The discovery of a mummified dog in Mexico could help archaeologists unravel the secrets of the country’s ancient tribes.
Anthropologist Isaac Aquino exhibited the estimated 1000-year-old canine remains at regional museum in the city of Torreon, the Daily Mail reported.
It was found in Candelaria Cave in Coahuila, a semi-arid region of northern Mexico.
Image credit: Mexican National Institute of Anthropology and History
The discovery is a first of its kind for Mexico, with mummified canines only previously found in Peru and Egypt.
Experts believe that the dog was domesticated by a local tribe and used in hunting expeditions.
“It reinforces the idea that dogs were placed as companions in the funerary traditions of the region’s nomads, it also presents the possibility that these animals were domesticated,” Archaeologist Alejandro Bautista Valdespino said.
The animal, believed to have been mummified naturally, was found alongside hundreds of human remains, as well as thousands of ancient artifacts including textiles, baskets, and bows and arrows.
ANI
