Ancient Maya turkey husbandry: Testing theories through stable isotope analysis

Large gaps exist in our knowledge of ancient Maya turkey husbandry and management. Among the questions still needing to be addressed are: 1) when and where was the non-local Wild Turkey (Meleagris gallopavo) introduced to and adopted by the ancient Maya, and 2) did the ancient Maya also rear captive or tame populations of the indigenous Ocellated Turkey (Meleagris ocellata)? In this paper, we assess the potential of stable isotope analysis to address these questions. We employ stable carbon (δ13C) and nitrogen (δ15N) isotope analysis to determine whether wild and husbanded turkeys in the Maya region can be distinguished based on their diets. Strontium isotope analysis (87Sr/86Sr) is also used to distinguish between M. gallopavo individuals that were imported from central/northern Mexico, and those raised on-site in the Maya lowlands. The results indicate that stable isotope analysis is a promising and underutilized method for testing theories regarding ancient Maya turkey husbandry.