The San Agustin Mission Excavation - Weeks 8-9

Excavations began at the San Agustin Mission site on November 20, 2000. The Mission site, although heavily disturbed, is still providing important evidence about Tucson's Origins.

This image shows the foundation of the San Agustín Mission compound wall and the excavation of Early Agricultural Period houses, 2 feet below the mission complex.

Read the excavation progress report from weeks 1-3
Read the excavation progress report from weeks 4-5
Read the excavation progress report from weeks 6-7

 
The last two weeks work at the San Agustin Mission site was frequently interupted by rain, however, we were able to complete the excavation and recording of many features.

Work was resumed with the large pit containing Chinese artifacts. It was found to be about nine feet deep and widened slightly outward toward its base. Layers of clay and silt were present and were examined by a geomorphologist (a scientist who studies soils) who determined the pit had been used as a well prior to becoming a trash pit. Artifacts found in the bottom of the feature included more soy sauce jugs, a shoe, and many pig skulls.

Three mission-era trash-filled pits and a roasting pit were discovered east of the granary. These pits contained Native American-made ceramics, including a distinctive folded-rim jar made by Piman Indians. Also found were chopped up cattle bones and Piman arrow points. The items from the pits and from three trash midden areas provide important sets of artifacts used by the San Agustin Mission residents.

A cross-section was cut through a Hohokam canal that runs southeast to northwest through the site. The canal was about five feet deep when in use. Layers of silt that built up as the canal was in use were present at its base. Flood deposits filled the upper two thirds of the canal, representing the end of its use. Few Hohokam features were found in the mission area. Some features may have been destroyed by historic plowing, however, it is also possible that the Hohokam used the area as agricultural fields and that their settlements were located further away.

Over 30 Early Agricultural Period pithouses were found at the site. Archaeologists excavated portions of about 20 houses, revealing that there were two distinct phases of occupation. The earlier occupation was represented by about seven deep houses. These houses were mostly burned and were already filled with trash when a flood event took place, destroying the later village. We found houses that were probably used as dwellings, based upon the presence of fire hearths and lack of floor pits, and a smaller number of storage structures, with large internal storage pits. These pits were used for storing crops, seeds for the next planting season, and for hiding groundstone artifacts. Outdoor pits were common as well, some used as roasting pits, others as hearths, and others as storage pits.

Work has shifted to the laboratory where the field notes and maps proof read. Once this work is completed the excavated features will be covered with a protective geotechnical fabric and backfilled until the reconstruction of the mission begins.

Our Open House on February 3, 2001 was attended by over 1,000 people. Previously, over 1,000 other individuals toured the site, including six school groups. Forty-two people volunteered on the excavations as well. The first display of artifacts from the San Agustin Mission site will be at the lobby of the Arizona Historical Society Museum located at 949 E. 2nd Street, beginning February 16, 2001.