Ethnoarchaeological data from contemporary Wanka villages in the Mantaro Valley of the Peruvian Andes provide new perspectives on the use and discard of ceramic cooking vessels. We present a regional survey of ceramic vessel use and discard with household consumption as the focus of study. A mathematical model determines vessel uselife from the age distribution of in-use vessels. We examine the number of vessels per household, their volume, their uselife, and their reported discard. A typical Wanka household cooking vessel assemblage consists of four or five ollas, two large ollas, one chata, and one tostadera. As family members are added to a household, the number of household ollas slightly increases, as does olla volume and the overall rate of olla discard. Large families have fewer chatas, and the rate of chata discard is uncorrelated with household size. Large and small families alike have only one tostadera, but in large families, a shortened tostadera uselife increases their discard rate. Distributing the same population into small or large households will result in significantly different rates of total sherd accumulation. Bulk sherd accumulation is a better indicator of the number of households rather than of the total number of persons. Household size can be estimated from the relative proportions of discarded ollas, chatas, and tostaderas.

This article presents archaeological information on the remains of five domestic dogs (Canis lupus familiaris) recovered from prehistoric sites in the lowlands of southeast Uruguay. The presence of canines in the archaeological record is associated with horticultural hunter-gatherer groups, who adapted to the changing conditions of flood-prone ecosystems during the late Holocene (ca. 3000 years BP). Three of the five specimens discussed were recovered from human burial mounds, prompting further discussion on the economic, social, and symbolic and ritual significance of these animals.

From the Classic period to the present, scholars have documented the widespread Maya belief in a supernatural guardian of the animals who must be appeased in hunting rituals. Despite this resilience, features and deposits entering the archaeological record as a result of hunting ceremonies remain largely unknown. I describe several contemporary and nineteenth-century shrines used for hunting rites in the Maya highlands of Guatemala. These sites contain a unique feature, a ritual fauna cache, which consists of animal remains secondarily deposited during hunting ceremonies. The formation of these caches is informed by two beliefs with historical time depth: (1) the belief in a guardian of animals and (2) the symbolic conflation of bone and regeneration. The unique life history of remains in hunting-related ritual fauna caches suggests a hypothesis for puzzling deposits of mammal remains recovered archaeologically in lowland Maya caves. These may have functioned in hunting rites designed to placate the animal guardian and ensure the regeneration of the species via ceremonies that incorporated the secondary discard of skeletal remains. A review of the ethnographic literature from the Lenca, Huichol, Nahua, Tlapanec, and Mixe areas reveals similar hunting rites indicating a broader Mesoamerican ritual practice.

En este artículo presentamos nuevos datos arqueológicos que aumentan nuestro conocimiento acerca del papel del perro (Canis familiaris) en tiempos prehispánicos, principalmente en lo que se refiere a su morfología general y número de razas presentes en el centro de Mesoamérica. Una colección de 27 perros provenientes de entierros, pertenecientes a la más antigua ocupación (650-750 d. C.) de la ciudad de Tula, Hidalgo, fue estudiada y los resultados muestran la presencia de tres razas perfectamente definidas. Este hallazgo permite, por primera vez y a partir de un análisis científico, establecer la existencia de varias razas de perros mesoamericanas y definir su aspecto general. Los tipos reconocidos incluyen (1) un perro de talla media con el cuerpo cubierto de pelo, (2) otro de dimensiones similares pero sin pelo y (3) otro más pequeño, con pelo, pero con miembros 30% más cortos. Los datos se ajustan muy bien a las descripciones de Bernardino de Sahagún sobre los perros del centro de México en el siglo dieciseis d. C., así que nuestro estudio nos permite establecer la presencia de estos animales en la región central a partir del siglo siete d. C. Las tres razas incluyen el perro común mesoamericano o itzcuintli, el perro pelón xoloitzcuintli y el perrito de piso o tlalchichi. Además, el establecimiento de tres razas distintas resuelve debates en la literatura sobre el índole de los perros prehispánicos de México.

This study examines the ritual and socioeconomic significance of animals in ceremonial contexts at Kaminaljuyu, Guatemala. Kaminaljuyu was once the largest and most politically powerful highland Maya center. We compare faunal remains from different contexts, including burials and dedicatory offerings in and around monumental features, to better understand the role of animals in these deposits. We then compare ceremonial activities across Mesoamerica to identify similarities alluding to widely recognized practices. Late and Terminal Preclassic (350 BC–AD 250) ceremonies at Kaminaljuyu contain some of the earliest marine fish recovered from a Maya highland site, demonstrating the ability of early elites to obtain exotic species for special events. Dogs, including perhaps the first evidence for Preclassic hairless dogs in Guatemala, appear in deposits that resemble canine sacrificial offerings in central Mexico. The new faunal data in this study provide a novel perspective on Kaminaljuyu's sociopolitical role in the region.

Spanish colonization of the Yucatán Peninsula altered traditional patterns of subsistence after Spaniards imposed labor demands and controlled the movement of indigenous Maya. Spaniards established an encomienda and Franciscan visita at Ek Balam in the northern lowlands of the peninsula during the mid-sixteenth century. Complementary forces of doctrina and encomienda fostered the religious, political, and economic subjugation of the Maya. An analysis of zooarchaeological material from an Early Hispanic period feature at the archaeological site of Ek Balam indicates that Spanish restrictions of population movement and restructuring of indigenous labor altered pre-Hispanic patterns of faunal use. Under Spanish hegemony, Maya residents raised small-sized animals of Eurasian origin, especially pigs and chickens, while maintaining the indigenous dog as a primary food source. The animals used at Ek Balam could have been either raised or hunted locally; there is no indication that animals were obtained through either trade or exchange. The pattern of faunal use by indigenous people at Ek Balam differs from Early Hispanic sites in the southern Maya lowlands and elsewhere in the circum-Caribbean. This contrast demonstrates that tropical environmental variability, population density, and Spanish control tactics affected subsistence behavior and the incorporation of introduced fauna in the indigenous diet.

In precolumbian insular Caribbean archaeological sites, domestic dog (Canis familiaris) remains have been recovered from varied contexts, such as formal burials, in refuse deposits, and as modified artifacts, indicating their complex and multifaceted role within indigenous societies. In this study, isotopic and morphometric analyses provide biochemical and morphological correlations to assess this differential treatment. We examined collagen values (n = 21) of carbon (δ13Cco) and nitrogen (δ15N), and enamel values (n = 81) of carbon (δ13Cen), oxygen (δ18Oen), and strontium (87Sr/86Sr) of dog remains from 16 precolumbian sites. Five comparative parameters were used to assess dietary variations between different groups: buried versus nonburied, local versus nonlocal, Greater versus Lesser Antilles, chronology, and modified versus unmodified remains. The only statistically significant difference in diets was between local and nonlocal dogs. Sufficient data were available to conduct isotopic mixing models using the FRUITS statistical program on four individuals for which depositional and morphological data were available. Results of dietary modeling indicate an unexpectedly heavy reliance on plant foods consistent with intentional feeding. This approach highlights the utility of combining isotope analysis, dietary models, morphometrics, and depositional context to provide comprehensive biographic overviews of individual animals.