Stairways to Heaven? A Survey of Linear Hillside Clearings in the Sonoran Desert

Slopeways are anthropogenic linear clearings on hillsides and mesa slopes created by displacing rocks to create corridors wider than typical footpaths. Despite sporadic reports across the North American Southwest, they have received little scholarly attention. This paper presents the first systematic field investigation of slopeways in the Sonoran Desert, confirming 108 examples across 61 landforms in central and southern Arizona, southeast California, and the northern Baja California Peninsula. Most occur on volcanic substrates along the Great Bend of the Gila River. Associated ceramics, petroglyph styles, and geomorphological evidence indicate construction during the Formative and early post-Contact periods (700–1800 CE), with ties to ancestral O'Odham (Hohokam) and Yuman (Patayan) traditions. Their strong associations with petroglyphs, rock piles, and other ritual facilities suggest ceremonial rather than strictly utilitarian functions. We propose slopeways are semiotic features embedded in Indigenous cosmological frameworks, serving as symbolic conduits of spiritual power across the landscape.