New archaeozoological evidence for the introduction of the guinea pig to Europe

摘要

The remains are described of a guinea pig dated to the end of the 16th e beginning of the 17th c. AD. Theanimalwas discovered at a site inMons, Belgium, and is the first European archaeozoological find dated withcertainty on the basis of both the archaeological context and a radiocarbon dating of its bone. This findconfirms that the guinea pig was introduced to Europe soon after the conquest of South America. Themorphological and metrical analyses performed on the skeletal remains are in agreement with the iconographicand literary sources indicating the domestic status of the animals imported to Europe. Whilea previous discovery in England suggested that the guinea pig was a prestigious animal, the present studyargues that itwas accessible to several classes of the population which may be related to the rapid spread ofthis prolific animal after its introduction in Europe.