Funerary Practices in Prehispanic Sinaloa: Assessing Aztatlán Mortuary Behavior

Summary

Funerary traditions reflect social behaviors that contain important information about the integration of several social groups. Funerary practices seem to persist over time because they comprise an integral aspect of group identity. In this paper we discuss the funerary practices known for the identified late prehispanic Sinaloan archaeological traditions. Specific locations to bury the dead appear to be the usual practice for the Aztatlán and Huatabampo traditions. Funerary mounds with extended burials appear to be associated with the Huatabampo/Guasave tradition and are present on the Pacific coastal plain of northern Sinaloa and southern Sonora. During the northern expansion of the Aztatlan tradition (between 900-1400 CE.) urn burials, along with several commodities, expanded into northern Sinaloa; the northernmost urn burial known is located on the Bahía Agiabampo adjacent to the Sonoran border. Additionally, we discuss the evidence for interaction and integration of the Sinaloan archaeological groups based upon funerary practices, trade goods and social identity.

SAA 2015 abstracts made available in tDAR courtesy of the Society for American Archaeology and Center for Digital Antiquity Collaborative Program to improve digital data in archaeology. If you are the author of this presentation you may upload your paper, poster, presentation, or associated data (up to 3 files/30MB) for free. Please visit http://www.tdar.org/SAA2015 for instructions and more information.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Examining Webs of Social Relations: New Research in West Mexican Archaeology and West Mexico-U.S. Southwest Connections   •
• Society for American Archaeology 80th Annual Meeting, San Francisco, CA (2015)

Keywords

Spatial Coverage