Guadalupe Sanchez
Bachelor's degree from ENAH, CdeMX (1993), master's and doctorate from the University of Arizona, Tucson (2000, 2009). Archaeologists are anthropologists who use different methods to obtain anthropological answers. For the last 30 years of my career, together with John Carpenter (1957-2024), I have dedicated myself to studying human adaptations to the Sonoran Desert and neighboring areas of Sonora and Sinaloa. The most relevant and far-reaching work of my career so far is my research of the Pleistocene inhabitants of Sonora and the study of the End of the World site dated to 13,000 years before the present with a context of hunting of gomphotheres by humans with Clovis projectile points. This was followed by studies at the La Playa site that has modified what was known about the early and archaic agriculture of northern Mexico and the discovery of a corn cupule dated to 4100 years before the present. Recently, our studies in the Sonoran highlands with Matthew Pailes have been a defining moment in the study of the border areas of Casas Grandes, the northern México chiefdoms, and pan-regional interactions.
Licenciatura en la ENAH, CdeMX (1993), maestría y doctorado en la Universidad de Arizona, Tucson (2000, 2009). Los arqueólogos somos antropólogos que usamos diferentes métodos para obtener respuestas antropológicas. Por los últimos 30 años de mi carrera junto con John Carpenter (1957-2024) me he dedicado a estudiar las adaptaciones humanas al Desierto de Sonora y áreas vecinas de Sonora y Sinaloa. El trabajo más relevante y de mayor envergadura de mi carrera hasta ahora es mi investigación de los habitantes del Pleistoceno de Sonora y el estudio del sitio Fin del Mundo fechado a 13,000 años antes del presente con un contexto de caza de gonfoterios por humanos con puntas de proyectil Clovis. Seguido por los estudios en el sitio de La Playa que ha modificado lo que se sabía sobre la agricultura temprana y el arcaico del Norte de México y el hallazgo de una cúpula de maíz fechada a 4100 años antes del presente. Recientemente nuestros estudios en la sierra sonorense con Matthew Pailes han sido un parteaguas en el estudio de las zonas de zonas limítrofes/ de frontera de Casas Grandes, los cacicazgos norteños y las interacciones pan-regional.
Licenciatura en la ENAH, CdeMX (1993), maestría y doctorado en la Universidad de Arizona, Tucson (2000, 2009). Los arqueólogos somos antropólogos que usamos diferentes métodos para obtener respuestas antropológicas. Por los últimos 30 años de mi carrera junto con John Carpenter (1957-2024) me he dedicado a estudiar las adaptaciones humanas al Desierto de Sonora y áreas vecinas de Sonora y Sinaloa. El trabajo más relevante y de mayor envergadura de mi carrera hasta ahora es mi investigación de los habitantes del Pleistoceno de Sonora y el estudio del sitio Fin del Mundo fechado a 13,000 años antes del presente con un contexto de caza de gonfoterios por humanos con puntas de proyectil Clovis. Seguido por los estudios en el sitio de La Playa que ha modificado lo que se sabía sobre la agricultura temprana y el arcaico del Norte de México y el hallazgo de una cúpula de maíz fechada a 4100 años antes del presente. Recientemente nuestros estudios en la sierra sonorense con Matthew Pailes han sido un parteaguas en el estudio de las zonas de zonas limítrofes/ de frontera de Casas Grandes, los cacicazgos norteños y las interacciones pan-regional.
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offers the first recorded evidence of Paleoindian interactions with gomphotheres, an extinct species related to elephants. The Clovis occupation of North America is the oldest generally accepted and well-documented archaeological assemblage on the continent. This site in Sonora, Mexico, is the northernmost dated late Pleistocene gomphothere and the youngest in North America. It is the first documented intact buried Clovis site outside of the United States, the first in situ Paleoindian site in northwestern Mexico, and the first documented evidence of Clovis gomphothere hunting in North America. The site also includes an associated upland Clovis campsite. This volume also describes a paleontological bone bed below the Clovis level, which includes a rare association of mastodon, mammoth, and gomphothere.
