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Tuesday, December 10, 2019
Ajo, Pima County, Arizona Volume 96, Number 15 ©2019
YOUR
HOMETOWN
NEWSPAPER
SINCE 1916
Intaglio and other sites in peril say archeologists
This ancient intaglio, possibly a fish, lies a little more than 20 feet from the border fence.
Construction of the border wall may destroy it. Intaglios are giant designs, man-made long ago
by engraving, tamping, or scraping away the desert pavement, thus exposing the lighter gravel or
soils beneath. The photo was taken by Statistical Research, Inc. with an aerial kite on February
23, 2005.
There has been a lot written
about concerns that construction
of the border wall will irreparably
harm Quitobaquito, a sacred site
for O’odham, a source of water
for time immeasurable for wild-
life and travelers, and an archeo-
logical site. There are often brief
mentions of “other archeological
sites” that may be endangered as
well.
Rick & Sandy Martynec are
archeologists who have been
working in the Ajo region for the
past 22 years. Between the two of
them, they have published more
than 40 books and peer-reviewed
journal articles. Asked about the
other sites the wall could disturb
or destroy, they wrote:
Aside from the well-known
archaeological remains at
Quitobaquito there are other im-
portant sites that are imperiled
by the on-going construction of
the Border Wall. At least six sites
farther west will be directly im-
pacted, and another three are near
the construction zone known as
the Roosevelt Corridor. Two of the
sites are important, one is a burial
and the other is a rare intaglio.
Intaglios or giant ground fig-
ures have been observed along
the Colorado River, Sierra
Pinacate and now in the west-
ern Papaguería. Those along the
Colorado River have been attrib-
uted to Yuman or Patayan groups
whereas the images in Sierra
Pinacate are thought to have been
made by Amargosan Pinacateños,
or ancestral O’odham. The figures
along the Colorado River are of-
ten representational and are most-
ly devoid of artifacts or evidence
of reuse. This is not the case for
those in Sierra Pinacate and the
recently discovered intaglio in
Cabeza Prieta National Wildlife
Refuge. Many of the latter, includ-
ing the Las Playas Intaglio west of
Ajo, are complex with indications
they were reused and, in some cas-
es, over a considerable amount of
time.
The Las Playas Intaglio mea-
sures 84m north-south by 15m
east-west and was created by clear-
ing the dark colored pebbles form-
ing desert pavement and tamping
down the underlying light-colored
sandy silt 2-3cm below the sur-
rounding ground surface thus cre-
ating a startling contrasting image.
All of the rocks associated with
this feature are as dark as the sur-
rounding desert pavement and at
various points in time rocks have
been placed in and around this
giant ground figure. A total of
ten head-size basalt rocks are in
four different locations adjacent
to the tamped down areas, and at
the south end is a 1.5m diameter
cluster of basalt rocks and there is
another concentration of six ba-
salt rocks blocking a narrow, old,
north-south tamped down trail
that bisects this feature. Several
of the rocks in the cluster at the
south end exhibit shell caliche on
exposed surfaces. This character-
istic, which indicates fairly recent
activity, was only observed at this
location and on one of the large
rocks inside the intaglio.
While it is obvious that a ma-
jority of the surrounding site is
the product of camping episodes,
or short-term occupations, the
overall impression the Las Playas
Intaglio site and the areas sur-
rounding it imparts is one of spe-
cial purpose. It is apparent that
this location held a special mean-
ing for the prehistoric and pos-
sibly historic inhabitants of this
area and, indeed, O’odham elders
have confirmed that ceremonies
occurred at this locale. The near
absence of artifacts in the inta-
glio (only two) supports the con-
clusion of its special importance,
especially when one considers the
high number of them elsewhere
within the surrounding site.
Most of the use of this giant
ground figure appears to be old,
dating at least to the Formative
period (A.D. 800-1500), and pos-
sibly even earlier. All of the rocks
in the tamped down areas are light
colored in distinct contrast with
the dark colored surrounding des-
ert pavement and, except for the
rock concentration at the south
end, only one of the large, ancil-
lary rocks exhibit shell caliche on
exposed surfaces. Because of this
it is reasoned that the rock concen-
tration at the south end is a recent
construct hence signifying reuse,
as does the blocked interior trail.
