Gendered movement and changing ceramics at Cerro de Trincheras, Sonora, Mexico

In my dissertation I put forward an alternative to entrenched theories of planned and strategic group migration, and present the case for gendered movement. In particular, I highlight the role of the small-scale flow of women across cultural boundaries. These women may have been refugees, or captives, incorporated into their new communities as secondary wives. Although in a subordinate position, these unwilling migrants contributed to major culture changes, introducing new technologies, knowledge and materials across cultural divisions.;My interest in gendered movement stems from the arrival of Hohokam pottery at the Trincheras Tradition site of Cerro de Trincheras. Around AD 1300, peripheral Papaguerian Hohokam groups pushed into the Altar Valley of northern Sonora. The influx of migrants caused Trincheras populations to relocate to the Middle Magdalena Valley. Here, Trincherenos constructed Cerro de Trincheras, the preeminent center for the region. When archaeologists examine elite artifacts religious objects, shell jewelry and painted vessels-- they notice a seeming lack of interaction between Hohokam and Trincheras populations. Yet, the ceramic plainwares show a different picture: nearly a third of domestic wares use a Hohokam manufacturing technique. In this dissertation, I use petrography, excavated materials from Cerro de Trincheras, and comparative studies from southern Arizona to explain this pattern, and how it relates to gendered movement across cultural boundaries in northern Sonora.