Hispanic Period Archaeology in the Tucson Basin: An Overview

Abstract

This paper provides a brief overview of historical events in the Tucson Basin and of the events that occurred outside this area that influenced the people of southern Arizona. The Hispanic period may best be understood by reviewing historical records and associated artifacts in terms of site function, networks of trade and communication, and social interaction among cultural groups. Excavations in Hispanic period sites in the Tucson Basin and Santa Cruz Valley, dating from Kino's expeditions of the 1690s to the withdrawal of Mexican soldiers from the Tucson presidio in 1856, have produced ceramics - Pi man, Hispanic, European, Oriental, and American - that give a better understanding of conditions recorded in the historical documents.