Ancient Mesoamericans captured and sold wild animals: study

New evidence from the Mayan city of Copán (Honduras) reveals that ancient Mesoamericans routinely captured and traded wild animals for symbolic and ritual purposes, according to a study published last week in Plos One magazine by Nawa Sugiyama of George Mason University. in Virginia (United States), and colleagues.

According to the research, ancient Mesoamerican cultures used wild animals such as the puma and the jaguar for many purposes, including symbolic displays of status and power, as subjects of ritual sacrifice, and as resources to process as deer meat or artisanal products.

The evidence of the use of wild animals in ancient Mesoamerica goes back to the Teotihuacan culture, in what is now Mexico (1-550 AD). The archaeological findings of indigenous Mesoamerican animal management strategies have traditionally been underestimated, due to the shortage of large domesticated animals in the New World compared to the devastating impact of European cattle introduced in the sixteenth century.

In this study, the research team analyzed archaeological samples of wild animals excavated at five ritual sites in the Mayan city of Copán (426-822 BC), in Honduras.

The team performed stable isotope analysis on bone and teeth of puma, jaguar and other unidentified felines along with deer, owls, plataleas and crocodiles, to determine the diet and the geographical origin of the animals.

Oxygen isotope levels in deer and feline specimens suggest that some animals and derived handicrafts (eg, skins) used in ritual practices originated in distant regions of the Copán Valley (Honduras).

These findings confirm previous research that shows that Mesoamerican cultures kept wild animals in captivity for ritual purposes and reveal that animal trade networks in ancient Mesoamerica were more extensive than previously thought.

Text and photo: El Universal

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