Determining Construction Materials and Soil Formation Processes at a Burial Mound in Northwest Mexico Using Soil Micromorphology

Summary

El Cementerio [SON P:10:8] is a late Ceramic period (cal. A.D. 943-1481) burial mound in Central Sonora, Mexico. The mound was constructed within the floodplain about 300 meters from the eastern bank of the Rio Yaqui. Micromorphology analysis (the microscopic analysis of undisturbed soils and sediments) was conducted in order to characterize the nature of the soils and sediments used to construct the mound. Samples were collected in situ from excavation units across the mound, with their orientation preserved. Thin sections were made and then analyzed with a petrographic microscope. Twenty-one samples were collected from various soil horizons and contacts to determine the construction practices and whether natural soil forming processes have been occurring in the mound. Preliminary assessments suggest that the visible mound stratigraphy is a result of a combination of naturally occurring soil forming processes following the construction of the mound, and an artifact from the soils used to construct the mound. This is significant because certain soils and sediments may have been intentionally selected for construction of the mound.

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This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 80th Annual Meeting, San Francisco, CA (2015)

Keywords

Spatial Coverage