Dear colleagues, I have posted three views of a set of beads made on mammal incisors.
http://zooarchaeology.ning.com/photo/burial-12-animal-teeth-b?context=user
These are part of the burial adornment of a high status person at the site of Sitio Conte in western Panama, along the coast. Most food remains in this region are from white-tailed deer, fish, and small mammals. The jewelry across several tombs includes many dog teeth, whale and shark teeth, stingray spines, and rare felid elements. This dense assemblage appears to not to be from dogs, as was thought by the excavator. I am considering the large mustelid Tayra for these teeth and I am hoping that someone may have a comparative specimen and could shed some light on this.
Thanks so much,
Kate Moore
University of Penn Museum
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