Mexican experts found a cemetery a few thousand years old in the state of Sonora that has features never seen before in that region and extending the zone of influence of the Mesoamerican peoples, said archaeologists from the Institute National Anthropology and History (INAH).
A mere 300 meters from the village of Onavas, southern Sonora, was an outdoor grave site, the first pre-Hispanic cemetery,of that state found with burials composed of 25 individuals, 13 of whom have intentional skull deformation, INAH said in a statement.
Five individuals with cranial deformation also have dental mutilation. These cultural practices are similar to those of pre-Hispanic groups in southern Sinaloa and northern Nayarit, but had not been recorded in Sonora, detailed the Institute.
Some skeletons wore ornaments made from shells and snails found in the region of the Gulf of California. They were bangles, a nose ring, earrings, pendants and necklaces of shell beads. Also, an individual was buried with a turtle shell placed at the height of the abdomen.
The INAH said that the burials were not accompanied by offerings.
For archaeologists, the discovery is relevant evidence of practices that were not recorded in the old Sonora cultural groups: cranial deformation (frontal occipital) was applied to 13 individuals, and modification by the wear of the side of teeth to give them a “V”.
“The area meets the unique finding that mixed expressions of groups of northern Mexico, as the use of ornaments made from sea shells Sea of Cortez (Gulf of California), with Western traditions never before found in Sonoran territory” , said archaeologist Cristina Garcia Moreno.