Like many archaeologists working in northern Mexico and the US Southwest, I have eagerly anticipated this volume and its reporting of the Early Agricultural (Middle-Late Archaic) occupation in northwestern Chihuahua. Primarily, it documents the research conducted by the coauthors over several years at sites known as cerros de trincheras, or terraced hills. These were massive construction projects resulting in habitational terraces built by early maize farmers who began to settle in the Casas Grandes River Valley and surrounding areas more than 3,000 years ago.

The foundation of this research included the identification, investigation, and mapping of 13 cerros de trincheras sites. Three of these involved limited excavations, and the largest, Cerro Juanaqueña, was strategically and more intensively excavated. This synthetic book outlines analyses and interpretations of finds at these sites by several researchers whose expertise is well known and respected. Chapters are arranged in a way that is common to technical reports, covering topics from environment (Chapter 2), site descriptions and artifacts (Chapters 3, 4, and 6), dating (Chapter 5), botanical and faunal analyses (Chapters 8–11), geomorphology (Chapter 12), and lithic analyses (Chapters 13 and 14). This compilation of research allows for a deeper understanding of several corresponding aspects of the lives of the people who lived at these impressive sites.

I especially appreciate the attention paid to the ground stone assemblage (Chapter 13), specifically manos, metates, and grinding slabs. Archaeologists have often considered these tools to be uninteresting and quotidian. Ground stone tools are some of the most abundant artifacts found at cerros de trincheras, and Hard and Roney provide a detailed analysis of these artifacts in a way that is cogently linked to botanical evidence (Chapters 8–10) that demonstrates reliance on domesticated and wild resources. In particular, the authors creatively use grinding stone evidence, radiocarbon dating, and inferences drawn from plant data to estimate population size at Cerro Juanaqueña.

One of the principal interpretations regarding the function of cerros de trincheras is that they served as defensive refuges (Chapter 7). This explanation derives in part from a cross-cultural study, based on information in the Human Relations Area Files (HRAF), of societies that live on hilltop settlements. Readers may note the lack of direct evidence for violence among inhabitants at these sites, with only 15 recovered fragments of human remains at Cerro Juanaqueña. More substantial evidence of violence and warfare inevitably may be found among complete human burials, but this will require further excavations. Regardless, the authors admit that their interpretations are limited and founded on the data presented in the book. Based on other lines of evidence, such as the distribution of dart points and comparisons with other contemporaneous sites across northern Mexico and the US Southwest, Hard and Roney provide a convincing explanation of their defensive hypothesis while also acknowledging the multifunctionality of hilltop sites.

Although the printed volume is incredibly rich in data, the electronic appendices offer even more, with an extra 507 pages of original reports accessible through the University of Utah Press website. These additional materials include the original informes (field reports) presented to Mexico's National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH), which many scholars know can be difficult to access. The electronic appendices also include multiple tables of raw data related to chronometric dating, botanical remains, faunal remains, lithic artifacts, architectural evidence, and spatial patterning. Additional contracted reports and analyses are also included, offering access to data that are not often available and not as well organized as they are here.

Although most reviews focus more on content, I would be remiss not to mention the quality of the book itself. In addition to the cover art, the 16 full-color plates included in this volume are some of the most breathtaking aerial images that exist of the sites described in the text. Many regional specialists are familiar with the stunning aerial photography of Adriel Heisey, and his bird's-eye views of the cerros de trincheras provide a unique perspective that add a layer of visual documentation that bring the site maps and descriptions to life.

The authors’ contributions to analyzing and characterizing the Early Agricultural period in this region cannot be understated. Their interpretations are founded on years of dirt archaeology in the region paired with multidisciplinary analyses, resulting in a volume of work that exceeds expectations. Although Early Farming and Warfare in Northwest Mexico will most likely be of interest to scholars working in northern Mexico and the US Southwest, its discussions regarding the adoption of agriculture and defensive architecture will equally appeal to Americanists as well as archaeologists throughout the world. The book is also a valuable source of archaeological information and insight for graduate and undergraduate students engaged in archaeology of this region.