Trajectories of Zooarchaeological Research across Central America: The Influences and Interests of Richard Cooke

Summary

This is an abstract from the "Unraveling the Mysteries of the Isthmo-Colombian Area’s Past: A Symposium in Honor of Archaeologist Richard Cooke and His Contributions" session, at the 89th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

Archaeological research in Central America is often seen as quite disparate between the northern regions of Mesoamerica (primarily Mexico, Guatemala, Belize, and northwestern portions of Honduras and El Salvador) and the more southerly Intermediate Area (including Honduras, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, and Panama). Zooarchaeology, however, has taken a slightly different path. Through researchers like Dr. Richard Cooke with his wide-ranging interests and international network of colleagues, particularly across the Americas, zooarchaeologists have had considerable success collaborating and sharing ideas between research zones. In this paper we use publications and archival records from the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute (Panama) and Florida Museum of Natural History at the University of Florida, as well as our own personal history of zooarchaeological research with Richard in the various regions of Central America, to explore the issues of mutual interest across the broad region. We include perspectives on fish, turkeys, macaws, dogs, deer, and examine the use of animals as food, artifacts, symbols, and the impacts of humans on animals through landscape modification, exploitation, and husbandry.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Unraveling the Mysteries of the Isthmo-Colombian Area’s Past: A Symposium in Honor of Archaeologist Richard Cooke and His Contributions   •
• Society for American Archaeology 89th Annual Meeting, New Orleans, LA (2024)

Keywords

Spatial Coverage

Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 38261.0