“Beyond Any One Scholar’s Expertise: The Story of the Safford Valley Grids Archaeology Project” Third Thursday Food for Thought Presentation
July 17 @ 7:00 pm - 8:30 pm
On July 17, 2025, Old Pueblo Archaeology Center’s “Third Thursday Food for Thought” will present “Beyond Any One Scholar’s Expertise: The Story of the Safford Valley Grids Archaeology Project” by archaeological geographer William E. Doolittle. This free Zoom presentation will be held from 7:00 to 8:30 pm (ARIZONA/Mountain Standard Time, same as Pacific Daylight Time).
Expansive tracts of rock-bordered grids atop Pleistocene terraces north of the Gila River in the Safford Valley, Arizona mystified archaeologists and others for nearly a century. From 1994-1998 a team of multidisciplinary scholars sought to uncover their age and function. Unlike most archaeological presentations, this one discusses that project from the perspectives of people involved. The findings of the Safford Grids project are interesting and important, but perhaps not as much as how this project was conceived and carried to fruition for what can only be described as bargain basement funding.
Bill Doolittle is the Erich W. Zimmermann Regents Professor Emeritus, Department of Geography and the Environment, The University of Texas at Austin. He has conducted archaeological and geographical research in the American Southwest and México, authoring four books and scores of journal articles and book chapters.
Jim Neely is Professor Emeritus of Anthropology, The University of Texas at Austin. He is recognized worldwide for his research on ancient water management in Iraq, the Tehuacán Valley in México, and in the American Southwest. Among his greatest discoveries were the Perron Dam caves containing the earliest evidence of maize cultivation and miles of travertine-encrusted relic canals. Jim also participated in the University of Arizona’s last archaeological field school at Point of Pines and excavated canals with Richard Woodbury at the Park of Four Waters in Phoenix.
To register for the Zoom webinar go to https://us06web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_GMkDywG9ScWx7ybhO2uL_A. For more information contact Old Pueblo at info@oldpueblo.org or 520-798-1201.
Flyer: 20250717(v2)ThirdThursday_Doolittle&Neely_ABiographyOfTheSaffordValleyGridsArchaeologicalProject
Caption: Some ancient rock-bordered grids in the Safford Valley, photo courtesy of Bill Doolittle