The experimental butchering of coypu (Myocastor coypus): Implications for the analysis of the archaeofaunal record

Abstract

Coypu (Myocastor coypus) is a medium-small sized rodent which was exploited during the Late Holocene in the Humid Pampas and other regions of southern South America. Therefore, this paper aims to broaden our knowledge about archaeofaunal assemblages using data collected from five events of experimental butchery. These events were carried out by nutrieros (coypu hunters) and hunters from Buenos Aires province (Argentina) and were directed towards the extraction of some consumable resources from the carcass: hide and meat. Butchers used experimental flakes and tools made from ortoquartzite of the Sierras Bayas Group. The butchering process involved different tasks on the carcasses such as skinning, evisceration, disarticulation, and cutting into small pieces. We controlled the time involved in each experimental event and registered the weights of different byproducts. Resulting cut marks and fractures located on cranial and postcranial bones were associated with skinning, dismemberment, and segmentation for cooking. From this kind of actualistic study, we emphasized the significance of butcher's skill to process small mammals and its consequences as resulting marks. In addition, we gathered information about the potential of exploitation of the prey in the present. Moreover, our study supports some interpretations made upon the archaeological record, questions others and alerts about equifinality.