Just as modern dog lovers pamper their pets with morsels from the
table and space on the bed, it seems that ancient Peruvians also
treated their dogs like members of the family.
That's the conclusion archaeologists have reached after uncovering
more than 40 mummified dogs in a thousand-year-old pet cemetery
south of Lima, Peru.
Peruvian anthropologist Sonia Guillen and her team made the find
while excavating a human cemetery of the Chiribaya culture, an
agricultural society that thrived from A.D. 900 to 1350, before the
rise of the Inca.
The researchers found 43 dogs buried in separate plots alongside
their human owners, naturally preserved by the desert sands and
ensconced with treats for the afterlife.
"We have found that in all the cemeteries, always, in between the
human tombs there are others dedicated to the dogs, full-grown and
puppies," Guillen told the Associated Press.
"They have their own grave, and in some cases they are buried with
blankets and food."
The discovery speaks volumes about the high status the Chiribaya
culture placed on the dogs, which Guillen says were prized for their
skill in herding llamas.
But the find also raises questions about what, if any, claim Peru's
modern-day dogs might have to these ancient, celebrated canines.
Guillen's team is currently trying to prove that the Chiribaya
shepherds have descendants still living today, and that the dogs
constitute a unique breed.
"We have found very similar animals with the same characteristics in
Peru's southern valleys," she said.
"This shepherd is still among us."
From an article in National Geographic's "In the News":
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/photo_in_the_news.html
