1. An Early Military Macaw from Cueva de Avendaños, Chihuahua.
- Author
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Gallaga Murrieta, Emiliano, Gilman, Patricia A., Plog, Stephen, and Kennett, Douglas J.
- Subjects
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MACAWS , *CAVES , *ANIMAL culture , *CARBON isotopes , *STABLE isotopes - Abstract
During a 2016 archaeological salvage project in the municipality of San Francisco de Borja, Chihuahua, the mummified head of an adult military macaw (Ara militaris) was recorded from a rock shelter. Because of their aesthetic beauty and colorful plumage, macaws occupied an important place within the collective imagination of the pre-Hispanic communities. Macaws and macaw feathers also were important ritual and social symbols, often used in Pueblo ceremonial regalia. Radiocarbon analysis of the macaw has produced a Late Archaic calibrated date range of 150 BC – AD 20, making this the earliest macaw by several hundred years in northwestern Mexico or the southwestern United States. Stable carbon isotopes in this macaw were comparable to maize-fed domesticated turkeys from the Southwest suggesting some form of animal husbandry by this time. Our discussion includes comparison with the handful of other military macaws from pre-Hispanic contexts in northwestern Mexico and the southwestern United States. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2021
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