Feeding Opiyelguobirán: A multidisciplinary analysis of human-canid relations in pre-colonial Hispaniola

The introduction of the domestic dog (Canis familiaris) in the insular Caribbean likely occurred during the Early Ceramic Age (c. 400 BC – AD 500), coinciding with the arrival of Saladoid peoples and the fluorescence of Huecoid cultures in the Greater and Lesser Antilles. However, the precise regional origins of this animal are currently unknown. Numerous studies have indicated the feasibility of using dogs as an isotopic surrogate for palaeodietary reconstruction in humans, which is telling of the high level of entanglement of humans and dogs expressed in the sharing of foodways. Shared dietary relationships with humans, ritual interment and symbolic depictions of dogs raise questions about the nuanced placement of this animal within the indigenous cultural taxonomies of the insular Caribbean. Dog remains are found both ritually interred and in domestic contexts throughout the region, suggesting that dogs were both highly valued as companions, and also possibly seen as a viable...Show moreThe introduction of the domestic dog (Canis familiaris) in the insular Caribbean likely occurred during the Early Ceramic Age (c. 400 BC – AD 500), coinciding with the arrival of Saladoid peoples and the fluorescence of Huecoid cultures in the Greater and Lesser Antilles. However, the precise regional origins of this animal are currently unknown. Numerous studies have indicated the feasibility of using dogs as an isotopic surrogate for palaeodietary reconstruction in humans, which is telling of the high level of entanglement of humans and dogs expressed in the sharing of foodways. Shared dietary relationships with humans, ritual interment and symbolic depictions of dogs raise questions about the nuanced placement of this animal within the indigenous cultural taxonomies of the insular Caribbean. Dog remains are found both ritually interred and in domestic contexts throughout the region, suggesting that dogs were both highly valued as companions, and also possibly seen as a viable source of food. In order to understand this dichotomous treatment Viveiros de Castro’s “Amerindian perspectivism” and Descola’s notions of “animism” provided theoretical frameworks in which to analysis how dogs featured within the cosmological and cultural taxonomy of pre-colonial peoples in the insular Caribbean. For this study, data generated from archaeozoological and multi-isotopic analyses of dogs from the pre-colonial sites of El Flaco and El Carril in the Dominican Republic was compared to findings from three select sites in the Lesser Antilles: Cathédrale de Basse-Terre and Morel in Guadeloupe, and Hope Estate in St Martin. The aim of this research was to: a) establish the effectiveness of the isotopic surrogacy approach in the Caribbean; b) examine any regional differences reflected in the diets of dogs; c) determine if there are any observable distinctions in the morphology and diets of buried dogs and those uncovered from non-burial contexts; d) and to interpret why this dichotomous treatment was occurring using a perspectival theoretical framework. The results indicate that there may have been at least two morphologically distinct types of dogs in Hispaniola in support of what is mentioned in the ethnohistorical sources. These types likely underwent differential treatment by humans, with one particular type more inclined to be buried suggesting a higher value placed on this breed as a valued companion and consubstantial nonhuman person. The burial of one individual dog alongside the deceased at El Flaco may be a funerary offering, representing a psychopomp in the likeness of the ‘Taíno’ guardian of the dead cemí, Opiyelguobirán.Show less

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Feeding Opiyelguobirán: A multidisciplinary analysis of human-canid relations in pre-colonial Hispaniola