Acercamiento al manejo del zorro andino (Lycalopex culpaeus) en el altiplano Norte de Bolivia. Análisis arqueozoológicos en los períodos Formativo-Wancarani y Horizonte Medio-Tiwanaku

Abstract

This article shows the results of the identification of the management of the Ande- an fox (Lycalopex culpaeus) in the northern Altiplano of Bolivia for the periods Formative-Wan- carani (2000 BC-400 AD) and Middle Horizon-Tiwanaku (400-1100 AD). For which the anal- ysis of archaeofauna remains and iconographic representation was carried out, supported with some historical data. The Andean fox had a ritual handling in the Wancarani society as in the Tiwanaku State showed thought domestic, funerary and ceremonial contexts that tells us the complex symbolic use relating it. In case of Tiwanaku, it’s the presence of a character of elite, who could be a priest. All of this would lead us to affirm that in prehispanic times the fox was considered a sacred animal. This role changed in colony, since the intromission of allochthonous fauna, accessible to this canid (sheep, swine and chickens, among others), turned it into a preda- tor persecuted and hated by the indigenous communities.