El Fin del Mundo presents and synthesizes the archaeological, geological,
paleontological, and paleoenvironmental records of an important Clovis site.
Traditionally Mexico is identified as a significant region for understanding the colonization of the continent, his territory is shape as a funnel, if the first Americans move inland from Beringa to South America they had to cross Mexico. The archaeological record of the first people of Mexico -with the exception of the state of Sonora- is scarce and the information generated until today is confusing and little systematic. A synthesis of the current archaeological data of the people of Mexico is presented here. The state of Sonora presents a remarkably pristine setting for studying the late Pleistocene occupation of North America. The early archaeological record in Sonora is stunning in terms of its relative abundance and only within the past ten years has this fact become evident. The Paleo-Indian sites are concentrated in north-central Sonora on and surrounding, the Llanos de Hermosillo; here a summary of the sites studied is presented. A large collection of Clovis artifacts were collected from the sites and a lithic technological study is presented. The settlement pattern appears to indicate that the Sonoran Clovis groups depended and exploited a wide range of environments, and their diet was based upon a wide variety of foodstuffs. The Clovis groups of Sonora developed a sophisticated settlement pattern and land use determined largely on the water resources, the location of lithic sources for tool making, large prey animals and a mosaic of edible plants and small animals. Exploiting an extensive territory probably permitted them to remain in the same region for longer periods of time. The presence of only few late Paleo-Indian diagnostic points could represent the decrease of population density in Sonora, but most likely it is an indication that after Clovis a regionalization of the hunter and gather groups took place in Sonora. The Sonoran Clovis occupation is a testimony that multiple regional Clovis adaptations emerged each with specific responses to plants, animals and diverse regional resources.
Journal Articles by Guadalupe Sanchez
Resumen
La tradición Huatabampo fue definida por primera vez por Gordon Ekholm, en 1938, y se refiere a aquellos sitios en la planicie costera en el norte de Sinaloa y el sur de Sonora que carecen de arquitectura pero que contienen cerámica lisa fina con formas complejas. Investigaciones recientes en la región están ayudando a refinar la cronología, la extensión geográfica, los atributos culturales y la etnicidad. Con 20 fechas de radiocarbono, podemos colocar esta tradición que abarca desde 200 aC hasta 1450 dC. La extensión geográfica máxima se extiende desde el Medio Río Yaqui en el norte hasta el Río San Lorenzo en Sinaloa. Los sitios asociados de este complejo están representados por casas dispersas, indicativas de rancherías, montículos funerarios, concheros y sitios de petrograbados. Alrededor del año 1150 DC, cerámica Aztatlán y otros productos del sur de Sinaloa se incorporaron principalmente como ofrendas mortuorias. También proporcionamos evidencia de que la tradición arqueológica de Huatabampo es una cultura local que representa la ocupación de los grupos de habla cahita; Yoremem / Mayos y Yoemem / Yaquis, de la planicie costera del sur de Sonora y Norte de Sinaloa.
south of the glaciers [∼11,500 to ≥ ∼10,800 14C yBP; ∼13,300 to
∼12,800 calibrated (Cal) years] made distinctive “Clovis” artifacts.
They are stereotypically characterized as hunters of Pleistocene
megamammals (mostly mammoth) who entered the continent
via Beringia and an ice-free corridor in Canada. The origins of
Clovis technology are unclear, however, with no obvious evidence
of a predecessor to the north. Here we present evidence for Clovis
hunting and habitation ∼11,550 yBP (∼13,390 Cal years) at “El Fin
del Mundo,” an archaeological site in Sonora, northwestern Mexico.
The site also includes the first evidence to our knowledge for
gomphothere (Cuvieronius sp.) as Clovis prey, otherwise unknown
in the North American archaeological record and terminal Pleistocene paleontological record. These data (i) broaden the age and geographic range for Clovis, establishing El Fin del Mundo as one of the oldest and southernmost in situ Clovis sites, supporting the hypothesis that Clovis had its origins well south of the gateways into the continent, and (ii) expand the make-up of the North American megafauna community just before extinction.
