Construction unearths ancient ax

Lauren Smith

While digging a trench for a waterline, construction and maintenance workers at Mesa Community College did not expect to unearth a part of history.A couple weeks ago, a historic artifact was found on campus three feet from the surface, on the west side of the Liberal Arts building at the edge of the parking lot.

Rick Effland, an anthropology professor at MCC who has experience with artifacts, has identified the piece as a Hohokam three-quarter groove ax.

“There is no damage, it’s in good shape, and was made very well,” Effland said.

The ax was not damaged when it was unearthed. It is believed to have been broken prehistorically and refashioned into a hammerlike tool.

The ax also looks like it could have been used as a tool in field areas to clear vegetation or dig trenches, among other uses.

Effland thinks the ax is from around the 1000-1200 AD period, when the Hohokams resided the Southwestern part of Arizona.

Shereen Lerner, also an anthropology professor said, “The Hohokam are ancestors of the Pimas and have lived here before us for at least a 1,000 years.”

Effland added that not many people know that there is a prehistoric Hohokam canal that ran from the Salt River to near where Elliot Road. is now located. It was used for farming, which would explain where the artifact came from.

“We know that there were trenches located near the campus from 1920 maps,” Lerner said.

“Since there is not much we can do now, we are talking with the head of maintenance about the idea of digging parallel to the street to see if we can find more artifacts,” Effland said.

“What is neat about it, is that we think of people not having much in that time, but we see that they made all these tools that they built and worked with,” Lerner said.

“This ax is a great reminder to all of us that we have a prehistoric culture underneath us,” added Effland.

The ax will soon be going on display in a case located in the social cultural building.

After the detection of this artifact, the question is, if there are more artifacts waiting to be uncovered.

  • Mesa Legend Staff

    These are archived stories from Mesa Legend editions before Fall 2018. See article for corresponding author.

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