Audie Murphy Ranch Project
BFSA recently completed surveys and site evaluations for cultural resources with the Audie Murphy Ranch Project. Located south of Sun City in Riverside County, the 1,100-acre project area contained 38 prehistoric sites and five historic sites, including Audie Murphy’s ranch house. The report from this project, released on September 16, 2002, contained in-depth descriptions of the project area and the cultural resources located there, as well as a significance evaluation for each resource.
The majority of the prehistoric sites were affiliated with the Late Prehistoric Luiseño, as determined through time-sensitive artifacts, rock art and petroglyphs. Many of the prehistoric sites were determined to be significant with the potential to contain valuable information that could contribute to our understanding of the prehistory of the area. Further work, including an archaeological data recovery program to sample significant sites, was recommended prior to development of the area.
The mitigation monitoring program was completed in 2007. The final technical report documents the extensive cultural resources within the project, including Archaic occupation (3,000 to 5,000 years before the present), Late Prehistoric Luiseño (400 to 1,500 years before the present), and historic homesteads.
