Pre‐Hispanic howler monkeys from two sites of northern Venezuela and the Orinocan connection: An archaeoprimatological study

Abstract

AbstractSkeletal fragments of ursine howler monkeys (Alouatta, A. cf. arctoidea) recovered from two archaeological sites in northern Venezuela are discussed in this article. Osteological remains, material culture evidence, and historical records are put together using an archaeoprimatological approach in order to investigate the relationships between the pre‐Hispanic human societies in this region of South America and this primate taxon. The remains of howler monkeys studied suggest that Indigenous peoples of Arawakan linguistic affiliation of Orinocan origin interacted with nonhuman primates in northern Venezuela before AD 800. This interaction encompasses different meanings: the howler as a possible pet or hunting prey and thus a source of food, and the howler as a reference with symbolic value.