Feature 133
Feature 133 was located in the west-central portion of the property. The feature was originally identified in the eastern and western profiles of Trench 8. The floor of Feature 133 was the lower of two pithouses and had been intruded by Feature 5, a large pit. In profile, Feature 133 was a thin, discontinuous caliche floor separated from the upper house (Feature 6) by less than 0.10 m. No artifacts were evident between the two floors and speculation during the testing phase suggested that the upper floor might have represented a replastering episode.
Excavation of Feature 133 was conducted after the upper floor of Feature 6 was exposed; all associated features were excavated in order to avoid confusion with the lower floor. Sediment above the floor was divided into two natural levels: 1) the caliche used in construction of the upperfloor and 2) the fill capping the lower floor. Feature 133 was similar to the type described by Haury (1976) as S-1.
The long axis of the structure was oriented roughly east to west, with the entrance facing south. The pithouse floor was situated on the red silt stratum and had been disturbed by rodents; these disturbances caused sediments with artifacts to extend below the level of the floor. The house was built in a pit. No walls were present, but the outside edge of the floor exhibited a slight lip.The entrance had been badly disturbed by rodent activity and was difficult to identify. The edges appeared to constrict toward the junction with the house floor; the entry measured a maximum of 0.80 m wide and 1.0 m long.
The entryway was level along its entire 1.0 m length, with no postholes or riser present. The floor of the entrance was caliche plastered, but had been disturbed by rodents. The floor of Feature 133 also had been badly disturbed along its southern edge. The caliche plaster in this area was reduced to small fragments less than 0.25 m in size. The patchy nature of the floor in this area might have resulted in some mixing of the artifacts. Elsewhere. the caliche floor was well preserved. No evidence for burning was present on the floor, although there was some charcoal in the fill above the floor. One unburned fragment of roof or wall fall was present above the floor; a small unfired lump of clay was reported from the floor and might have been part of the construction material from the structure.
Feature 152, the hearth, associated with the structure, was located 0.50 m inside the entryway. Disturbances to the entry prevented determination of whether the hearth was directly in front of the entrance or offset from the center. The hearth was 0.20 m in diameter with a maximum depth of 0.12 m; the fill of the hearth was ashy. The clay lining extended 0.14 m beyond the feature edge onto the floor and was fired black.
Seven postholes were identified on the floor surface, an eighth posthole was located outside of the floor near the northwestern corner in a wall trench. No discernible pattern was evident from the subfeature locations, however, the majority of the postholes were present along the northern edge of the house. The average diameter of the internal postholes was 0.142 m, with a mean depth of 0.101 m. The single exterior posthole was 0.16 m in diameter and 0.1 m deep. A wall trench was identified along the eastern, northern, and southeastern walls, but was not evident elsewhere due to the extensive rodent disturbances.
Feature 6, a pithouse, was situated on top of the western 3/4 of the floor surface directly above Feature 133. A small portion of the north-eastern corner of Feature 133 was below the floor of a second pithouse (Feature 76).