Comparative Archaeology Database | Center for Comparative Archaeology | University of Pittsburgh
Belize Valley Archaeological
Reconnaissance Faunal Dataset
Norbert Stanchly identified these specimens in 2012. These specimens are from the 2012 field seasons and are associated with the report Preliminary Analysis of the Faunal Remains from Plaza F, Lower Dover, Belize: 2012 Field Season, (2013), The Belize Valley Archaeological Reconnaissance Project: A Report of the 2012 Field Season, by Norbert Stanchly, edited by Julie A. Hoggarth, Reiko Ishihara-Brito, and Jaime J. Awe, pp. 233–246. Vol. 18. Institute of Archaeology, Belmopan, Belize. 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 individual faunal remains. There are 31 lines each with 23 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 Lower Dover site |
| 4 | Period |
| 5 | Context 1 - section of Lower Dover 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 the site which was excavated/surveyed where the faunal remains were collected |
| 10 | Phylum |
| 11 | Class |
| 12 | Order |
| 13 | Family |
| 14 | Genus/Species |
| 15 | Body Portion - portion of the body the individual skeletal elements comes from anatomically |
| 16 | Element - identifies the specific bones on the animal, or portion of any exoskeleton |
| 17 | Side - side of the body the specimen is from (appendicular and cranial elements are typically sided, while vertebrae are not) |
| 18 | Portion - portion of the specific skeletal element present, including things like shaft, epiphysis, fragment, head, condyle, proximal, distal, and complete |
| 19 | Number of Identifiable Specimen (NISP) |
| 20 | Minimum Number of Individuals (MNI)
MNI was calculated by taking the most commonly occurring element of a taxon from a particular context |
| 21 | Lot Number |
| 22 | Catalog Number |
| 23 | Comments - any additional information |
The first line of the .CSV file, for example, looks like this:
1,Stanchly 2012,Lower Dover,Late/Terminal Classic,Site Core,1,Monumental,Plaza B,Str. B13,Mollusca,Gastropoda,Neogastropoda,Olividae,Oliva reticularis,EXO,MS,N,UN,1,,F25-58,,Water worn
This means that the faunal remains are the first entry and are taken from the source "Stanchly 2012". They are from the Lower Dover site, from the Late/Terminal Classic period, and from the site core of Lower Dover. They are in hierarchical group 1, a polity capital/major center, found in monumental fill, associated with the Plaza B architectural group, and from the structure B13. The taxanomic classification for the remains are as follows: Phylum - Mollusca, Class - Gastropoda, Order - Neogastropoda, Family - Olividae, Genus/species - Oliva reticularis. The remains are exoskeleton, the element is marine shell, it is not sided, and the portion of the shell is unknown. There is one identifiable specimen, with no minimum number of individuals provided. The faunal remains are from lot F25-58 and have no catalog number provided. According to the comments these faunal remains were water worn.