Uses of Different Species of Animals from Vista Alegre: A Zooarchaeological Analysis

Summary

Previous zooarcheological research has focused on knowing the patterns of wildlife exploitation in the different archaeological sites of the Maya area. In this sense, the present work intends to approach the different uses of the different species of animals in activities carried out by the pre-Hispanic Maya people located at the site of Vista Alegre, Quintana Roo, Mexico. The simple has c. 23,000 remains of fauna, coming from three architectural constructions: Structure 9 (Operation 3A), Structure 18 (Operation 3B) and Structure 13 (Operation 1), in addition to 9 off-structure test excavations located along an east/west transect across the island. These remains are analyzed from three perspectives: identification of the taxonomic, osteological and taphonomic profiles. So far, preliminary results have shown that Vista Alegre coastal residents have patterns of faunal exploitation on the northern coast of the Yucatan Peninsula that focus heavily on the use of local species, particularly marine species, similar to the sites of Champoton, Cozumel and Xcambo. This research has also demonstrated that these coastal sites were also able to gain access to inland species.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

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

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 22504