97 



The possibility that Maya hunters were selective in the game they harvested cannot be 

 addressed fully as the study was not designed to measure hunter game preferences. The coati and plain 

 chachalaca were the two taxa most frequently taken by hunters at X-Hazil Sur, by number of 

 individuals, but there was no indication that these species were preferred by hunters. Other, less 

 frequently taken species, such as the ocellated turkey, great curassow, brocket deer, white-tailed deer, 

 and white-lipped peccary, however, were highly prized by Maya hunters, but rarely taken due to their 

 scarcity and difficulty with which they were encountered. 



If given a choice, most hunters at X-Hazil Sur indicated that they would prefer to harvest a 

 great curassow, brocket deer, or white-tailed deer. These choices correspond with Maya game 

 preferences throughout the Yucatan Peninsula (Bums, 1983; Medi'z Bolio, 1987). The reasons why 

 these taxa were preferred by hunters included the large amount of meat obtained from the deer (see 

 Table 3-1) and the skill necessary to obtain a great curassow due to its reclusive habits (see Table 3-8 

 and Appendix G). 



The possibility that many game species widely taken elsewhere in the Neotropics, but not by 

 Maya hunters at X-Hazil Sur, suggest cultural differences among indigenous groups and will be 

 discussed more fully in Chapter 4, where data about the number of game species and their densities in 

 the study area will be presented. This will permit a comparison of the availability of game with the 

 harvest of game. However, data for plants (Flores-Villela and Gerez-Femandez, 1989) and reptiles 

 (Lee, 1980) suggested that species diversity and density may be naturally low in the Yucatan Peninsula 

 due to several abiotic factors, including rainfall gradients, recent geologic age, and relatively flat 

 topography. These factors also may have influenced Maya hunters through the number of species of 

 birds and mammals on the peninsula and their population densities. 



The relatively small number of game species taken by hunters at X-Hazil Sur was unexpected 

 when compared with (1) the archeological record and (2) the other species of birds and mammals found 



locally, but not taken for subsistence purposes. This evidence suggests a change in Maya hunting 



patterns over time. According to archeological studies at Cozumel, a large island off the northeastern 



