Rodents, Rabbits, and Raptors, Oh My!

The Marana Platform Mound, near Tucson, Arizona, provides an ideal database for understanding the roles of non-human animals in Hohokam Classic period communities. Due to the extensive nature of the Marana excavations, combined with the short period of site occupation, the faunal remains are a snapshot not only of Hohokam diet, but also of feasting and other ritual uses of fauna; the impact of agricultural methods on local animal communities; and family/individual differences in access to resources. This paper explores the spatial differences in faunal remains across compounds (assumed to be associated with particular lineages) and between rooms (assumed to be associated with individual households) to asses the causes of faunal variability. Ultimately, faunal resources and use show greater variability between rooms than between compounds, suggesting greater differences in resource access between households within the same lineage than between lineages.