Migration played a significant role in shaping the Native populations of the southwest United States and northwest Mexico. Large-scale migrations into and across the region were underlain by small-scale (intraregional) population shifts affected by environmental fluctuations (declines and improvements) and social phenomena such as aggregation and the spread of sociopolitical spheres of influence within the region. We compare projectile point types, mortuary patterns, and biodistance information from Early Agricultural period (2100 BC–AD 50) sites to identify subtle differences in population composition associated with the arrival and spread of maize across the region. Small-scale migrations occurring around the foundation of farming communities in the Sonoran Desert may have established the basis of broad regional connectivity, shared historical ties, and subsequent migration patterns and practices. Rooted in early farming traditions and a shared language family, we argue that farmers expanded north and east from the borderlands, then eventually returned to ancestral homelands when environmental and incursive pressures pushed them back south.

移民在塑造美国西南部和墨西哥西北部的原住民人口方面发挥了重要作用。受环境波动（下降和改善）和社会现象（如聚集和区域内影响范围的扩大）的影响，大规模向该地区和跨地区迁移的基础是小规模（区域内）人口转移。我们比较了早期农业时期（公元前 2100 年-公元 50 年）遗址的弹丸点类型、殡葬模式和生物距离信息，以确定与玉米在该地区的到达和传播相关的种群构成的细微差异。围绕索诺兰沙漠农业社区基础发生的小规模迁移可能已经为广泛的区域连通性、共同的历史纽带以及随后的迁移模式和做法奠定了基础。植根于早期的农业传统和共同的语言家族，我们认为农民从边境向北和向东扩张，然后在环境和侵入性压力迫使他们回到南方时，最终返回祖先的家园。