Of Pigs and People in Colonial Guatemala: A Zooarchaeological Historical Approach

Summary

This is an abstract from the "The Columbian Exchange Revisited: Archaeological and Anthropological Perspectives on Eurasian Domesticates in the Americas" session, at the 89th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

Among all the Eurasian domesticates that were introduced consequently to the arrival of the Europeans in the Americas, pigs hold a singular place. Unlike larger ungulates such as horses and cattle, their rearing does not require large resources which makes them easily adaptable to a variety of situations, including urban contexts. In the Spanish colonial sphere of influence, their remains are quite pervasive in archaeological sites located in cities and towns, places that were gathering culturally highly diverse populations including Europeans, Natives, and Africans. Besides providing an abundant meat supply, they were also a source of other byproducts, such as fat, that were vital to reproducing the European material culture in the Americas. Based on the zooarchaeological analysis of 11 sites in Antigua Guatemala and historical studies, this paper aims at highlighting the specific contributions of pigs to the post-Columbian diet as well as exploring the process of their adoption and integration in the native Maya communities of the Guatemala central highlands.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• The Columbian Exchange Revisited: Archaeological and Anthropological Perspectives on Eurasian Domesticates in the Americas   •
• Society for American Archaeology 89th Annual Meeting, New Orleans, LA (2024)

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 37868.0