The Origins of Early Colonial Cows at San Bernabé, Guatemala: Strontium Isotope Values at an Early Spanish Mission in the Petén Lakes Region of Northern Guatemala

The earliest Spanish explorers in the 15th century brought ships stocked with European domesticated animals to the Americas. Yet for nearly two centuries, the Maya living in Guatemala’s Petén Lakes region continued to rely on traditional wild animal species. A small number of cow, equid, and pig bones have been identified in Kowoj and Itza Maya Contact period contexts at Ixlú, Nixtun Ch’ich’, Tayasal, and Zacpetén; however, significant changes in regional animal use are only visible after the Spanish began to build missions in the region during the early 1700s. We explore the introduction of European domesticates to the region at the San Bernabé mission near Tayasal using faunal, isotopic, and historic data. There were marked differences in mammal use, but a continued reliance on aquatic species such as turtles and snails. Animal acquisition strategies changed as well, with potentially significant impacts on local and regional land use and the daily lives of the Mayas.