From the Sea to Ónavas Valley

Recent investigations in archaeological sites situated at Onavas valley in southeast Sonora, Mexico, had recovered around 3890 seashell ornaments as associated funerary objects of mainly juvenile individuals. The majority of these material come from the Panamic Province of the northeastern Pacific, from Baja California, Mexico to northern Peru. We have done the taxonomy of the objects and in this point of investigation, it is possible to propose selection patterns that craftsmen could put into practice for manufacture. We have detected different species of seashells used for specific jewelry, like bracelets, pendants, beads, among others. The preference for some specimens could be for shape, natural decoration, hardness and the most important, the complexity to obtain them. Due to Onavas valley is a region far away from the coast, shell acquisition could have been carried out by exchange with coastal groups, therefore taking part of the regional trade networks with the coast, during the Cerámico Medio Period (AD 500 – 1200).