Digital Companion to 'Inferring the Archaeological Context Through Taphonomy: The Use of the White-Tailed Deer (Odocoileus virginianus) in Chinikihá, Chiapas'

Project Note

This content pertains to the chapter 'Inferring the Archaeological Context Through Taphonomy: The Use of the White-Tailed Deer (Odocoileus virginianus) in Chinikihá, Chiapas' in The Archaeology of Mesoamerican Animals (Christopher Götz and Kitty F. Emery, eds.), published by Lockwood Press. The Archaeology of Mesoamerican Animals is an edited volume that links many of its chapters to rich digital content published open access with Open Context. The authors have chosen to link their chapters to related online content (including primary data, maps, and additional images) in order to provide additional research resources in their subject area. The Archaeology of Mesoamerican Animals is available for purchase from ISD.

Overview

Faunal remains recovered from archaeological disposal contexts have been used to examine a variety of questions relating to ancient subsistence, the reconstruction of ancient climates, and political and behavioral practices of past human communities. To do so, a thorough understanding of depositional formation processes, in particular taphonomic modifications of archaeological remains, is required. Anthropogenic marks, including those related to skinning, dismembering and butchering a carcass, and natural marks, such as carnivore chewing and rodent gnawing marks, among others, are some examples of taphonomic modifications that can be observed, and examples of these are presented here.

In this paper these topics are examined by using faunal samples recovered from a midden located behind the palace at the site of Chinikiha, Chiapas. The main objective of this paper will be to identify the type of context using a taphonomic analysis. These remains are then compared with other regional Mayan sites and iconographic data, allowing us to suggest that this deposit may reflect ritual feasting.

Site Name

Chinikiha, Chiapas, Mexico

Period

200 BCE - 900 CE

Creator

Montero López, Coral, Archaeology Department, La Trobe University, 3083 Bundoora, Melbourne, VIC, AUSTRALIA, c.monterolopez@latrobe.edu.au