Reevaluating Nogales Polychrome: A Pioneering Polychrome Produced by the Trincheras Tradition of Northern Sonora, Mexico

Abstract

Nogales Polychrome was produced by the Trincheras tradition of northern Sonora, Mexico. Although this type was initially defined in the 1930s, few researchers have discussed its temporal placement or geographic distribution. This paper documents the occurrences of over three hundred Nogales Polychrome sherds recently recovered during Proyecto Tradición Trincheras and provides a detailed attribute analysis of pottery from over twenty previously recorded sites across Sonora and Arizona. This study not only refines the temporal placement and spatial distribution of Nogales Polychrome but demonstrates that it was perhaps the earliest widely produced polychrome in the Southwest/Northwest. This paper further explores the potential influence of Nogales Polychrome on subsequent southern Arizona polychromes and how cultural developments in West Mexico around 800 CE may have prompted the initial creation of this ceramic type.