Primeros fechados C14AMS sobre restos de perros (Canis lupus familiaris) de sitios arqueológicos de Cuba: cronología y contexto.

Domestic dog remains have been encountered in deposits of agroceramist filiation (ceramic-age) of the Cuban archaeological record. However, some have also been found in older, archaic-age contexts. These remains, although undated, prompted the hypothesis of a preceramic age introduction of domestic dogs to the island of Cuba. To test this hypothesis, we dated (C14AMS) dog remains from two archaic (mesolithic) culture deposits. These dates provide the first absolute chronology from dog remains from Cuba, yielding ages between calAD 1450 and 1640. This suggests that both dogs are of post-Columbian age, but their association, whether no-ceramic, ceramic or European, cannot be established with the present data. Thus, further testing will be required from less disturbed deposits to corroborate. From historical documents here we provide a discussion of domestic dog introduction and use in the colonial era, which can help understand the ecological effects of dogs on Cuba's native fauna. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]