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 consumed only during the clear and bum season, when mature plants, fruits, and seeds from the 

 previous growing season were still available in the garden. Three crop taxa were consumed throughout 

 the year; com, squash, and other/zacate. The plant parts consumed of these three taxa, however, 

 varied by season. Fmits and seeds of com and squash were consumed throughout the year. Com was 

 available throughout the year for several reasons: One, some com plants never were harvested due to 

 garden failures. Two, some cobs were stored in huts near gardens, but crop predators raided these 

 sites. Three, some com germinated in fallow areas. Zacate leaves, however, were consumed during 

 the clear and bum season while zacate fruits and seeds were consumed during the rest of the year. 



Among selected game species, there were seasonal differences in the percent occurrence and 

 volume of crops in stomach contents for the major crop species. For pacas, the major period of crop 

 consumption was the weed and harvest season when com (42.9% by occurrence and 32.5% by volume) 

 and squash (21.4% by occurrence and 24.5% by volume; Table 5-4a) were the main crops consumed. 

 For agoutis, the major period of crop consumption also was the weed and harvest season when com 

 (37.5% by occurrence and 51.5% by volume; Table 5-4b) was the main crop consumed. For coatis, 

 the major period of crop consumption also was the weed and harvest season when com (54.3% by 

 occurrence and 66.0% by volume; Table 5-5a) was the only crop consumed. For collared peccaries, 

 the major period of crop consumption also was the weed and harvest season when com (25.0% by 

 occurrence and 40.9% by volume; Table 5-5b) was the main crop consumed. While the consumption 

 of other/zacate, sweet potatoes, kidney beans, and yuca by game species cannot be ignored, these data 

 suggest that the consumption of crops by game species is primarily that of com and squash during the 

 weed and harvest season. 



In conclusion, these data generally support the garden hunting hypothesis (Linares, 1976) by 

 confirming that several species of game birds and mammals consume garden crops. These data 

 indicate, however, that game species do not depend exclusively upon crops. For the 1 1 game taxa 

 considered, on average at least 30% of the stomach contents were not crop species. In addition, crops 

 largely were unavailable during four to eight months of the year. Given the seasonal nature of game 



