Some bones found in Mexico have revealed a new facet of the Mayans: traders of “exotic” dogs
We knew that the Mayans wove important commercial networks and? they used to market with food or items as precious as jade, obsidian, cocoa either shells. What we did not know is that in their markets there was another good as or even more precious that led sellers to invest resources, time and effort in transporting it over hundreds of kilometers: dogs. Just as we are willing to pay large sums for certain pedigree species, the Mayans of the Classic period (200-900 AD) they traded dogs that they fed with care. At least that’s what it suggests. a new study. Some lost bones. Moxviquil and Tenam Puente They are two Mayan sites located in Chiapas where, some time ago, archaeologists found remains of bones. So far nothing surprising. The curious thing is that among the remains there were fragments that belonged to dogs and deer, a valuable material that has allowed Dr. Elizateb Paris, from the University of Calgary, to compare their chemical characteristics to find out where the animals came from. The conclusions has published them in Journal of Achaeological Science and they leave a few surprises. An isotopic map. What Paris basically did, with the help of the rest of the colleagues who signed he paperwas to analyze the remains of strontium preserved in bones and tooth enamel. The reason is very simple: for researchers it represents a key clue to understanding what humans (or animals, in this case) ate and drank when they were alive, which in turn reveals the places they passed through. Once this information was collected, Dr. Paris and her colleagues compared it with a isotopic map which shows the proportions of strontium in all of Mesoamerica. What did they discover? That while the deer bones showed strontium levels consistent with the area in which they were located, suggesting that they were probably wild animals hunted in the local forests; The skeletons of the dogs told a very different story. “We discovered that the dogs in our sample were not from the area, but came from Mayan kingdoms in very distant lowlands,” share the anthropologist. The second surprise. It wasn’t the only thing Paris found out. The bones located in Moxviquil and Tenam Puente held yet another surprise. By thoroughly analyzing the carbon and nitrogen isotopes of the bones, the researchers discovered that the dogs enjoyed a privileged diet. So much, in fact, that they largely ate the same foods as humans: corn and meat. The archaeologists admit that the dogs may have been searching through the remains of what their owners consumed, but they also believe that this protein-rich diet was the result of “deliberate feeding.” In summary: it is not only that the dogs identified in the Mayan sites had traveled long distances, their diet was also taken care of. The question is… Why so much effort? The answer: trade. For Paris and his colleagues, the explanation is clear. The remains of Moxviquil and Tenam Puente reveal that Classic Period Mayan societies “traded” live dogs. And they were even willing to move them hundreds of kilometers, such as those between the central regions of Chiapas and the north of the Yucatan Peninsula. This not only shows that pre-Columbian peoples had customs not so different from those we maintain in 2026. It also confirms that they created “solid” marketing networks in Mesoamerica. The great unknown. The study de Paris helps us better understand Mayan society (and trade), but it leaves up a fascinating question: Was there any race that was especially valued? To which did the bones located in Chiapas belong? From the University of Calgary they recognize that this is still a mystery that they have not been able to completely clear up. At least for now. Researchers are already working with DNA samples to clarify it, although they have a hypothesis. The anthropologist remembers that the Aztecs had several special races and among them was the Xolotizcuintli (xolo), a dog that can be found in various sizes, but is always characterized by the lack of hair and premolars. “This breed could be present in the Mayan site, since the selective breeding of these dogs causes mutations that give rise to a strange shape in the teeth, a characteristic that many dogs in Chiapas have,” reveals university before remembering that there are indications that dogs were “highly appreciated” creatures among the Mayans. And not only because of what we now know about the distances they traveled or their diet. They are preserved representations in which rulers appear in hammocks with small dogs. Images | Secretariat of Culture of Mexico City (Flickr) 1 and 2 and Alex Azabache (Unsplash) In Xataka | We had always thought that the Mayans disappeared due to an environmental “apocalypse.” Turns out we were wrong
