Recent Research in the Sierra Pinacate and Implications for Ancestral O’odham Occupation of the Gran Desierto

A recent survey project in the Sierra Pinacate represents one of the first instances of systematic site recording since the pioneering work of Julian Hayden ∼50 years ago. Results provide insights on the variation present in the archaeology of ancestral O’odham groups, including social unit sizes and configurations, site function and settlement pattern diversity at landscape scales, and participation in regional exchange networks. Key findings comport well with adaptations expected of hunter-gatherer-fisher groups, including substantial residential mobility, flexible group sizes, appreciable evidence for communal ritual/social activities, seasonal patterns of land use specific to the local ecology, permissive territorial boundaries with some evidence for common pool resource relationships, and limited evidence for participation in the ritual/economic systems of neighboring agricultural groups.