Animal Resource Use and Management by Naachtun's Elite

Summary

The Naachtun Project has collected a large faunal assemblage since the first field campaign. This material is analyzed as part of doctoral research focusing on the site's subsistence economy. The analysis is based on specific archaeozoological methods, through which it is possible to identify the different animal remains and draw up a list of the species that were used by the site's ancient inhabitants. Many preliminary issues must be resolved: Which were the acquisition strategies of these different species? What hunting and slaughter practices were used on the most consumed species? Did the people of Naachtun select species and individuals according to their age?

Then, more complex questions can be approached, such as the specific use of certain animal species in the ritual and funerary activities, or the existence of a regional organized trade of animal resources. Indirectly, the issue is to evaluate whether the use of certain species is the privilege of a specific powerful group of the society: Naachtun elite. The perspective of the elite will be in fact the main concern of this paper: Which were the main features of the management of animal resources used by the elites of Naachtun?

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 81st Annual Meeting, Orlando, FL (2016)   •
• Reconstructing Resource Availability, Use, and Management at Naachtun (Guatemala), a Regional Maya Center of the Classic Period

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