182 THE FLORIDA ANTHROPOLOGIST

2006 VOL. 59(3-4)

 

 

Figure 3. Comparison of the reconstructed prehistoric dolphin cranium with a modern dolphin skull, lateral view.

wide (e.g., Haag and Heizer 1953; Lyon 1996:100; McMillan
1970; Mellink 1966; Morey and Wiant 1992) and were com
mon by the Archaic period in the eastern and midwestern U.S.
(McMillan 1970). It is likely that dogs were afforded special
mortuary treatment because of their closeness with humans and
high status as pets. It is also possible that in some instances,
they served as substitutes for human sacrifice (Hill 2000:386-
387).

Hill (2000) studied 164 interments of birds, canids, and
bears dating from A.D. 200-1450 in the southwestern U.S. and
determined that animal burials fell into three categories:
1)“animal sacrifice and disposal as ceremonial trash;”
2)“dedicatory interment,” as an offering for special occasions
(e.g., building a structure); and 3) “simple interment or expedi-
ent disposal,” for all other interments (Hill 2000:363-364).

Walker (1995) applied the term “ceremonial trash” to worn-
out ritual objects found in an archaeological context. These
objects were disposed of in a manner suitable to sacred objects,
a practice which appears to be cross-cultural and continues
today. Many animal burials would be classified under Hill’s
first category as ceremonial trash or animal sacrifice. These
interments show intentional killing before disposal and are
recovered either in association with human burials (Haag and
Heizer 1953; Heizer and Hewes 1940; Hill 2000; Mellink
1966) or from other sacred locations outside habitation areas
(Hill 2000). After the animals are used for a ceremonial
purpose, they are ritually disposed of in sacred ground (hence,
“ceremonial trash”). For example, Hill studied 459 avian
interments and concluded that they were chiefly ceremonial
trash. She argues that the birds were sacrificed for their
feathers and were buried because their use-life had ended (Hill
2000:378). Other animal burials are associated with human
burials and may constitute substitutes for human sacrifices. For
example, at sites located in central California dating to the Late
Culture, a fully articulated bear skeleton (Ursus americanus)
was found at the west edge of a cemetery area of site C.138, a
badger (Taxidea taxus neglecta) was found within a few inches
of a flexed human burial at site $.60, and several coyotes

(Canis latrans) were found near or within human burials
(Heizer and Hewes 1940). These interments are regarded as
ceremonial, particularly because many of the animals were
transported long distances and they are in association with a
sacred site, which is a burial or a cemetery in this case.
Ethnographic accounts reveal that central California tribes kept
coyotes, deer, and bear as captive pets and may have had
emotional attachments to them.

Florida Animal Interments

Most animal burials recorded in Florida also may be
categorized as ceremonial trash. As is true elsewhere, dog
interments are the most common type of animal interment in
Florida (Table 1), and dogs are thought to have been kept as
pets by Florida tribes (Wheeler 1992b). This contrasts with
what Hill (2000) found in the Southwest: out of 90 canid
interments, which contained | 15 individuals, she concluded that
most were dedicatory offerings, found in pits or under the floors
of kivas or other structures (Hill 2000:379, 386).

North of Lake Okeechobee, animal interments, mostly dog
burials, are known from several sites. For instance, at the
Lighthouse Mound (8NA3) on Amelia Island, Moore (1896, in
Mitchem 1999:38) recovered a dog skeleton in the burial
mound with many human bones. At the Hutchinson Island site
(8MT37) in Martin County, seven dog burials were found
within a burial mound (Carr and Steele 1993:12).

There are six sites in southern Florida with animal burials
(Table 1). Numerous animal burials were reported from the
Palmer Burial Mound (8SO2) at the Palmer site complex near
Sarasota, Florida (Bullen and Bullen 1976). Four dog burials
anda “ceremonial” alligator interment were found among about
400 human burials. Three of the dog burials were in close
proximity to one another and were located three to seven feet
northwest of the alligator burial. They were laid in shallow pits
on their side, and one burial contained two dogs. The alligator
was laid in a shallow pit above two human burials and con-
tained several grave goods. Two strings of sawfish vertebrae