Mar 20

The Westside Canals

Archaeological work on the west side of the Santa Cruz River, to the north and south of West Congress Street, resulted in the documentation of the long history of water management in this area. What has been found? Homer Thiel provides answers. Pre-Contact ditches and canals The oldest irrigation ditch…

Feb 24

Amazing Maize

Homer Thiel discusses the history of maize cultivation in the Tucson Basin. Desert Archaeology's work has been instrumental in documenting some of the earliest agriculture in what is now the United States, as well as tracing the ways different peoples have grown and used the grain through time here. In…

Jan 30

Mexican Fortress to US Town: Tucson in the 1840s and 1850s

Homer Thiel winds the history machine back a few decades from the previous posts to look at life in Tucson during the time of transition from Mexican to US governance. Mexico achieved independence from Spain in 1821. In the years afterward, many changes occurred in the small fortress community of…

Jan 2

Archaeology Archive: Block 83 in Downtown Tucson

Homer Thiel digs into the archives to tell the story of downtown Tucson's Block 83. The block is currently occupied by the MLK Apartments and the Ronstadt Transit Center, but over 100 years ago it was the site of single-family homes and saloons, hotels, restaurants, and other businesses.  Desert Archaeology…

Sep 20

2,000 Years of Human History at Mission Garden

For the last ten years, visitors to the Mission Garden, located at the base of Sentinel Peak ("A" Mountain) have watched as fruit trees grow from saplings into tall trees, seen an acequia (canal) built and stocked with an endangered species, viewed crops being harvested and food preparation methods demonstrated.…

Sep 14

Archaeology Archive: What Lay Beneath Spruce Street

Homer Thiel discusses what we learned about the Chinese men who came to Tucson while working on the railroad in the late 1800s and stayed here to make lives for themselves. In the late 1980s and early 1990s, a housing development was constructed along the road leading to the summit…

Aug 19

New Insights on the Tucson Presidio from the Historic Pima County Courthouse

Homer Thiel discusses ancient and historical cultural resources encountered on the grounds of the Historic Pima County Courthouse in Tucson during renovations and the construction of the January 8 Memorial. Pima County has recently completed the renovation of the 1929 Pima County Courthouse, now the home of the Southern Arizona…

Oct 22

Women in the Presidio San Agustín del Tucson

Homer Thiel examines the lives of people who have often been rendered invisible in history: the women who lived in the Tucson Presidio in the 18th and 19th centuries. Tucson, Arizona was a Spanish and Mexican military fortress (the Presidio San Agustín del Tucson) between 1776 and 1856. During this…

Aug 26

The Historic Era at Fort Lowell

Homer Thiel describes the history of some of the military structures you will see when visiting Fort Lowell park in Tucson. In 1873 the soldiers stationed at Camp Lowell in downtown Tucson (now Armory Park) packed up their tents, weapons, and equipment and moved several miles to the northeast. Poor…