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Capuchin Monkeys (Cebus capucinus) and the Ancient Maya

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  10 October 2008

Mary Baker
Mary Baker
Affiliation:
Department of Anthropology, University of California, Riverside, CA 92521, USA
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Abstract

Two genera of nonhuman primates that include howler monkeys (Alouatta palliata and Alouatta pigra) and spider monkeys (Ateles geoffroyi) currently are located throughout the Maya region. It has been suggested that the Classic Maya associated these monkeys, especially howler monkeys, with the arts. This view is exemplified in the Popol Vuh and in depictions of monkey-man scribes on Late Classic (c. a.d. 550–900) ceramics. This paper provides evidence that a third genus, the capuchin monkey (Cebus capucinus), is also located in the southern Maya region and may have extended as far north as Belize within the last century. Supporting data are drawn from historic accounts, artifact and faunal analysis, and linguistic data. It is also proposed, based on an interspecific comparison of morphological and behavioral characteristics, that capuchin monkeys rather than howler monkeys are the animals represented in depictions of monkey scribes.

Type
Articles
Information
Ancient Mesoamerica , Volume 3 , Issue 2 , Fall 1992 , pp. 219 - 228
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1992

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