Resumen

BELOTTI LOPEZ DE MEDINA, Carlos R. In the company of the dead: Animal offerings at the cemeteries of La Isla, Tilcara, Jujuy. Intersecciones antropol. [online]. 2012, vol.13, n.2, pp.345-357. ISSN 1850-373X.

This paper presents an exhaustive analysis of the faunal remains recovered by Debenedetti from burials 6, 10 and 11 from El Morro cemetery at La Isla de Tilcara site, Jujuy, Argentina. There is a notable consensus about the importance of El Morro, since its burials contain no more than one or two individuals along with numerous offerings, some of them clearly sumptuary. In some of these tombs, among the diverse items, archaeofaunal remains were found that can be safely identified as sacrificed animals. The zooarchaeological analysis presented here was carried out on two of those offerings: the cranium and mandibles of a small to medium sized dog, estimated to be seven months old, found in Burial 6, and a faunal assemblage from Burial 11, among which an almost complete macaw skeleton was identified, similar in size to Ara chloroptera. The mandibles of a small felid, estimated to be over six months old, from Burial 10 were also identified. The main goal of the analysis was to produce relevant information about the taxonomy and age of death of these remains. With the results in mind, some plausible explanations about the place of animals in the funeral rites at Burials 6, 10, and 11 and hypothesis about the social role of the people buried there are offered.

Palabras clave : La Isla; Animal offerings; Zooarchaeology.

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