"Fishing in the Northern Maya Lowlands" International Council of Zooarchaeology, Fish Remains Working Group Meeting, Tallin, Estonia 2013

FISHING IN THE NORTHERN MAYA LOWLANDS FROM 250 TO 750 A.C: EVIDENCE OF FISH

REMAINS FROM XCAMBÓ,YUCATÁN, MÉXICO

Nayeli G. Jiménez-Cano

Laboratorio de Arqueozoología Universidad Autónoma de Madrid

Facultad de Ciencias Antropológicas

Universidad Autónoma de Yucatán

•  Fish exploitation evidence relies on iconography and

written sources.

Codex Dresden page 76. Classic (1000-1200 A.C)

It is limited by cultural and aesthetic elements.

Fish remains survey

From 300 B.C to 1550 A.C

•  Fish resources available in the Maya region

•  Not normally researched

28%

44%

24%

4%

Chronological distribution of fish remains in the Maya Area

Preclásico (1000 a.C-300 d.C) Clásico (300-1000 d.C)

Posclásico (1000-1521- d.C) Colonial (1521- 1800 d.C)

Few large collections

•  Not sieved

•  No clear taxonomic and anatomical identification

•  Poor chronological

and contextual information

Gulf of Mexico

Caribbean Sea

Xcambó

Gulf of Mexico

Pla$orms    to  avoid  flooding  

Marshland  

Mangrove  swamp  

Mangrove  swamp  Petenes  

•  Hand collected •  >5000 faunal remains

– 1268 fish remains: 88% identified - Classical Period (250-750 A.C)

Fishes 37%

Reptiles 34%

Mammals 16%

Birds 4%

Mollusks 9%

Materials

XCAMBÓ: A PARADIGMATIC COASTAL SITE

•  Coastal port (based on archaeological and ethnohistorical evidence)

Coastal archetypes

XCAMBÓ: A PARADIGMATIC COASTAL SITE •  Coastal port (based on archaeological and ethnohistorical evidence) •  Salt-producing emporium

Coastal archetypes

PARADIGMATIC COASTAL SITES •  Coastal port (based on archaeological and ethnohistorical

evidence) •  Salt-producing emporium •  Key site in trade operations

•  obsidian •  pottery •  chert •  mollusca, stingray spines •  salted fishes (Lange 1971, Valdez & Mock 1991, Andrews 1997).  

Coastal archetypes

PARADIGMATIC COASTAL SITES •  Coastal port (based on archaeological and ethnohistorical

evidence) •  Salt-making emporium •  Key site in trade operations

•  What was the role of the fishes at Xcambó?

•  obsidian •  pottery •  chert •  mollusca, stingray spines •  salted fishes (Lange 1971, Valdez & Mock 1991,Andrews 1997).  

Coastal archetypes

Paleocultural and paleobiological implications of ancient Maya fisheries

The role of fishes at Xcambó: local or regional

subsistence?

Total fish remains (1689 NISP) identified by Canto (2009), Götz y Sierra (2012) and Jiménez (2012)

Fish remains distribution by feature typology

Feature typology based on architectural characteristics

Animal remains do not inform about functionality of structures given that animal debris was used to level the platforms of the various structures in order to avoid flooding

Results

Fish remains distribution by contexts

Platform fills 98.5%

Burials 1.5 %

•  Burials: sealed contexts

•  Platform fillings: mounds composed of

debris (ceramics, lithic, animal remains)

•  Spines and shark teeth for offering blood to the Gods in the after-life are common in Maya burials.

•  At Xcambó none of the former were found.

•  Burials reflect an homogenous society (i.e.no elites).

•  Fishes might have been used as food offerings.

Burials

Total fish remains (934 NISP) identified by Jiménez (2012)

Platform fillings

SKELETAL FREQUENCIES

•  Condricthyes: only vertebrae

•  Osteichtyes: wide variety of elements

Relative frequencies of Osteicthyes’ Families from Xcambó

Relative frequencies of Osteicthyes’ Families from Xcambó

23% 77%

Cranial elements Axial elements and vertebrae

Element representation (percentages based on NISP)

Snooks (Centropomus sp.)

•  A catfish Maya trade has been proposed in Belize based on the be-heading method (Masson 2004).

•  Salting and drying catfish is made with the head attached to the body (Zohar and Cooke 1997).

•  Assuming catfish were preserved branchial bones should be scarce and cranial elements dominant

(Zohar and Cooke 1997: 64)

•  Northern River Lagoon: Application of different cultural models?

•  Xcambó: Bias on recovery methods?

Catfish

Taphonomy

Relative frequency of burned remains

Relative frequency of cut marks

•  Food leftovers?

•  Burning of wastes?

•  Low frequencies of cut-marks

•  No butchery patterns evident (small sample)

0%

5%

10%

15%

20%

25%

30%

Demersal fishes

Mendocino context. Aztec fishing.

Traditional fisheries, Oaxaca.

Fishing weights, Island of Jaina.

74.14% NISP

Rizhoprionodon terraenovae Ariopsis felis

Megalops atlanticus Centropomus sp.

Mural painting, Mayapan

Fishing spear, Oxtankah

0%

1%

2%

3%

4%

5%

6%

Benthic fishes

12.99% NISP

Dasyatis americana Ginglymostoma cirratum Opsanus beta

Temple of Warriors, Chichén Itzá.

Maya paddle, Belize.

Coastal approach during gametic migrations.

•  Fishes most accessible at this time.

•  Coastal fisheries backed on artifact evidence.

• 

Maya community, Chiapas.

0%

1%

2%

Pelagic fishes

6.59% NISP

Exploited fishing environments

Marine Marine-estaurine Marine-estaurine-

fresh water 46.03 % 12.45 % 41.51 %

Rizhoprionodon terraenovae

Aetobatus narinari

Epinephelus morio

Ginglymostoma cirratum

Ariopsis felis

Megalops atlanticus

Centropomus sp.

Carcharhinidae indet.

4% Condricthyes indet. 4%

Osteicthyes indet. 4%

Ginglymostoma cirratum

4%

Sphyrna sp. 5%

Ariopsis felis 7%

Rhizopronodion terraenovae

9%

Centropomus sp. 13%

Carcharhinus sp. 23%

Others 27% More specific taxonomic

identifications needed in order to fully grasp the paleoecological

determinants of Maya fisheries.

•  Fishing as a local subsistence activity focused on estuarine environments not necessarily on the coast (i.e. “inland” fisheries?).

•  Written sources vs. Remains

•  Diversity of biotopes in a restricted area

•  Changes in the coastal landscape?

•  Poor knowledge on the Fresh vs. Salt water interactions in Maya times  

Conclusions

Acknowledgments

•  Dr. Eufrasia Roselló, Dr. Arturo Morales and Dr. Christopher Götz.

•  Consejo Nacional de Ciencia y Tecnología de México (CONACYT) y Consejo de Ciencia y Tecnología de Yucatán (CONCYTEY).