Abstract
This chapter characterizes dental modification in a skeletal sample dating to the Middle (A.D. 500–1200) and Late Ceramic (A.D. 1200–1600) periods from Sonora, Mexico. Fifteen individuals from El Cementerio display dental modification including ablation and tooth filing. Dental modification may be a biocultural trait that spread from Mesoamerica along the West Mexican coast around A.D. 1000. El Cementerio represents the furthest northern expanse of this practice within Mexico, but the site is completely devoid of material evidence for Mesoamerican influence. The site may be a regional center for a settlement system stretching the middle Rio Yaqui. Some residents, influenced by trading partners along the coast, appear to have adopted dental modification (and cranial modification) as a way to manipulate their identity to visibly connect to more influential groups along the West Mexican coast and support the management of status within the middle Rio Yaqui area.
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