Zooarchaeological and taphonomical study of the white-tailed deer (Cervidae: Odocoileus virginianus Zimmerman 1780) at Sitio Sierra, a pre-Columbian village in Pacific Coclé province, Panama, with an evaluation of its role in feasts

Abstract

The white-tailed deer (Cervidae: Odocoileus virginianus) was the most widespread sizeable mammal in the ancient anthropogenic savannahs of the Pacific watershed of Panama. This cursorial, browsing and gregarious species was not only a major component of human diet for several thousand pre-contact years but also an iconic mammal imbued with polysemic symbolism. Deer were the most frequently consumed mammal in most pre-Columbian refuse deposits, and deer bones and antlers were used to fashion several kinds of implements. Spanish eye-witness chroniclers of the years of conquest (1515–1550 CE) refer to cultural proscriptions against eating mammal meat by certain groups in the chiefdoms that bordered Parita Bay on the Pacific coast. Spanish soldiers extolled larders replete with dried and salted deer carcasses. This situation alludes to periodic “feasts”, which are considered to be an important mechanism for enhancing social relations and for cementing alliances. We argue that feasting behaviour is identifiable at Sitio Sierra (AG-3), a large village located in the alluvial bottomlands of Cocle province near a major river (Santa Maria) and occupied between about 2200 and 500 cal yr. B.P. The representation of all deer body parts in some refuse piles at this site—including complete and articulated remains—is predicted correlate of rapid and mass consumption typical of feasting. Deer body parts with high meat values predominate. Young animals were consumed. Most of the observed cut marks on deer bones represent de-fleshing. There is little evidence for rodents’ gnawing the bones and no evidence of carnivore gnawing. The zooarchaeological data are corroborated by data on ceramic vessels and by physical signs of cooking at the site.