The Wolf Under the Plaza: Pastoralism and Predation in Spanish New Mexico

Summary

The nomadic tribes of the Plains—notably, the Comanche and Apache—are typically considered the main obstacles to the northern expansion of the Spanish empire in North America. But early Spanish settlers in New Mexico found themselves up against another formidable foe that has received far less attention in the literature: the wolf. Indeed, for an expanding pastoral society, the wolf posed perhaps the biggest threat to local economic welfare. In this paper, we report on the recent discovery of a double wolf burial dating to the 17th or early 18th century in the town of Dixon. Our analysis casts a spotlight on the threat these canids posed to early herders in the region and provides an opportunity to reevaluate the role of the wolf in Southwestern pastoral society more generally.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 83rd Annual Meeting, Washington, DC (2018)

Keywords

Spatial Coverage

Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 20430