Comparative Archaeology Database | Center for Comparative Archaeology | University of Pittsburgh
Belize Valley Archaeological Reconnaissance Faunal Dataset
The faunal information were pulled from multiple reports of previous excavations as well as a few analyses done by Stanchly. The inventory was created from the tables in the report and the context information presented in the text. This information was adapted to the BVAR faunal catalog system as much as possible.
[Comma delimited UTF-8 format]
[Excel format]
Code definitions for the variables shown below are provided here. Each line in the .CSV file represents one survey collection unit. There are 198 lines, each with 17 variables separated by commas. The variables are listed in the following order:
| 1 | Entry Number |
| 2 | Source - the published faunal report that provided the data |
| 3 | Site - the specific site within the broader Cahal Pech site |
| 4 | Period |
| 5 | Context 1 - section of Cahal Pech site |
| 6 | Hierarchical Group - tiers of the settlement system
1: Polity Capital/Major Center 2: Secondary Minor Center 3: Tertiary Minor Center 4: Small Minor Center 5: High-status commoner household 6: Low-status commoner household |
| 7 | Context 2 - type of deposit that contained the fauna |
| 8 | Group - broad category that specifies the location within the site epicenter or settlement |
| 9 | Structure/Area - provides the structure or area within a site which was excavated/surveyed where the material was collected |
| 10 | Phylum |
| 11 | Class |
| 12 | Order |
| 13 | Family |
| 14 | Genus/Species |
| 15 | Number of Identifiable Specimen (NISP) |
| 16 | Minimum Number of Individuals (MNI)
MNI was calculated by taking the most commonly occurring element of a taxon from a particular context |
| 17 | Comments - any additional information |
The first line of the .CSV file, for example, looks like this:
1,Stanchly 1994,Zubin,Late Classic,Settlement,3,Monumental/Ceremonial,Plaza A,Str. A1,
Chordata,Mammalia,Rodentia,Cricetidae,INDT,68,,
This means that the faunal artifact is entry 1 and from the source "Stanchly 1994." It was collected from the Zubin site within the Cahal Pech site and dates to the Late Classic period. It was found in a settlement context and is in hierarchical group 3, a tertiary minor center. The artifact was found in monumental/ceremonial fill and is in the Plaza A group. It was recovered in Structure A1. It is a part of the Chordata phylum, Mammalia class, Rodentia order, and Cricetidae family. It is of indeterminate species. There are 68 identifiable specimens and no minimum number of individuals or additional comments are provided.