From those modest beginnings, the Proyecto Arqueologico La Playa evolved into a interdisciplinary and multi-thematic research project, involving several professional colleagues, principally from the Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia (INAH) and the University of Arizona, as well as a number of undergraduate and graduate students from universities in Mexico, the US, and the UK. To date, the project has produced a minimum of nine undergraduate Licenciatura theses (Universidad de las Américas, Puebla and the Escuela Nacional de Antropología e Historia), seven MA theses (UA and University of York), and one Ph.D. (University of Nevada-Las Vegas). The La Playa site, reflects an archaeological landscape encompassing 10 square kilometers located in northern Sonora, Mexico, and exhibits archaeological evidence of continuous human use since the Paleoindian period (circa 13,000 years ago), but it’s most intensive use was during the Early Agricultural period (3700–2050 cal BP).
During the Early Agricultural Period (EAP) humans began to manipulate their environment in significant ways related to agricultural production. La Playa contains an extensive paleo-climatological record and the remains of massive prehistoric irrigation systems. Ongoing geoarchaeological investigations at the site contribute greatly to our understanding of this intensively manipulated landscape and model the history of climate change that brackets the EAP and the agricultural system that shaped the landscape. Measurable climate change marks the beginning and end of the EAP in the Sonoran Desert; a period characterized by the development and implementation of a sustainable model of agriculture that led to significant population growth and cultural development in the Trincheras, Sonora region.
offers the first recorded evidence of Paleoindian interactions with gomphotheres, an extinct species related to elephants. The Clovis occupation of North America is the oldest generally accepted and well-documented archaeological assemblage on the continent. This site in Sonora, Mexico, is the northernmost dated late Pleistocene gomphothere and the youngest in North America. It is the first documented intact buried Clovis site outside of the United States, the first in situ Paleoindian site in northwestern Mexico, and the first documented evidence of Clovis gomphothere hunting in North America. The site also includes an associated upland Clovis campsite. This volume also describes a paleontological bone bed below the Clovis level, which includes a rare association of mastodon, mammoth, and gomphothere.
El Fin del Mundo presents and synthesizes the archaeological, geological,
paleontological, and paleoenvironmental records of an important Clovis site.
Traditionally Mexico is identified as a significant region for understanding the colonization of the continent, his territory is shape as a funnel, if the first Americans move inland from Beringa to South America they had to cross Mexico. The archaeological record of the first people of Mexico -with the exception of the state of Sonora- is scarce and the information generated until today is confusing and little systematic. A synthesis of the current archaeological data of the people of Mexico is presented here. The state of Sonora presents a remarkably pristine setting for studying the late Pleistocene occupation of North America. The early archaeological record in Sonora is stunning in terms of its relative abundance and only within the past ten years has this fact become evident. The Paleo-Indian sites are concentrated in north-central Sonora on and surrounding, the Llanos de Hermosillo; here a summary of the sites studied is presented. A large collection of Clovis artifacts were collected from the sites and a lithic technological study is presented. The settlement pattern appears to indicate that the Sonoran Clovis groups depended and exploited a wide range of environments, and their diet was based upon a wide variety of foodstuffs. The Clovis groups of Sonora developed a sophisticated settlement pattern and land use determined largely on the water resources, the location of lithic sources for tool making, large prey animals and a mosaic of edible plants and small animals. Exploiting an extensive territory probably permitted them to remain in the same region for longer periods of time. The presence of only few late Paleo-Indian diagnostic points could represent the decrease of population density in Sonora, but most likely it is an indication that after Clovis a regionalization of the hunter and gather groups took place in Sonora. The Sonoran Clovis occupation is a testimony that multiple regional Clovis adaptations emerged each with specific responses to plants, animals and diverse regional resources.
