Shifting Course: Change as the Norm in the Preclassic Usumacinta Faunal Record

Summary

This is an abstract from the "Preclassic Maya Social Transformations along the Usumacinta: Views from Ceibal and Aguada Fénix" session, at the 84th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

The Usumacinta River and its tributaries played an integral role in the survival and growth of Maya communities in the southern lowlands of Mexico and Guatemala. Early human settlements relied on the river as a source of food and transportation. Examining the animal bones and shell remains from Preclassic (c. 2000 BC – AD 250) communities along the river provides clues as to what the wildlife was like in the region before the advent of large human populations. Some activities, such as the procurement of large quantities of freshwater snails, attest to seasonal-timed events that are not found in later periods of Maya history. At the site of Ceibal, Guatemala, a decline in the numbers of certain fish and shellfish species over time suggests that increasing human habitation along the river resulted in a cultural or environmental change that was responsible for their gradual disappearance from the faunal record. Other animals, including unique breeds of dogs and various marine shells, begin to appear over time in the region, attesting to long-distance trade and the river’s use as a means of transport.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 84th Annual Meeting, Albuquerque, NM (2019)   •
• Preclassic Maya Social Transformations along the Usumacinta: Views from Ceibal and Aguada Fénix

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 23113