Dogs, Diners, and Deposition: The Social Role of Canis lupus familiaris in Cruz B Households in Etlatongo, Nochixtlán, Oaxaca

Summary

This is an abstract from the "Checking the Pulse: Current Research in Oaxaca Part II" session, at the 88th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

This paper presents a comparative faunal analysis from two distinct Early Formative households from Etlatongo, a multicomponent site located within the Nochixtlán Valley of the Mixteca Alta in Oaxaca. The faunal remains from several different contexts were analyzed; these contexts represent routine domestic refuse and those from a probable ritual deposition, most likely the remains of a feasting context. A detailed taphonomic analysis of faunal remains from these contexts reveals several differences in the handling, butchering, preparation, and consumption of the dogs, indicating a marked differential treatment of Canis lupus familiaris in the feasting context. We argue these taphonomic contrasts provide insights into the multifaceted social, ritual, and political role of domestic dogs in Early Formative Oaxaca. Compared with previous faunal analyses from contemporaneous contexts at Etlatongo, it becomes evident that the differential treatment of dogs constitutes part of a larger mosaic of the contrasting ways in which animals were cooked and consumed in public and domestic contexts. Our focus on early cuisines demonstrates both the social nature and the social rules for creating and consuming food at Etlatongo, as well as important changes in ontology during this time of emerging sociopolitical complexity.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Checking the Pulse: Current Research in Oaxaca Part II   •
• Society for American Archaeology 88th Annual Meeting, Portland, OR (2023)

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 37698.0