Dogs in Tiwanaku Society: Life Histories of Companion Animals from the Moquegua Valley, Peru

Abstract We examine the social role of dogs in the Central Andes using dog remains from Middle Horizon (AD 600–1000) Tiwanaku sites in the Moquegua Valley, Peru. We describe dog remains from domestic, cemetery, and temple contexts and provide life histories of two naturally mummified young dogs that Tiwanaku inhabitants intentionally buried in domestic households at the sites of Rio Muerto and Omo. We present morphological and morphometric values for the mummified dog from Rio Muerto, along with isotopic analyses of the bones, teeth, and hair from both dogs. The strontium ( 87 Sr/ 86 Sr) isotopic analyses indicate that both dogs had local origins. Isotopic analyses of carbon (δ 13 C) and nitrogen (δ 15 N) show that the Rio Muerto dog consumed a mixed terrestrial and omnivorous diet composed of both C 3 and C 4 foods, like that of humans from that site. The Omo dog consumed less C 4 foods and more protein. Although some dog remains exhibit cut marks, there is no evidence that dogs were food animals. We interpret the intentional burial of the two dogs in domestic settings and the fragmentary remains as evidence that the Tiwanaku inhabitants of Moquegua considered dogs to be companion animals and possibly nonhuman persons worthy of respect after death.