The intaglio extends well into
the Roosevelt Corridor and the
burial is within 15 feet of the cur-
rent wall. It is unclear if any effort
will be made to preserve either
of these sites, or the others along
the border since all environmental
laws have been suspended for wall
construction.
Councilors ran unopposed
for WPCCC districts
December is the month the Western Pima County Community
Council holds elections for half of the eleven-seat panel of councilors.
Up for grabs this year were seats representing five districts. They
included district 3, the midtown district, now represented by Ajo native
Mary Pat Keller; district 6, including Why, represented by Why resident
Micah Perry; district 8, represented by Adrian Vega; district 10, repre-
sented by Scott Warren; and district 10, now represented by Dale Faust.
Keller and Faust are newcomers to the council but they ran unop-
posed, as did each of the other candidates. As such, ballots were not cast
at the meeting. Instead a vote was taken to simply accept the slate of
candidates that were running. The audience accepted the candidates as a
group with a vote of 19 to 10.
The two newcomers will replace Sherry Serventi and Ted Whittemore
who served on the council in 2019 but did not seek reelection this year.
Lupe Alvarez, chair of the council will be stepping down from that
office. The most likely candidate to replace her as chair is Keller.
District 2, the eastside district, remains vacant. During the meeting,
attendee Corina Mendez expressed interest in serving in that seat. The
other councilors could choose to appoint her, helping to fill a council
that was created during a time when Ajo was a much larger town. In
recent years it has become normal to have a seat vacant, simply because
no one volunteered to fill it.
Along with the announcements regarding the new seat appointments
and Alvarez stepping down as chair, the council said that the next meet-
ing, usually held on the first Thursday of the month would be postponed
one week.
The meeting is rescheduled for January 9. The change of date is to
avoid having the meeting on the day after the New Year holiday. In addi-
tion, the time for the January 9 meeting will be 6 p.m. not the usual time
of 7 p.m.
Last Thursday, December 5, Kickstart awards were presented to various Ajo businesses and
startups. The presentation was at the Ajo Freeport-McMoRan offices. Recipients are, from left
to right, Deborah Mullins (Simply Sandwiches), Nina Sajovec (Ajo CSA), Mary Pat Jennings
(Ajo Community Market), Kord Klinefelter (Ajo Community Market), Leba London (Woman from
Ajo), Jovita Wallace (Leadership for Sustainable Communities), Aaron Cooper (ISDA), Sergio
Hernandez (Tacos el Tarasco Restaurant), Bo Johnson (Ajo C of C), Allan Dunstan (Copper
Canyon PRC, LLC), and Hop David (Ajo Copper News).
Weather Report
TEMPERATURES Max Min
Sunday, Dec. 1 64° 36°
Monday, Dec. 2 67° 42°
Tuesday, Dec. 3 65° 46°
Wednesday, Dec. 4 73° 50°
Thursday, Dec. 5 70° 49°
Weekday weather informa-
tion is provided by Freeport-
McMoRan. For the week, expect
partly cloudy skies, and a predict-
ed high of 72˚ and a low of 41˚,
according to weather.com
Help wanted for annual bird count
Cabeza Prieta National Wildlife Refuge is looking for birders of all
skill levels for this year’s Christmas Bird Count. The Christmas Bird
Count is a National Audubon Society tradition in its 120th year and has
occurred annually in Ajo since 1998. They say this event is not only a lot
of fun but also very important as it serves to further research and conser-
vation efforts for bird species and habitat throughout the country.
All those interested in participating are invited to an informational
meeting at Ajo Ambulance on Friday, December 13, at 2 p.m. At the
meeting, representatives will establish groups and routes based on inter-
est in specific areas and birding experience. Each circle has a 15-mile
diameter in which volunteers record every bird they see or hear.
This year’s count days are Saturday, December 14, for the Ajo area;
Sunday, December 15, for Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument; and
Monday, December 16, for Lukeville.
“We are especially in need of experienced birders, but would like
to have everyone participate who is interested and has at least a basic
knowledge of Sonoran desert birds. We will make sure there is at least
one experienced birder per group,” said Daniel Soto, wildlife refuge spe-
cialist at Cabeza Prieta National Wildlife Refuge.
For more information, contact Stephanie Doerries at Cabeza Prieta
at 520-387-4989 or via email at stephanie_doerries@fws.gov. Contact
Daniel Martin for the Organ Pipe and Lukeville circles at 520-387-6849
or via email at daniel_j_martin@nps.gov.