Status Differentiation in the Mortuary Practices and Architecture of Paquimé, Chihuahua, Mexico

Summary

This is an abstract from the "SAA 2019: General Sessions" session, at the 84th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

The site of Paquimé in Chihuahua, Mexico, is part of the debate of social organization of prehistoric pueblos. Using statistical and Geographic Information Systems this research attempts to determine the degree of status differentiation and intra-site organization of the site by revisiting published archaeological data and using a revised classification and seriation of mortuary patterns and architecture. Furthermore, this study considers the variation in the funerary practices in Paquimé and the spatial correlation of the data with architectural features to see if the burial furniture, grave goods, architecture and artifacts showed variation within spatial units that can be related to status differentiation. The study also compares the site of Paquimé with Grasshopper Pueblo in east-central Arizona. Previous studies suggested that the population at this site had a similar organization to the historic Puebloan communities in the north of Arizona and New Mexico of organized in kinship groups with distinctions based in age, gender and some ceremonial statuses. Preceding architectural comparisons between both sites showed differences in activity areas, group storage and communal or integrative areas. Does Paquimé share similarities with contemporary Puebloan communities like Grasshopper Pueblo or were there diverse social organizations in the Southwest/Northwest during the Late Pueblo period?

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 84th Annual Meeting, Albuquerque, NM (2019)

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 24331