A Comparison of Mortuary Practices among the Tucson Basin Hohokam and Trincheras Traditions

Mortuary rituals are compared and contrasted in order to better understand social interaction between the Tucson Basin Hohokam of southern Arizona and the Trincheras tradition populations of northern Sonora. This interaction is explored through the examination of ideas about personhood and embodiment, and their relationship to the biological profiles and posthumous treatments of individuals during the Hohokam Classic period (AD 1150–1450) and the occupation of Cerro de Trincheras (AD 1300–1450). In both areas, cremation was the main burial custom, and both groups had complex, multistage cremation rituals, in which burning of the body played only a small part. Examination of rich archaeological data and well-excavated contexts at these sites revealed remarkable similarities and differences in body treatment during the mortuary ritual. Tucson Basin Hohokam mortuary practices suggest a stronger connection to, and remembrance of, the deceased within smaller social groups. In contrast, mortuary practices at Cerro de Trincheras emphasize similarities among the various cremated individuals, with rituals directed more toward the broader social group. Results suggest that the two groups were fundamentally similar in how they treated the bodies of the dead during the cremation process, but different in how the dead were remembered and commemorated.

CHANGES IN REMEMBRANCE OF AN URNFIELD CREMATION CEMETERY, CERRO DE TRINCHERAS, SONORA, MEXICO

We explore the transformation of a site into a place of remembrance by evaluating the life history of an urnfield at Cerro de Trincheras, Sonora, Mexico. Prehispanic inhabitants used this cemetery as a cremation burial ground ca. AD 1300–1450. Memory of the cemetery persisted into historical times among inhabitants of the area, but its use changed. We argue that critical and contextualized approaches to cemeteries are needed to understand the complexity of how burial spaces are used through time.

¿Por qué en Sonora no hay arqueología? Nacionalismo y turismo en billetes de banco y folletos de viaje

En México el pasado arqueológico es significativo, pese a que no todas las ruinas son valoradas equitativamente. Se piensa que la arqueología existe donde hay pirámides, y se considera que en su ausencia no hay arqueología. En la zona maya de Mesoamérica prevalece la primera idea, mientras que en Sonora predomina la segunda. En este artículo se pretende demostrar que la valoración desigual de la arqueología es el resultado de varios factores, entre los que se distinguen el nacionalismo y el turismo. Aquí se realiza una comparación de áreas cultural y geográficamente diferentes: el sitio maya de Tulum, en Quintana Roo, y el Cerro de Trincheras, en Sonora. Para el análisis se utiliza la cuarta emisión de billetes del Banco de México, así como folletos de viaje para promoción turística, producidos por la Secretaría de Turismo. La simplicidad de la frase en el norte no hay arqueología permite, en realidad, comprender el éxito selectivo del manejo del pasado prehispánico que ha tenido la clase dirigente. Se concluye que la arqueología ha sido un proyecto paralelo del nacionalismo y turismo posrevolucionarios.