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

Abstract

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.

Cremations and Pyrotechnologies among the Prehispanic Inhabitants of Cerro de Trincheras, Northern Mexico

“…Cremation practices among various ancestral groups in the southwestern United States are the subject of many archaeological studies (Beck 2005; Brunson-Hadley 1994; Cerezo-Román 2014, 2015, 2020a, 2020b, 2021a; Creel 1989; Merbs 1967; Reinhard and Fink 1982, 1994; Reinhard and Shipman 1978; Robinson and Sprague 1965; Toulouse 1944). In northern Mexico, cremations were found at the site of La Playa in Sonora (Carpenter, Rohn, and Montero 2003; Carpenter, Sánchez, and Villalpando 2003; Carpenter et al 2015).…”

“…There could be multiple reasons and meanings for not cremating individuals. Cerezo-Román (2021a) argues that the locations of the inhumations on the hill and in the pyre area could be a way to socially differentiate these individuals from community members buried in the urnfield cemetery. Other possibilities could be adverse weather conditions and the lack of social cooperation.…”

“…The cremation ritual and ideas about death at Cerro de Trincheras may have been associated with the concept of tranformation. The final stage of the mortuary practices reimagined the individuals as more general ancestors for the entire community (for a detailed discussion, see Cerezo-Román 2021a; Cerezo-Román et al 2018). The transformation of the individuals into a more generalized ancestor is not unique to this setting and has been observed in other parts of the world under different circumstances (Graeber 1995).…”