Resumen
La tradición Huatabampo fue definida por primera vez por Gordon Ekholm, en 1938, y se refiere a aquellos sitios en la planicie costera en el norte de Sinaloa y el sur de Sonora que carecen de arquitectura pero que contienen cerámica lisa fina con formas complejas. Investigaciones recientes en la región están ayudando a refinar la cronología, la extensión geográfica, los atributos culturales y la etnicidad. Con 20 fechas de radiocarbono, podemos colocar esta tradición que abarca desde 200 aC hasta 1450 dC. La extensión geográfica máxima se extiende desde el Medio Río Yaqui en el norte hasta el Río San Lorenzo en Sinaloa. Los sitios asociados de este complejo están representados por casas dispersas, indicativas de rancherías, montículos funerarios, concheros y sitios de petrograbados. Alrededor del año 1150 DC, cerámica Aztatlán y otros productos del sur de Sinaloa se incorporaron principalmente como ofrendas mortuorias. También proporcionamos evidencia de que la tradición arqueológica de Huatabampo es una cultura local que representa la ocupación de los grupos de habla cahita; Yoremem / Mayos y Yoemem / Yaquis, de la planicie costera del sur de Sonora y Norte de Sinaloa.
south of the glaciers [∼11,500 to ≥ ∼10,800 14C yBP; ∼13,300 to
∼12,800 calibrated (Cal) years] made distinctive “Clovis” artifacts.
They are stereotypically characterized as hunters of Pleistocene
megamammals (mostly mammoth) who entered the continent
via Beringia and an ice-free corridor in Canada. The origins of
Clovis technology are unclear, however, with no obvious evidence
of a predecessor to the north. Here we present evidence for Clovis
hunting and habitation ∼11,550 yBP (∼13,390 Cal years) at “El Fin
del Mundo,” an archaeological site in Sonora, northwestern Mexico.
The site also includes the first evidence to our knowledge for
gomphothere (Cuvieronius sp.) as Clovis prey, otherwise unknown
in the North American archaeological record and terminal Pleistocene paleontological record. These data (i) broaden the age and geographic range for Clovis, establishing El Fin del Mundo as one of the oldest and southernmost in situ Clovis sites, supporting the hypothesis that Clovis had its origins well south of the gateways into the continent, and (ii) expand the make-up of the North American megafauna community just before extinction.
From those modest beginnings, the Proyecto Arqueologico La Playa evolved into a interdisciplinary and multi-thematic research project, involving several professional colleagues, principally from the Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia (INAH) and the University of Arizona, as well as a number of undergraduate and graduate students from universities in Mexico, the US, and the UK. To date, the project has produced a minimum of nine undergraduate Licenciatura theses (Universidad de las Américas, Puebla and the Escuela Nacional de Antropología e Historia), seven MA theses (UA and University of York), and one Ph.D. (University of Nevada-Las Vegas). The La Playa site, reflects an archaeological landscape encompassing 10 square kilometers located in northern Sonora, Mexico, and exhibits archaeological evidence of continuous human use since the Paleoindian period (circa 13,000 years ago), but it’s most intensive use was during the Early Agricultural period (3700–2050 cal BP).
During the Early Agricultural Period (EAP) humans began to manipulate their environment in significant ways related to agricultural production. La Playa contains an extensive paleo-climatological record and the remains of massive prehistoric irrigation systems. Ongoing geoarchaeological investigations at the site contribute greatly to our understanding of this intensively manipulated landscape and model the history of climate change that brackets the EAP and the agricultural system that shaped the landscape. Measurable climate change marks the beginning and end of the EAP in the Sonoran Desert; a period characterized by the development and implementation of a sustainable model of agriculture that led to significant population growth and cultural development in the Trincheras, Sonora region.
Our study suggest that La Playa Fluvisols are poorly developed and were formed with alluvial deposits (largely composed of reworked soils). The pedogenic properties indicate an overlapping developed during short time periods of stability, under arid conditions of the last 4000 years. The uniformity of the features in all the studied profiles indicate similar pedogenetic conditions across the site area. The micromorphological and magnetic properties clearly show that the soil was deeply disturbed by human activities, mainly by roasting features to process food, crematories and grave digging to bury the death and removing soil for several agricultural activities.
