Mexican experts have discovered an ancient cemetery, several thousand years old in the state of Sonora. The burial has some features that have never been seen before in this region and generally in the zone of influence of the Mesoamerican peoples, archaeologists from the National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH) say.
Just 300 meters from the village of Onavas, in the south of Sonoran, there was an open grave site. It turned out to be the state's first pre-Hispanic cemetery, with burials consisting of the remains of 25 people, 13 of whom have skull deformities, the INAH said in a statement.
Five faces with deformed skulls also have tooth mutilation. These practices are similar to those found earlier in the culture of pre-Hispanic peoples, but were first discovered in the state of Sonora, the institute specifies.
As stated by Dr. Christina Garcia, director of a research project carried out by the University of Arizona, USA, with the approval of the INAH Archeology Council: “This discovery extends the influence of the peoples of Central America further north than archaeologists believed based on previous archaeological finds.
The archaeologist noted that no other similar graves with deformed skulls have been found in Sonora State. They were not found in the southwestern United States, places that share a common culture with Sonora.
"Surrounding cultures with similar traditions are found in Central America," she explained.
Garcia said that according to historical sources, the site must belong to the old Pimas Indians. Apparently, the descendants of this cultural group of the region once moved to what is today called Sonora.
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“And in this transition, the Pimas are adapting a new tradition of Mesoamerica,” she explained, adding that dating is based on human remains and corresponds to the period of Central America (900-1200 AD).
Finally, archaeologist Cristina García noted that this data gives rise to further exploration in the south-eastern part of Sonoran, which has been little studied.