Fish in the Archaeological Context Teotihuacano: How, When and Where

Abstract

The archeology in Teotihuacan continues to surprise locals and strangers because in recent years there has been an unusual concentration of fish bones that were captured and prepared in pre-hispanic times while still alive. This wonderful presence of fish remains, in a Teotihuacan site, is a remarkable evidence of the use and exploitation of the fishing resource in the mythical city of the gods; thus, the present research seeks to answer how, when and where the fishing resources discovered in Teopancazco, Teotihuacan come from, following an analysis of anatomical and taxonomic identification of the bones found in the archaeological context, among the materials are identified a shark tooth, barracuda teeth, skeletal elements of the skull, appendicular skeleton and vertebrae, many of which were observed subjected to some source of heat. The analysis of the remains has made it possible to verify that there are species from the Mesoamerican coast and, at the same time, opens the diachronic discussion of their transfer and preparation by the ancient habitants of a coastal community, leading to an interesting discussion that deals with three disturbing questions: How did these coastal resources get to the Central Altiplano?; When did the fishing take place? and Where did it take place?