A Paper Submitted to the Faculty of the Department of Anthropology in partial fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts in the Graduate College, University of Arizona.
Volume contributors show how those responsible for the Aztatlán tradition were direct ancestors of diverse Indigenous peoples such as the Náayeri (Cora), Wixárika (Huichol), O’dam (Tepehuan), Caz’ Ahmo (Caxcan), Yoeme (Yaqui), Yoreme (Mayo), and others who continue to reside across the former Aztatlán region and its frontiers. The prosperity of the Aztatlán tradition was achieved through long-distance networks that fostered the development of new ritual economies and integrated peoples in Greater Mesoamerica with those in the U.S. Southwest/Mexican Northwest.
https://uofupress.lib.utah.edu/reassessing-the-aztatlan-world/
Yet, interregional interaction and integration between Mesoamerica and the American Southwest has long comprised a key issue in the debate over social, political and economic transformations of precolonial Southwestern societies and the development of the northern Mesoamerican frontier. In this regard, Northwest Mexico has been identified as holding "the answer to many important archaeological questions, including Mesoamerican-Southwestern relationships and the expansion...of Mesoamerican civilization" (Meighan 1971:754). The chapters by Mathiowetz and Schaafsma this volume provide excellent examples of the importance of these inferred relationships.
In this chapter, we present the environmental and archaeological background relevant to the current research, along with the history of previous
archaeological investigations, and present a tentative regional chronology and cultural–historical model relevant to the Paleo indian and Archaic period occupations of Sonora, Mexico.
Our own interests in the Paleo indian and Archaic occupations of Sonora were kindled over a decade ago, when our research at the predominantly Early Agriculture period/Trincheras tradition site of La Playa (SON F:10:3) demonstrated the presence of signifi cant Archaic period components, along with a Clovis point, bifaces, and partially fossilized antler billets of probable Paleo indian affi liation. Additionally, the remains of numerous species of Pleistocene
fauna (Equus, Camelops, Mammuthus, Bison antiquus, Sigmodon, Cervids, and Antilocapra, along with an exceptional number of tortoises, Gopherus or Hesperatudae) were identifi ed within a Pleistocene paleo sol and the alluvial deposits lying directly above (Carpenter et al. 2005:20; Jim Mead, pers. comm. 2003).
In the late 1990s, we initiated a project to identify and document Paleoindian artifacts within both museum collections and private collections, along with a concerted effort to relocate and document the known locales suggesting probable Paleo indian contexts. Since 2003, we have coordinated a systematic
geoarchaeological Paleo indian research program, with funding provided by the Argonaut Archaeological Research Fund (AARF) from the University of Arizona, and with the cooperation of the Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia (INAH).""
El objetivo principal de este trabajo es presentar una propuesta interpretativa sobre las adaptaciones de larga duración de los grupos humanos que habitaron Sonora utilizando como base la organización de la tecnología lítica, los estilos de puntas de proyectil, el paisaje sonorense y la disponibilidad de ciertos recursos. Esta propuesta es resultado de dos décadas de investigaciones arqueológicas en el Desierto de Sonora y se muestra de una manera general las estrategias adaptativas de los grupos desde que llegaron a Sonora hace 13,000 años.
"
Recent research by the Proyecto Arqueológico Norte de Sinaloa (INAH) suggests that the southern frontier of the Northwest/Southwest during the “Lost Century” that, although an abrupt collapse of the long-distance exchange network is observed, there exists a continuity among cultural traditions and principal ceramic traditions between the Huatabampo and Serrana (Río Sonora) traditions of the late prehistoric period and the early historic period in southernmost Sonora and northern Sinaloa. We propose that these traditions are part of a widespread Cahitan ceramic tradition. We further suggest that the descendants of many of the numerous groups of Cahita speakers documented by the Spaniards in the 16th century (Ahome, Guasave, Ocoroni, Sinaloa, Tehueco, Zuaque, etc.) today comprise part of the contemporary Yoreme (Mayo) community.
