Waterfall Cave, Southern Chihuahua, Mexico

Abstract

AbstractThis cave in the Sierra Madre Occidental was excavated to obtain information from a little-known region which might help clarify problems of Mexican-Southwestern contacts. The excavation produced ten burials with associated mats and blankets, only a few artifacts, and both cultivated and gathered plant remains. Stylistic elements of Mogollon and Casas Grandes pottery and the cultivated plants suggest a beginning date of A.D. 1000; the lack of European artifacts, a terminal date of 1600. The death complex is interpreted by analogy with modern Tarahumara practices. The use of the cave is described in terms of a series of events and episodal analysis is presented as a way of operationalizing the conjunctive approach.