Thiel. Contributions by Linda Scott Cummings, Elizabeth J. Miksa, Thomas E. Moutoux, and Arthur W. Vokes.

This report describes the archaeological investigations related to the A-Mountain Storm Drain pro... more This report describes the archaeological investigations related to the A-Mountain Storm Drain project within the Clearwater site (AZ BB:13:6), the prehistoric settlement at the base of A-Mountain. Archaeological resources within the project area represent the Early Agricultural period. During the past five years, portions of about 10 Early Agricultural period archaeological sites have been excavated in floodplain settings within the Tucson Basin. The importance of this recent work is evident when one considers that between 1960 and 1990, only two excavations of Early Agricultural sites were done in this area, and the scale (in terms of area excavated and funds committed to analysis) of both projects was moderate. In order to place the excavation of the Clearwater site in its proper archaeological context, it is important to review the information obtained in these recent studies. This chapter examines some of the issues that surround the study of the Early Agricultural period occupa...

When the City of Tucson announced its plan to replace the aging Connie Chambers housing facility ... more When the City of Tucson announced its plan to replace the aging Connie Chambers housing facility in Barrio Libre with new, affordable single family homes, a cultural resources assessment was conducted to determine if the project had the potential to disturb historically significant archaeological deposits. Archival records revealed that homes dating as early as the late nineteenth century once stood on three of the city blocks occupied by the housing project. Most of the homes were owned or rented by Mexican-American working class families. Additionally, a Chinese-owned grocery store stood on the corner of one block. When the 1960s-era Connie Chambers buildings were demolished, archaeologists from Desert Archaeology, Inc., conducted testing to determine if any intact historical deposits remained. Although few remnants of above ground structures were found, numerous privy holes and trash pits were uncovered on historic blocks 139 and 159. The features were plotted on historical maps ...

The City of Tucson is considering plans to develop the Rio Nuevo South property, a roughly 36-acr... more The City of Tucson is considering plans to develop the Rio Nuevo South property, a roughly 36-acre parcel of land located along the west bank of the Santa Cruz River near the downtown area. Although the parcel is presently vacant, archaeological testing and historic document research indicate that it was first used around 1000 B.C., and that its use continued intermittently through the present day. Based on the results of preliminary testing (Ahlstrom et al. 1994; Elson and Doelle 1987; Thiel 1995a, 1995b), Desert Archaeology, Inc., recommended that further testing be conducted on the property in order to accomplish several goals: 1. Determination of the location, extent, and archaeological and historic significance of prehistoric and historic canals located on the property. 2. Determination of the significance of a possible historic burial (Feature 205). 3. Determination of the likelihood that development will impact other human burials. 4. Determination of the spatial extent and r...

In February 1995, Parsons Brinckerhoff contracted with Desert Archaeology, Inc., to conduct archa... more In February 1995, Parsons Brinckerhoff contracted with Desert Archaeology, Inc., to conduct archaeological investigations along the route of the A-Mountain storm drain. The A-Mountain testing phase was conducted concurrently with the first phase of testing on Rio Nuevo South and revealed a similar pattern of Early Agricultural features, prehistoric and historic canals, remnants of the brickyard, and a portion of an area occupied by Chinese gardeners. Significant features were found both in the area that crossed the Rio Nuevo South lot and along Archaeological data recovery was conducted within three components of the site, and each is discussed in a separate volume introduced by this preface. This volume describes the history and archaeological remains of the Tucson Pressed Brickyard Company. The Early Agricultural settlement found in several areas is the subject of a second volume (M. Diehl 1996b). Lastly, the Chinese gardener's household found beneath is studied in the third v...

Desert Archaeology, Inc., personnel conducted archaeological fieldwork for the City of Tucson at ... more Desert Archaeology, Inc., personnel conducted archaeological fieldwork for the City of Tucson at the Mission and Mission Garden loci of the Clearwater site, AZ BB:13:6 (ASM), and the Santa Cruz River Westside Canal site, AZ BB:13:481 (ASM), in March through July 2007, and September through October 2008. The work was conducted to mitigate the effects of the planned construction of the Mission of San Agustín, Ancestral Village, Carrillo House, and Mission Garden components of the Tucson Origins Heritage Park. As of June 2015, only the Mission Garden component was constructed. The project was funded by the City of Tucson as part of the Rio Nuevo redevelopment project. In all, 461 archaeological features were documented at the Clearwater site, and 21 canal segments from the Santa Cruz River Westside Canal site were studied. These features date from the time span between the Silverbell Interval of the Early Agricultural period (circa 2100 B.C.) into the American Statehood period, ending ...

