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Human-dog bond in the contemporary mayab: social perceptions and benefits associated with the hunter-Milpa dog in maya peasant-hunter life strategies in Yucatan, Mexico

By E. Plata, S. Montiel

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Abstract

Human-dog interaction has been examined in various sociocultural contexts, but such relationships have not been well explored for contemporary subsistence practices in Neotropical areas. In this study, we document human-dog bonds in terms of their relevance for Maya peasant-hunters' life strategies in a rural community of the Northwest Yucatan Peninsula. To better understand social perceptions of dogs, we gathered ethnographic data through semi-structured and in-depth interviews with Maya peasant-hunters and participant observation in a Maya community. We paid particular attention to the sociocultural dimensions of subsistence hunting, agriculture, and the everyday activities of peasant-hunters and their families. We found that most peasant-hunters recognized the versatility of dogs in hunting and as sentinels for agricultural and home-gardening practices. We also found that dogs transcend their utilitarian value by granting prestige to their owners through hunting and by protecting them from harmful non-human entities of Maya cosmovision. Based on our results, we propose the “hunter-milpa dog” as a category encompassing the unique bond forged between Maya peasant-hunters and their dogs. Our definition contributes to a more substantive understanding of these canines as social actors linked to the subsistence life strategies in rural settings of Mesoamerica.

Date 2020
Publication Title Journal of Ethnobiology
Volume 40
Issue 4
Pages 451-464
ISBN/ISSN 0278-0771
DOI 10.2993/0278-0771-40.4.451
Author Address Laboratorio de Ecologia y Conservacion de la Biodiversidad (LAECBIO), Departamento de Ecologia Humana. Centro de Investigacion y de Estudios Avanzados del Instituto Politecnico Nacional (CINVESTAV-IPN), Unidad Merida, Mexico.eliaspla@buffalo.edu
Additional Language English
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Tags
  1. Animal behavior
  2. Animals
  3. Anthrozoology
  4. APEC countries
  5. Camels
  6. Canidae
  7. Canine
  8. Carnivores
  9. Communities
  10. Developing countries
  11. Dogs
  12. Family
  13. Game animals
  14. Human behavior
  15. Humans
  16. Hunting
  17. interviews
  18. Languages
  19. Life
  20. Mammals
  21. maya
  22. Men
  23. Mexico
  24. North America
  25. OECD countries
  26. open access
  27. Pets and companion animals
  28. Primates
  29. Psychiatry and psychology
  30. Relationships
  31. rural areas
  32. Social psychology and social anthropology
  33. South America
  34. Threshold Countries
  35. ungulates
  36. United States of America
  37. vertebrates
  38. Zoology
Badges
  1. open access