Dog-Teeth Ornaments from Sitio Conte, Panama

Sitio Conte dogs were a single breed
Length of canine teeth was used to track body size diversity. No evidence emerged for multiple breeds (unlike in northern Central America) or representation of two dimorphic sexes.




Dog-Teeth Ornaments from Sitio Conte: New Research on Old Collections
Sitio Conte 1940
The University of Pennsylvania's work at Sitio Conte, led by J. Alden Mason in coordination with Lothrop's earlier excavation, included a tomb complex known as Burial 11. A vast diversity of craft goods, wealth objects, and painted ceramics were part of a three-stage mortuary complex. The 473 dog teeth beads described here were studied here as part of a new exhibit at the University of Pennsylvania Museum.
The Art and Archaeology of Central America and Colombia/Dumbarton Oaks Workshop
Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Panama City, Panama January 26th- 29th, 2015
Katherine M. Moore -Department of Anthropology and Penn Museum Center for the Analysis of Archaeological Materials

Dog Teeth Apron from Burial 11
Drilled dog teeth beads were recovered with a burial to one side of the focal burial of the middle layer of Burial 11. The position and arrangement of the teeth were consistent with a belt or apron at the waist of a person tentatively identified as an adult female. A minimum of 66 dogs are represented. Another individual in Burial 11 had a necklace of drilled dog canine teeth.
Teeth as ornaments in Coclé society
Teeth are prominent aspects of Coclé iconography, though the animals shown baring their teeth (crocodile, bats, dragons) are not the ones whose teeth were used as ornaments: dogs, deer, jaguars, sharks, whales and peccaries.
Sitio Conte dogs were young
Dogs experienced disease and stress
Dog diet and ecology
Molar teeth were rare in the collection but 2 of 6 had serious caries. Dog diets probably included soft and sticky foods such as maize.
No evidence from Panama suggests intensive raising of dogs for meat. These dogs were probably used for hunting and guarding settlements. As in most tropical dog populations, mortality was high and dogs' lives were short, usually 3-5 years.
Craftsmanship: Beads were uniform and unworn

Dogs of the chief? Dogs for the chief?
At least 70-100 households were keeping and feeding the dogs used in the apron from Sitio Conte Burial 11. The teeth may have been collected as tribute for the manufacture of these garments. The costs of raising the dogs were high: these dogs could have eaten the maize produced on 12 ha over the course of an average 2-year life span. Hundreds more dogs are represented by the artifacts from other tombs at Sitio Conte and El Caño.
Coclé dogs from other contexts await analysis
Simple and non-destructive analysis like that described here for the Burial 11 dogs could be extended to the dogs remains in other assemblages, comparing body size, age and health. The dogs from the Coclé region are a significant sample of domestic animals for the prehistoric Americas. Their stable isotope composition could reveal their diets and the diversity of their geographic sources. Ancient genomic research on these dogs could offer unique information on local husbandry and test models for the entry of dogs into South America
These teeth from Burial 11 were reported as 'rabbit teeth' in the field, but in fact are dog incisors. There are no rabbit teeth in the Sitio Conte assemblage.
Fine stone implements from Sitio Conte could have been used to drill the holes
Triangular gold plaques are likely representations of shark teeth.
Artifacts made from dog, whale and shark teeth from Lothrop's work at Sitio Conte (Lothrop 1937).
Canine teeth from burial 11 apron: UPM 40-14-575
Mason's excavations: UPM Archives
Area around Sitio Conte: National Geographic
Reconstruction of a dog tooth apron from grave 1 at Sitio Conte (1930s excavations) (Lothrop 1937)
UPM 40-14-574A
UPM 40-13-34
Open canine pulp cavity: 6 mo
1 year
4 years-pulp cavity narrow
X-rays of known-age dog teeth
Diameter of canine pulp chamber was used to estimate age of dogs. There were no puppies (