Classic Mimbres Period Aviculture at Elk Ridge, New Mexico

Summary

This is an abstract from the "SAA 2024: Individual Abstracts" session, at the 89th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

People in the ancient Southwest domesticated, tamed, or managed several species of birds. The Late Pithouse and Classic Mimbres (AD 750-1000) archaeological site of Elk Ridge provides a rare example of ancient aviculture in the Mimbres area of southwestern New Mexico. Excavations by Human Systems Research, Inc. at Elk Ridge in the upper Mimbres Valley revealed one parrot tarsometatarsus (one of only six positively identified in the Mimbres area) and over 500 turkey bones, including at least 20 individual turkeys found as bone concentrations or partially articulated on or near the floors of excavated rooms. Turkey (Meleagris gallopavo) bone measurements and evidence for healed injuries along with contextual data from excavations provide insights into how turkeys were raised at this village, a practice not documented at other sites from this area and time period. Variability in turkey size, age class, and healed injuries are consistent with managed birds, despite minimal evidence for pens. Identification of the parrot bone along with other parrots (Amazona sp. and Rhynchospitta sp.) in the Southwest is also discussed, with implications for how far these birds were transported in the ancient Southwest.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• SAA 2024: Individual Abstracts   •
• Society for American Archaeology 89th Annual Meeting, New Orleans, LA (2024)

Keywords

Spatial Coverage

Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 39030.0