The Preclassic military macaw (Ara militaris) from the Cueva de Avendaños (Chihuahua, Mexico) was not locally procured

Abstract

AbstractThe oldest macaw specimen in Pre‐Hispanic Mexico and the southwestern United States was recovered in Cueva de Avendaños, Chihuahua, Mexico, at the base of the Sierra Madre Occidental. It dates to the Late Archaic/Early Agricultural period (1929–2057 cal BP). The head is the only preserved element of the macaw and it was mummified through natural causes. Research on this specimen examines its sex identification and its geographical range, questioning whether this specimen belongs to a local population living in the vicinity of the cave. A species distribution model over the last 2000 years was elaborated to ascertain the presence of military macaw in the study area. Our results show that the macaw was non‐local, sustaining the idea that the practice of early animal husbandry existed in the early stages of the Pre‐Hispanic world, and also suggest that a significant and rapid climate changes characterized the Holocene, affecting the military macaw's distributional range.