A Tropical Treasure Trove: Preliminary Assessment of Archaeological Faunal Remains from Culebra Bay, Guanacaste, Costa Rica

Summary

This is an abstract from the "Advances and New Perspectives in the Isthmo-Colombian Area" session, at the 86th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

For over 50 years, excavations in Guanacaste, Costa Rica, have yielded a large amount of well-preserved faunal materials, yet few zooarchaeological studies have been carried out. To explore the research potential of archaeofaunal materials in the region, I will present data from several sites around the Culebra bay area. These preliminary results indicate that animals held diverse roles within these societies that can be further studied to better understand human behavior and human-environment interactions. The remains of various turtle species (Emydidae, Kinosternidae) found in burials with associated human crania suggest these may have had a cosmological role or served as indicators of social organization and status. The historical presence of coyotes (*Canis latrans) in the area is suggested by faunal evidence as well as ethnohistorical accounts. Complete canine burials (*Canis sp.) are found throughout the bay, although their meaning remains unclear. Furthermore, the possible presence of domestic turkeys (*Meleagris sp.) enhances knowledge about animal management and connections to long-distance trade routes in this multicultural region. The presentation of these preliminary results expands the knowledge of zooarchaeological assemblages from Central America and the potential for future research, where ancient DNA and stable isotope analyses could complement the visual morphometric analyses.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 86th Annual Meeting, Online (2021)   •
• Advances and New Perspectives in the Isthmo-Colombian Area

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 32174