In 1995, archaeologists excavated remnants of the Tucson Pressed Brick Company (TPBCo), a brickya... more In 1995, archaeologists excavated remnants of the Tucson Pressed Brick Company (TPBCo), a brickyard established in the late nineteenth century and operating in Tucson, Arizona, through 1974 (Diehl and Diehl 1996). A documentary and archaeological study of TPBCo revealed that changes in the fortunes of Tucson's brick industry were tied to ideological as well as economic stimuli. Tucson's brickyards thrived and declined in conjunction with trends in architectural styles and also as a consequence of deliberate efforts to craft a public image of the city first as a "modern" city, and later as the "Old Pueblo."

[Poster presented at the 84th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology, Albuquerque... more [Poster presented at the 84th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology, Albuquerque, 2019] Diehl, Michael W.,. Deil Lundin, Homer Thiel and Robert Ciaccio Specimens of chili (Capsicum annuum) are absent from prehistoric sites in the southwestern United States, but they are common in Spanish Colonial contexts. Building on a relatively recent review of northern Mexican prehistoric chili cultivation by Paul Minnis and Michael Whalen, we examine two recent chili finds in Arizona. The two finds may provide hints of the way chili use was transmitted from colonizing Spaniards to indigenous cooks, resulting in the emergence of a new aesthetic of cooking. By the mid-nineteenth century, an emergent “southwestern” style of food preparation involving the combination chilis with Iberian foods and native North American foods is evident.

Mimbres Society

Concluding chapter looking back on contributions to Mimbres Society edited by Valli Powell and Pa... more Concluding chapter looking back on contributions to Mimbres Society edited by Valli Powell and Patricia Gilman.

Behavioral Ecology and the Transition to Agriculture

KIVA

Despite the analyses of thousands of flotation samples from Arizona and New Mexico, domesticated ... more Despite the analyses of thousands of flotation samples from Arizona and New Mexico, domesticated chili peppers are absent in the prehistoric record, and only one specimen of the chiltipine or “wild bird pepper” has been observed. In contrast, chilies have been identified in late prehistoric contexts near the site of Paquimé, Chihuahua, Mexico. Minnis and Whalen surmise, based on the absence of chili seeds, that an aversion to pungent flavors kept chilies out of Arizona and New Mexico until the arrival of colonizing Spaniards. In this article we report on the recent the discovery of charred chili seeds in two Arizona protohistoric Native American contexts. Based on other charred seeds found along with the chilies, in Arizona and New Mexico, we contend that the resistance to pungent flavors was mitigated by using chilies in combination with sweet flavors resulting in an emergent new Southwestern cuisine.

KIVA

The Transitional Zone of central Arizona is a mountainous region dissected by rivers that created... more The Transitional Zone of central Arizona is a mountainous region dissected by rivers that created barriers and drove movement between prehistoric Hohokam groups to the south and Ancestral Peoples groups to the northeast and northwest. Although never suitable for large-scale agricultural irrigation, this region provided small areas of arable land scattered across rugged terrain rich in wild foods and alboreal resources. Archaeological data recovery related to road improvement projects throughout Arizona Route 260 allowed us to examine paleobotanical and osteofaunal remains of five archaeological sites. We relate changes in diet breadth and anthropogenic land effects modeled and described using the methods of the optimal foraging theory, with modes of use modeled using concepts from the frontier theory. We found that brief intervals of prey suppression and concomitant expansion of diet breadth between low value resources coincide with intervals of prey recovery and diet amplitude contraction between low value resources and more intensive settlement. On the other hand, ranges of prey recovery and diet breadth contraction among low value resources coincide with a reduced population and seasonal, extractive, and short-term occupations.

American Antiquity

Were Early Agricultural period (2100 B.C.–A.D. 50) maize cultivators in Southern Arizona sedentar... more Were Early Agricultural period (2100 B.C.–A.D. 50) maize cultivators in Southern Arizona sedentary farmers or seasonally mobile forager-farmers? Ethnographic analogs and ethnographically derived middle range theory support both claims. One argument for sedentism has been the abundance of large subterranean storage pits. These are often presumed to have been used for long-term food storage. This study of wetlands-indicator spores recovered from those pits indicates that the pits were often saturated and could not have been used for long-term food storage; these findings support the general contention that Early Agricultural period maize cultivators were seasonally mobile and tried to fit early agriculture into a subsistence regime focused on wild foods.

