86Sr/87Sr Evidence for the Role of Animals in Ritual Economies among the Ancient Maya in the Belize River Valley

Summary

This is an abstract from the "SAA 2023: Individual Abstracts" session, at the 88th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

Traditional zooarchaeological methods studying trade rely on the identification of animals found outside their natural habitat ranges. More recently, strontium isotope (86Sr/87Sr) analyses have proven to be a powerful tool for studying the movement of animals found in archaeological contexts. Strontium isotopic evidence from the Maya lowlands has documented the movement of common species, including deer and dog, over long distances, suggesting they were not always local to their burial location. This study identifies possible animal exchange patterns among ancient Maya communities in western Belize, focusing on animals from the ritual contexts that were often the target of long-distance trade. A total of 27 teeth from five species, ranging from peccary to dog, were sampled from ritual contexts at urban centers in the Belize River Valley spanning from the Middle Preclassic (900–300 BC) to the Terminal Classic (AD 750–900/1000). Contexts include special deposits, burials, and caches. Zooarchaeological analyses of assemblages from these sites previously identified differential distribution patterns of animals despite being in similar ecological zones. The results of this study provide a foundation to document animal trade between sites and from other regions and to address hypotheses about whether these animals were imported for ceremonial purposes.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• SAA 2023: Individual Abstracts   •
• Society for American Archaeology 88th Annual Meeting, Portland, OR (2023)

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 37642.0