Shark Teeth, Stingray Spines, and Shark Fishing in Ancient Mexico and Central America

Shark teeth & stingray spines were used in Central America as ceremonial or votive deposits in burials & caches from about 500 BC to 1520 AD. Stingray spines are reported from 13 archeological sites; shark teeth from 9. At 6 of these sites they are found in association. Shark & stingray...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Southwestern Journal of Anthropology 1961-10, Vol.17 (3), p.273-296
Main Author: de Borhegyi, Stephan F.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Canoes
Central America
Death Rituals
Ethnology
Fishing Communities
Fossils
Jaw
Liver
Precolumbian era
Sharks
Teeth
Tigers
Tombs
Traditional Societies
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Summary:Shark teeth & stingray spines were used in Central America as ceremonial or votive deposits in burials & caches from about 500 BC to 1520 AD. Stingray spines are reported from 13 archeological sites; shark teeth from 9. At 6 of these sites they are found in association. Shark & stingray fishing in Pre-Columbian times must have been fairly common on both the Atlantic & Pacific shores of Mexico, Yucatan, Panama, & Costa Rica. Shark fishing was probably done in sea-going dugouts with the use of bait, & the sharks clubbed to death with heavy wooden mallets. Some of the stingray spines were probably retrieved from the jaws of dead sharks. Shark teeth & stingray spines, together with other marine products, were traded to such inland sites as Palenque, Piedras Negras & Nebaj. Shark meat & shark liver oil may have formed a regular part of the diet of the inhabitants of the Atlantic coastal parts of Mexico & Yucatan & probably sup & plied the natives with a rich source of A, D, & B-complex vitamins. This in turn may have prevented, at least among the coas. tal pop, such generally known present-day health problems as pellagra, rickets, low metabolism & anemia. AA.
ISSN:0038-4801
0091-7710
DOI:10.1086/soutjanth.17.3.3629046