No. 4 (2021): Noroeste de México
Artículos

El tratamiento mortuorio atípico entre los Primeros Agricultores del Desierto de Sonora

PDF (Spanish)
  • Jordan A. Wilson

Published 2023-07-27

Keywords

  • Atypical burials, normative burials, non-normative burials, archaeothanatology, EAP.

How to Cite

El tratamiento mortuorio atípico entre los Primeros Agricultores del Desierto de Sonora. (2023). Noroeste De México, 4, 216-247. https://revistas.inah.gob.mx/index.php/noroestedemexico/article/view/19641

Abstract

While evidence of sex-based violence in the prehistoric Southwest has typically focused on skeletal trauma, the di?erential mortuary treatment of females of reproductive age has, in some circumstances, been interpreted as an act of sex-based hostility towards the dead. Women uncovered in these atypical burial contexts, predominantly of childbearing age, have been variously interpreted as captives, migrants, or executed witches. This paper examines Early Agricultural period (2100 BC-AD 50) burials of women from the La Playa archaeological site in northern Sonora, Mexico. The burials are analyzed using an archaeothanatological approach, which considers anthropogenic and environmental processes that a?ect mortuary contexts and allows for a more nuanced interpretation of past funerary behavior. Results of this analysis suggests that, compared to normative burials and the non-normative burials of men and children, the atypical mortuary treatment specifically of women of childbearing age at the La Playa site could have been an intentional form of sexual and political signaling. This form of signaling may have been intended to intimidate and control potential sexual partners and reinforce male dominance in a culture that emphasized the concept of male “honor.” 

PDF (Spanish)