Esta presentación examina los resultados de un proyecto de investigación colaborativo financiado por la NSF/INAH titulado Proyecto Arqueológico Río Sahuaripa y la Sierra Central. Este proyecto tenía dos objetivos principales. El primero fue la intención directa de mejorar el control cronológico en toda la región y evaluar los patrones de continuidad cultural entre las poblaciones prehispánicas y coloniales. El segundo objetivo, más holístico, fue evaluar el papel de Casas Grandes en la economía política tanto a escala panregional como local. Hasta la fecha, nuestro proyecto ha producido importantes resultados de prospección y excavación en cuatro valles del estado de Sonora. Cuando estos resultados se combinan con los datos heredados, permiten un modelo cada vez más refinado de la variación en las estrategias políticas e ideológicas observadas en el período prehispánico tardío (ca. 1100-1540 d.C.) de la Sierra Madre de Sonora. Identificamos tres modos generales de afiliación cultural en toda la región que etiquetamos como "alta interacción", "consolidación local" y "evitando afiliación". Aunque es cierto que estas estrategias se combinaron en diversos grados, la mayoría de las comunidades presentan un patrón dominante. La diversidad espacial de estos modos refleja el patrón más amplio de las comunidades autónomas a lo largo de la Sierra Madre de Sonora que responden a las condiciones ecológicas, topográficas y demográficas locales que dictaron la viabilidad y el valor de la interacción regional y de larga distancia dentro de las economías políticas locales.
The δ13C values of paleosols and analysis of megafauna in Northwest and Central-Northern Mexico matched each other, indicating mixed C3-C4 vegetation; while for Central-Nouthern Mexico, paleosols indicated predominance of C3 plants and megafauna indicated mixed C3-C4 composition. In general, the results indicate that in northern Mexico environmental conditions were slightly wetter than at present, while for the central area there was a large change in the environmental conditions of high humidity in MIS3 and MIS2, with a trend to drier climates in MIS1.
HALLAZGOS 2012 EN EL FIN DEL MUNDO
Guadalupe Sanchez, Vance Holliday, Natalia Martinez e Ismael Sanchez
El estudio del sitio Fin del Mundo es de gran importancia para la historia de Sonora y de México ya que contiene depósitos preservados donde se pueden observar algunos aspectos del comportamiento humano de los primeros pobladores del continente, así como un registro detallado de la fauna, flora y los cambios climáticos extremos que ocurrieron al terminar la época glacial y como comenzó a formarse el Desierto de Sonora. Evidencias de esta naturaleza de hace 13,000 años de antigüedad son muy difíciles de encontrar, por esta razón el Fin del Mundo es un laboratorio único para estudiar este excepcional momento histórico.
El objetivo principal de la cuarta temporada de campo en el sitio Fin del Mundo (Primavera 2012) fue continuar con las excavaciones en la Localidad 1. Entre 2007-2010 se excavaron un total de 50 unidades de 1x1 metro, se removieron entre 1.50 a 1.60 metros de depósitos pertenecientes al estrato 4, una ciénaga que se formó a principios del Holoceno y se caracteriza por tener un alto contenido de diatomeas (fechada por radiocarbono entre 9800-7500 años AP). Debajo de éste depósito de ciénaga (estrato 4) y dentro del estrato inferior 3b, que representa un ambiente aluvial con posible estancamiento de agua pero sin ser de naturaleza lacustre, se encontraron los restos semiarticulados de dos elefantes del Pleistoceno de la especie Gonfoterium Curvieronius. Directamente asociadas a los huesos se encontraron lascas pequeñas de reavivamiento del filo. El estrato 3b abarca hasta 20 centímetros de espesor y como los hueso grandes se encontraban en el contacto superior con el estrato 4 muy poco se excavó del estrato 3b en las primeras tres temporadas.
