Crossing the boundary between humans and animals. The extinct fox (Dusicyon avus) in a mortuary hunter-gatherer context of Patagonia (Río Negro, Argentina)

PRATES, L.

Amman

Congreso; World Archaeological Congress; 2013

WAC

Canids have generated immense interest among archaeologists. All over the world and since the origins of humanity, interactions between them have been complex and diverse, from purely economic to social, religious and even affectionate. This paper deals with the study of the burial of an extinct fox at a late Holocene site in Northern Patagonia. It is focused on the possible meaning of this unusual archaeological context and its implications in terms of human-animal interactions. The main conclusion of the paper is that the carnid was buried like a human being as a consequence of it statu as a pet.