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Charles Zidar
ANCIENT MAYA ZOOLOGICAL RESEARCH |
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| Family: | Canidae | | Genus: | Varies | | Species: | spp. | | Common Name: | Mexican Hairless Dog | | Maya Name: | Pek | | Depictions: | Polychrome Ceramics | | Significance: | Domesticated dogs are descended from wolves. They were later bred for hunting, herding and guarding. Short-haired and hairless types were bred by the Maya. Dogs were used by the Maya to chase deer in hunts, were fattened for food and were sacrificed for burials (Pohl 1982). A type of dog with black and white spots regularly appears in codices in connection with blood sacrifice (Pohl 1982). Dogs were companions of the dead, helping guide spirits into the afterlife (Tozzer and Allen 1910). At the Postclassic site Cozumel, numerous dogs bones were found in burials, many of them puppies (Pohl 1983). Dogs in the codices included the kan sign, a symbol for corn or bread (Tozzer and Allen 1910). Widely represented animal in ancient Maya iconography. | | Notes: | Xoloitzcuintli or Xoloitzcuintle
Domesticated Dogs... | | Photos: | Click on an image below for high resolution comparison. |
Other Faunal Photos: Additional views of the faunal species, click on a photo below to view larger image. |  | | Artifact Photo(s) Courtesy of Justin Kerr (FAMSI); Animal Photo(s) Courtesy of Wikipedia GNU General Public License Version 1.2, November 2002; Creative Commons Attribution ShareAlike 2.0/2.5 License(s). |
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