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

References

  1. Allen, T., S. A. Novak y L. L. Bench
  2. Patterns of injuries: Accident or abuse. Violence Against Women, 13(8): 802-816.
  3. Aspöck, E.
  4. What actually is a “deviant burial”? Comparing German Language and Anglophone research on “deviant burials.” En Deviant Burial in the Archaeological Record, Studies in Funerary Archaeology, editado por Eileen M. Murphy, vol. 2, pp. 17-35. Oxbow Books, Oxford.
  5. Aufderheide, A. C.
  6. Soft tissue taphonomy: A paleopathology perspective. International Journal of Paleopathology, 1(2): 75-80.
  7. Barber, P.
  8. Vampires, burial, and death: Folklore and reality. Yale University Press, New Haven, Connecticut.
  9. Beck, J., I. Ostericher, G. Sollish y J. De León
  10. Animal scavenging and scattering and the implications for documenting the deaths of undocumented border crossers in the Sonoran Desert. Journal of Forensic Sciences, 60(s1): S11-S20.
  11. Buikstra J. E. y D.H. Ubelaker
  12. Standards for data collection from human skeletal remains. Arkansas Archeological Survey Research Series No. 44. Fayetteville, Arkansas.
  13. Carpenter, John P., G. Sánchez, J.T. Watson y M. E. Villalpando
  14. The La Playa Archaeological Project: Binational interdisciplinary research on long-term human adaptation in the Sonoran Desert. Journal of the Southwest, 57(2-3): 213-264.
  15. Cavanagh, K., R. E. Dobash y R. P. Dobash
  16. (2007 The murder of children by fathers in the context of child abuse. Child Abuse and Neglect, 31(7): 731-746.
  17. Darling, Andrew J.
  18. Mass inhumation and the execution of witches in the American Southwest. American Anthropologist, 100(3): 732-752.
  19. Duday, H. y M. Guillon
  20. Understanding the circumstances of decomposition when the body is skeletonized. En From Forensic Anthropology and Medicine: Complementary Sciences from Recovery to Cause of Death, editado por A. Schmitt, E. Cunha y J. Pinheiro, pp. 117-157. Humana Press Inc., Totowa, NJ.
  21. Duday, H., A. M. Cipriani y J. Pearce
  22. The archaeology of the dead: Lectures in Archaeothanatology, Studies in Funerary Archaeology, vol. 3, Oxbow Books, Oxford.
  23. Fleming, K. y J. T. Watson
  24. Raiding and warfare in early farming villages of the Sonoran Desert. Kiva, 84(4): 424-439.
  25. Galloway, A., W. H. Birkby, A. M. Jones, T. E. Henry y B. O. Parks
  26. Decay rates of human remains in an arid environment. Journal of Forensic Sciences, 34(3): 607-616.
  27. Galloway, A.
  28. The process of decomposition: A model from the Arizona-Sonoran Desert. En Forensic Taphonomy: The Postmortem Fate of Human Remains, editado por W. D. Haglund y M. H. Sorg, pp. 139-150. CRC Press, Boca Raton, Florida.
  29. Harrod, R. P.
  30. Subjugated in the San Juan Basin: Identifying captives in the American Southwest. Kiva, 84(4): 480-497.
  31. Lee Kozak, D.
  32. Dying badly: Violent death and religious change among the Tohono O’Odham. OMEGA - Journal of Death and Dying, 23(3): 207-216.
  33. Martin, D., R. Harrod y M. Fields
  34. Beaten down and worked to the bone: Bioarchaeological investigations of women and violence in the Ancient Southwest. Landscapes of Violence, 1(1): 3.
  35. Martin, D. L.
  36. Hard times in dry lands: Making meaning of violence in the Ancient Southwest. Journal of Anthropological Research, 72(1): 1-23.
  37. Martin, D. L. y N. J. Akins
  38. Unequal treatment in life as in death: Trauma and mortuary behavior at La Plata (AD 1000–1300). En Ancient burial practices in the American Southwest: Archaeology, physical anthropology, and Native American perspectives, editado por D. R. Mitchell y J. L. Brunson- Hadley, pp. 223-248. New Mexico University Press, New Mexico.
  39. Murphy, E. M. (Ed.)
  40. Deviant burial in the archaeological record. Studies in Funerary Archaeology, vol. 2. Oxbow Books, Oxford.
  41. Novak, S. A.
  42. Beneath the Façade: A Skeletal Model of Domestic Violence. En The Social Archaeology of Funerary Remains, editado por C. Knüsel y R. Gowland, pp. 238-252. Oxbow Books, Oxford.
  43. Ogilvie, M. D. y C. E. Hilton
  44. Ritualized violence in the prehistoric American Southwest. International Journal of Osteoarchaeology, 10(1): 27-48.
  45. Osterholtz, A. J.
  46. The social role of hobbling and torture: Violence in the prehistoric Southwest. International Journal of Paleopathology, 2(2–3): 148-155.
  47. Osterholtz, A. J. (Ed.)
  48. Theoretical approaches to analysis and interpretation of commingled human remains. Springer, Nueva York.
  49. Rodriguez, W. C. y W. M. Bass
  50. Decomposition of Buried Bodies and Methods That May Aid in Their Location. Journal of Forensic Sciences, 30(3).
  51. Rodseth, L. y S. A. Novak
  52. The Political Significance of Gender Violence. En Sexual Coercion in Primates and Humans: An Evolutionary Perspective on Male Aggression Against Females, editado por M. N. Muller y R. W. Wrangham, pp. 292-321. Harvard University Press, Cambridge, MA.
  53. Sellier, P. y J. Bendezu-Sarmiento
  54. Di?érer la décomposition: le temps suspendu? Les signes d’une momification préalable. Les Nouvelles de l’archéologie, (132): 30-36.
  55. Totten, M.
  56. Girlfriend Abuse as a Form of Masculinity Construction among Violent, Marginal Male Youth. Men and Masculinities, 6(1): 70-92.
  57. Trevathan, W.
  58. Ancient Bodies, Modern Lives: How Evolution has Shaped Women’s Health. Oxford University Press, Oxford.
  59. Tsaliki, A.
  60. Unusual Burials and Necrophobia: An Insight into the Burial
  61. Archaeology of Fear. En Deviant Burial in the Archaeological Record, Studies in Funerary Archaeology, vol. 2, editado por E. M. Murphy, pp. 1-16. Oxbow Books, Oxford.
  62. Ubelaker, D. H.
  63. Estimating Age at Death from Immature Human Skeletons: An Overview. Journal of Forensic Science, 32(5): 1254-63.
  64. Vandello, J. A., D. Cohen y S. Ransom
  65. US Southern and Northern Di?erences in Perceptions of Norms about Agression: Mechanisms for the Perpetuation of a Culture of Honor. Journal of Cross-cultural Psychology, 39(2): 162-177.
  66. Villalpando C., Elisa, John P. Carpenter y James Watson.
  67. VIII Informe, Proyecto arqueológico La Playa. Informe de las temporadas 2005 y 2006. Archivo Técnico de la Coordinación Nacional de Arqueología, Archivo Arqueología Centro INAH Sonora, Ciudad de México, Hermosillo.
  68. Villalpando C. M. Elisa, James T. Watson, John P. Carpenter, Guadalupe Sánchez, Cristina García, Lizete Cristal y Raúl Aguilera
  69. Proyecto La Playa (SON: F: 10:3). Informe de la Temporada de Campo 2012-2013. Archivo Técnico del Consejo de Arqueología, Archivo Arqueología Centro INAH Sonora, Ciudad de México, Hermosillo.
  70. Villalpando C., M. Elisa, J. T. Watson, John P. Carpenter, Cristina García, Alejandra Abrego, Georgina Ibarra, Rachel Cajigas, Robert J. Hard Robert y Ashley Jones
  71. Proyecto La Playa (SON: F: 10: 3). Informe de la Temporada de Campo 2013-2014. Archivo Técnico del Consejo de Arqueología, Archivo Arqueología Centro INAH Sonora, Ciudad de México, Hermosillo.
  72. Villalpando C. M. Elisa, James T. Watson, John P. Carpenter, Alejandra Abrego, R. McGuire, Brett McLaurin. Astrid Avilés y Claudia E. León
  73. Proyecto La Playa (SON: F: 10: 3). Informe de la Temporadade Campo 2016-2017. Archivo Técnico del Consejo de Arqueología, Archivo Arqueología Centro INAH Sonora, Ciudad de México, Hermosillo
  74. Walker, W. H.
  75. Where are the witches of prehistory? Journal of Archaeological Method and Theory, 5(3): 245-308.
  76. Watson, James T.
  77. Changes in Food Processing and Occlusal Dental Wear During the Early Agricultural Period in Northwest Mexico. American Journal of Physical Anthropology, 135(1): 92–99.
  78. Watson, James T. y Danielle O. Phelps
  79. Violence and perimortem signaling among early irrigation communities in the Sonoran Desert. Current Anthropology, 57(5): 586-609.
  80. Weiss-Krejci, Estella
  81. The Formation of Mortuary Deposits: Implications for Understanding Mortuary Behavior of Past Populations. En Social Bioarchaeology, editado por Sabrina C. Agarwal y B. A. Glencross, pp. 68-106. Blackwell Publishing Ltd., Oxford.