CHANGES IN REMEMBRANCE OF AN URNFIELD CREMATION CEMETERY, CERRO DE TRINCHERAS, SONORA, MEXICO

Abstract

We explore the transformation of a site into a place of remembrance by evaluating the life history of an urnfield at Cerro de Trincheras, Sonora, Mexico. Prehispanic inhabitants used this cemetery as a cremation burial ground ca. AD 1300–1450. Memory of the cemetery persisted into historical times among inhabitants of the area, but its use changed. We argue that critical and contextualized approaches to cemeteries are needed to understand the complexity of how burial spaces are used through time.