Comparative Archaeology Database | Center for Comparative Archaeology | University of Pittsburgh
Belize Valley Archaeological
Reconnaissance Faunal Dataset
The data files below provide faunal inventories for the Xunantunich Site of the Belize Valley Archaeological Reconnaissance (BVAR) Project, collected from 2016 - 2022. Information on area of discovery, taxa, modification, and more are included.
[Comma delimited UTF-8 format]
[Excel format]
Code definitions for the variables shown below are provided here. Each line in the .CSV file represents all specimens that are of the same taxon, element, portion, age, sex, and modification from a given context. There are 615 lines each with 35 variables separated by commas. The variables are listed in the following order:
| 1 | Entry Number |
| 2 | Box Number |
| 3 | Period |
| 4 | Context 1 - section of Xunantunich site |
| 5 | 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 |
| 6 | Context 2 - type of deposit that contained the fauna |
| 7 | Date of Excavation |
| 8 | Bag Number |
| 9 | Group - broad category that specifies the location within the site epicenter or settlement |
| 10 | Structure/Area - structure or area within the site which was excavated/surveyed where the faunal remains were collected |
| 11 | Lot - lot information filled out on the artifact card |
| 12 | Operation - designation of site or area within the site and the year of excavation |
| 13 | Excavation Unit - specific excavation unit in which the faunal materials were recovered |
| 14 | Level - stratigraphic level from which the faunal remains were recovered |
| 15 | Lot is - records the "Lot is" as filled out on the artifact card and following the information provided in the BVAR staff manual |
| 16 | Catalog Number |
| 17 | Quantity - the frequency of the specimen |
| 18 | Phylum |
| 19 | Class |
| 20 | Order |
| 21 | Family |
| 22 | Genus/Species |
| 23 | Body Portion - portion of the body the individual skeletal elements comes from anatomically |
| 24 | Element - idenitifies the specific bones on the animal, or portion of any exoskeleton |
| 25 | Side - side of the body the specimen is from Appendicular and cranial elements are typically sided, while vertebrae are not |
| 26 | Portion - portion of the specific skeletal element present |
| 27 | Age - age of the apecimen, if features used for ageing are present |
| 28 | Sex - identifies sex, when discernible, of the specimen |
| 29 | Size - size class of the specimen
A breakdown of the classes and the sources of these determinations can be found here |
| 30 | Modification - standardized methods for identifying natural and cultural modifications to the specimesn through taphonomic processes |
| 31 | Artifact - identifies what specific artifact the fuanla or shell materials have been transformed into (if applicable) |
| 32 | Special Find - inlcudes special find designations determined by projects in the overall spreadsheet and data analysis but also provides a simple means of pulling data about special finds to share with staff needing the information |
| 33 | Weight in grams |
| 34 | Comments - any additional information |
| 35 | Measurements taken following von den Driesch, Angela. 1976. A Guide to the Measurement of Animal Bones from Archaeological Sites. Peabody Musuem Bulletins, Vol. 1. Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology, Harvard Museum, Cambridge, Massachusetts. |
The first line of the .CSV file, for example, looks like this:
1,1,Late Classic,Site Core,1,Ceremonial - Burial,julio-2016,XUN-2000,Plaza A-II,Str. A9,,,A9 BU-2,,,Z6715,1,
CHORDATA,MAMMALIA,INDT,INDT,INDT,APP,TB,N,PRE,UN,UN,LG,NA,NA,N,3.3,,
This means that the faunal remains are the first entry, from box number 1, and from the Late Classic period. They are from the site core of Xunantunich, it is in the hierarchical group 1, a polity capital/major center, and found in ceremonial/burial fill. The remains were excavated in July 2016, are in bag XUN-2000, associated with the Plaza A-II architectural group, from the structure A9, no lot number or operation is provided, in excavation unit A9 BU-2, and no stratigraphic level provided. The catalog number for the remains is Z6715 and the frequency of the specimen is 1. The taxanomic classification for the remains are as follows: Phylum - Chordata, Class - Mammalia, Order - indeterminate, Family - indeterminate, Genus/species - indeterminate. The remains are from the appendicular skeleton, it is a tibia, it is not sided, it is the proximal epiphysis, the age and sex are unknown, and it belongs to the large size class. Both modification and artifact are not applicable. The remains were not designated as a special find and weight 3.3 grams. No additional comments or measurements are provided.