Di Peso’s Concept of the Northern Sierra: Evidence from the Upper Bavispe Valley, Sonora, Mexico

Often the late prehistoric period of northeast Sonora is portrayed as the product of a migration from, or closely associated with, the peoples of Casas Grandes Valley in northwest Chihuahua. That migration is believed to have occurred around A.D. 1300–1500, either at the zenith or during the decline of the Casas Grandes culture. However, recent excavations along the Río Bavispe in northeast Sonora show that developments in polychrome pottery, domestic architecture, and possibly community architecture parallel the pattern found in northwest Chihuahua during the A.D. 1000–1200 period, before the type site of the Casas Grandes culture, Paquimé, was founded. This surprising result demonstrates that the role of long-term regional interaction needs to be considered in shaping both areas. To conceptualize this process, we suggest revitalizing Di Peso’s 1966 concept of the “Northern Sierra” as an important step in the foundational shifts required to build more cogent explanations.