Advances in Archaeological Practice, 2017

Archaeological researchers and compliance review officers need to know whether or not a research ... more Archaeological researchers and compliance review officers need to know whether or not a research plan will yield sufficient information to meet research objectives. Despite the need, a key question is often not addressed in proposals or reports: how many flotation samples are sufficient to adequately characterize the food procurement practices at an archaeological site? This article reviews the relationship between ubiquity and statistical probability. By considering the relationship between theoretical ubiquity, measured ubiquity, population ubiquity, and statistical probability, archaeological researchers and compliance officers may assess how many samples must be analyzed in order to adequately characterize the paleoethnobotanical assemblage from a site. These considerations generally apply to any other archaeological data in which presence-absence measures are commonly used and are especially relevant to diet-breadth models in the interest arena of behavioral ecology.

Historical Archaeology, 1998

Technical Report 2002-12., 2003

Authors: Allison C. Diehl, Judi L. Cameron, Michael W. Diehl, James M. Heidke, J. Homer Thiel. Contributions by Linda Scott Cummings, Elizabeth J. Miksa, Thomas E. Moutoux, and Arthur W. Vokes.

Mimbres Society

Behavioral Ecology and the Transition to Agriculture

KIVA

American Antiquity

Advances in Archaeological Practice, 2017

Historical Archaeology, 1998

Final Report on 2008 and 2009 Investigations at the 3-Up Site, LA 150373, and Gamalstad, LA 164472, Mule Creek, New Mexico, 2020

Paleobotanical Report (Diehl) and full site report (multiauthor) on three late prehistoric sites ... more Paleobotanical Report (Diehl) and full site report (multiauthor) on three late prehistoric sites in southwestern New Mexico, USA.

Early Pithouse Villages Mimbres Valley and Beyond: The McAnally and Thompson Sites in their Cultural and Ecological Contexts. , 2001

DIehl, Michael W. 2001 Competing Models of Upland Mogollon Pithouse Period Lifestyles. In Early ... more DIehl, Michael W.
2001 Competing Models of Upland Mogollon Pithouse Period Lifestyles. In Early Pithouse Villages Mimbres Valley and Beyond: The McAnally and Thompson Sites in their Cultural and Ecological Contexts, by Michael W. Diehl and Steven A. LeBlanc, pp.25-35. Volume 83. Papers of the Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA. (USA)

ISBN-13: 978-0873652117

Complete Tech Report authored by J. Homer Thiel with contributions by Allison Diehl, Michael Dieh... more Complete Tech Report authored by J. Homer Thiel with contributions by Allison Diehl, Michael Diehl, William Doelle, James Heidke, Jennifer Waters, and Michael Wiley.

Mimbres Society, 2006

Diehl, Michael W.,. Deil Lundin, Homer Thiel and Robert Ciaccio

Specimens of chili (Capsicum annuum) are absent from prehistoric sites in the southwestern United States, but they are common in Spanish Colonial contexts. Building on a relatively recent review of northern Mexican prehistoric chili cultivation by Paul Minnis and Michael Whalen, we examine two recent chili finds in Arizona. The two finds may provide hints of the way chili use was transmitted from colonizing Spaniards to indigenous cooks, resulting in the emergence of a new aesthetic of cooking. By the mid-nineteenth century, an emergent “southwestern” style of food preparation involving the combination chilis with Iberian foods and native North American foods is evident.

Society for Ethnobiology Annual Meeting, 2016

In this Society for Ethnobiology meeting (2016) I compare the results produced by the "Shannon We... more In this Society for Ethnobiology meeting (2016) I compare the results produced by the "Shannon Weaver Information Diversity Index" versus "Richness" for assessing resource use using paleobotanical remains two prehistoric Arizona archaological sites. The Early Agricultural Period (B.C. 1200-900 mostly) site of Las Capas (AZ AA:12:111) is compared with the Rincon phase Sedentary period (A.D. 950-1100) site of Julian Wash ( AZ BB:13:17). The comparison shows that richness provides a better measure of paleobotanical assemblage diversity than the Shannon Weaver index for assessing subsistence breadth and mobility in this comparison.