Fishing in the northern Maya lowlands AD 250–750: preliminary analysis of fish remains from Xcambo, Yucatan, Mexico

Abstract

The relationship between the sea and human populations in the Maya world during Prehispanic times is well supported through iconographic and ethnohistoric evidence. The nature and importance of fish resource exploitation, however, during the most important period of Maya history, the Classic Period (AD 250–900), remains largely unknown. Xcambó (AD 250–750) was an important commercial port located in the north coast of the Yucatán peninsula. According to ichthyoarchaeological results presented here, fishes such as requiem sharks (Carcharhinus sp.), Atlantic sharpnose sharks (Rhizopronodion terraenovae), snooks (Centropomus sp.) and hardhead catfish (Ariopsis felis) were an important part of the diet of the ancient Maya. Although it has been proposed that marine resources, including fishes, could have been traded and transported from coastal to inland localities, evidence from Xcambó regarding such practices remains indeterminate. Most likely, other species could have been salted and traded. Evidence for such activities has not been yet recovered at Xcambó. Results achieved so far indicate that there was a strong influence of fish fauna from nearby, suggesting that fishing in Xcambó was a local subsistence activity.