Al comenzase a excavar el estrato 3b en enero de 2011 se encontraron tres puntas de proyectil Clovis, dos completas y un fragmento distal, todas elaboradas en rocas calcedonicas. Las dos puntas completas Clovis de 2011 fueron usadas y agotadas al máximo y después desechadas y la tercera se rompió durante la actividad de caza. En 2012 continuamos excavando la parte inferior del estrato 3b y a unos 8 centímetros por debajo de donde se encontró la mandíbula y los fragmentos de cráneo del gonfoterio II se encontró una fantástica punta de proyectil Clovis completa elaborada en riolita que seguramente fue obtenida de un yacimiento local presente en las localidades 21y 22. La punta esta en perfecto estado de conservación mide 11 centímetros de largo, tiene la base cóncava, pulido basal y lateral y sus bordes están todavía filosos; seguramente el cazador perdió la punta durante el forcejeo de la caza. Abajo y alrededor de la punta Clovis de riolita se observaron una gran cantidad de pequeños pedazos de diente de 1-2 cm de largo que podrían ser parte de la maxila del Gonfoterio II.
En 2012 nos dimos cuenta que el estrato 3b es mucho más irregular de lo que habíamos pensado y parece haber estado poco firme y contenido agua estancada por donde los pesados elefantes del Pleistoceno caminaron y dejaron pisadas de entre 10-15 cm de profundidad (ver figura). Tal vez el hallazgo más importante, aunque no el más bonito, de la temporada 2012 fueron cuatro muestras de carbón recuperadas del estrato 3b. Estos carbones son importantes porque no hemos podido fechar con precisión el evento de caza de Gonfoterio que hasta ahora solo podemos decir que ocurrió entre los años 10,000 y 12,500 antes del presente. El hallazgo de la punta Clovis del 2012 elaborada en la riolita local, es otra evidencia de que los grupos Clovis permanecieron suficiente tiempo en la región para conocer el comportamiento de la materia prima local e integrarla en los rituales de caza de elefantes del Pleistoceno.
procedencia cerámica. Los vestigios arqueológicos en la planicie aluvial del Norte de Sinaloa están siendo destruidos de una manera acelerada y alarmante por los procesos agrícolas industrializados junto con los saqueos y la urbanización de algunos poblados. Uno de los sitios más conocidos del norte de Sinaloa es el sitio de El Ombligo en Guasave, excavado por Gordon Ekholm en 1939, se trata de un montículo funerario de donde se recuperaron más de 200 entierros. Esta investigación se había quedado aislada y no sabemos la extensión regional de
estos elementos arqueológicos, tampoco sabemos si había más montículos funerarios en las proximidades de Guasave ya que toda esta zona baja de la planicie aluvial ha sido arrasada por completo. En Mochicahui se sabe de la existencia de por lo menos dos montículos funerarios en las proximidades del poblado, que están siendo saqueados y destruidos por el urbanismo de Mochicahui. El enfoque principal de campo en las investigaciones de la temporada 2009 fue la zona de Mochicahui, El Fuerte, Sinaloa para buscar contextos arqueológicos intactos antes de que desaparezcan por completo. En total se
intervinieron 4 sitios (Borboa de Mochicahui, Vialacahui-Gasera, Ruiz Felix; Leyva de Mochicahui). Todos dentro del poblado moderno de Mochicahui.
In this paper, we evaluate both linguistic and archaeological data relevant to early Uto-Aztecan history. We interpret temporal-spatial patterns in the archaeological record in terms of complexes representing, simultaneously, cultural traditions and communication networks. In this perspective, the sets of cultural traits forming a complex could have dispersed either through migration, involving an actual movement of people, or diffusion, involving transmission across a cultural-linguistic continuum functioning as a communication network. We assume, on the basis of ethnographic and ethnohistoric studies, that certain aspects of material culture are useful cultural markers because some portion of their variability was related to communicating cultural identities. Thus, prehistoric cultural complexes can be identified in terms of rock art styles, figurine types, textile techniques, mortuary practices, and other aspects of material culture. In this study, we focus upon projectile point styles, cultivated plants, and other technologies to identify the timing of the arrival of Uto-Aztecan peoples into Northwest Mexico/Southwestern U.S., the extent of the Uto-Aztecan continuum prior to its breakup into northern and southern groups, and the timing of that divergence.