NOT SO PLAIN AFTER ALL: FIRST MILLENNIUM A.D. TEXTURED CERAMICS IN NORTHEASTERN SONORA

Decorated, textured wares found at prehispanic agricultural village sites in the mountainous, or serrana zone of northeastern Sonora, Mexico, have been viewed as indicators of an occupation no earlier than about A.D. 1000. However, recent research conducted in the upper Bavispe Valley, combined with previous “anomalous” discoveries, indicates a different trajectory for this area. At the site of Atravesaño de Lencho (CHIH C:9:24) in the Bavispe Valley, one locus is dominated by a distinct brushed and red slipped ceramic type. An associated radiocarbon date has a one sigma calibrated date range of A.D. 474 (542) 600. Furthermore, similar pottery and similar dates associated with textured wares have been found elsewhere in Sonora, suggesting that a distinct textured ceramic tradition began about 500 years earlier than previously recognized. The local and large-scale implications of this longer decorated ceramic tradition in northeastern Sonora are discussed.