Archaeological Studies at Kartchner Caverns State Park, Cochise County, Arizona

In 1992, SWCA, Inc. completed an archaeological data recovery program at Kartchner Caverns State Park near Benson, Cochise County, Arizona. SWCA completed the work for Entranco, Inc., which is assisting in the development of Kartchner Caverns State Park for Arizona State Parks. Visitor facilities are being built in the southern half of the state park, which is also where the park’s archaeological resources are concentrated. The park includes most of the E 1/2 of T18S, RI9E, S25 and the W 1/2 of T 18S, R 20E, S30; the exceptions are a small inset parcel in the southwest corner of the park and the land from Arizona Highway 90 eastward. The study area is in the W 1/2 of the SE 1/4 of Section 25, T18S, R19E; the UTM Zone 12 box range for the study area is E 560,820 to 561,200 and N 3,522,040 to 3,522,400. The park area is shown on the USGS McGrew Spring, Arizona 7.5 minute quadrangle (1973 ed.), and is 15 km (9 miles) south and west of Benson, between State Road 90 and the Whetstone Mountains. Fieldwork took place between April 6 and May 1, and required 100 person-days. In the research design, documentation of the prehistoric use of the study area was related to efforts to understand piedmont adaptations in southeastern Arizona as a whole. The initial assumption was that the Kartchner Caverns sites were predominantly Archaic, and included subsurface as well as surface remains. As a result of the fieldwork, it became clear that the site contained both Archaic and Ceramic period components. Despite expectations, portions of the site covered by the project were superficial, and the analysis therefore focused on interpreting the distribution of artifacts across the site surface. Application of a method pioneered at Voigt Mesa allowed the project to define spatial clusters of remains within the overall study area, but these clusters may reflect multiple rather than individual occupation episodes. The report provides a critical review of the project methodology, as well as suggestions for future projects at similar sites. Through time, the study area functioned as a workshop for stone reduction and preparation of flaked stone tools. At some clusters, activities other than tool preparation may have been minimal. At others, various amounts of food preparation and consumption were also taking place, consistent with extended stays during tool preparation activities. It remains unclear whether encampments were established solely for tool preparation, or whether they also served as bases for hunting and gathering trips into the Whetstone Mountains.