7 The Henderson Site Dogs Lauren Bigelow Northwestern University John D. Speth University of Michigan Introduction Five seasons of excavation at the Henderson Site yielded a small and fragmentary, but nevertheless interesting, collection of canid remains. The sample consists of 328 bones represent- ing at least twelve individuals (pooled or site-wide MNI, based on mandibles and crania). Of these, 99 came from Early phase contexts (MNI = 5) and 229 from Late phase contexts (MNI = 9). All of the bones were disarticulated, most had been deliber- ately broken, and quite a few were burned (4.2%). Their dis- posal in trash-filled deposits along with the butchered and burned bones of bison, antelope, deer, rabbits, and other food debris make it clear that the dogs were the remains of meals. No ar- ticulated dog burials were encountered. Taxonomic identification was handicapped by the fragmen- tary nature of the remains. Nevertheless, following criteria set out by Benecke ( 1987; dental crowding, size and shape of the tym- panic bulla, shape of the sagittal crest, shape of the zygomatic pro- cess of the maxilla), it is clear that all of the identifiable cranial remains derive from domestic dogs (Canisfamiliaris) rather than wolves (Canis lupus) or coyotes (Canis latrans). As is common elsewhere in the Southwest and Plains (Allen 1920; Colton 1970; Haag 1948; Olsen 1976), dogs of at least two distinct body sizes are represented in the assemblage, one averaging about 9 kg ("small"), the other averaging about 16 kg ("large") 1 • Body size was estimated using the height (mm) of the mandible measured on the outer (labial) side at the center of the lower carnassial (M 1 ), as described by Clutton-Brock and Hammond (1994; see also Hamblin 1984); the results are pre- sented in Table 7 .1. Henderson's large dogs are similar in size to adult coyotes collected in the Roswell area. Based on NISP, approximately 82% derive from the small category. The Henderson canid remains display almost no cutmarks. Only two examples were found, one on a lumbar vertebra, the other on a tibia shaft. Since the dogs were presumably raised in the village, and killed there, they would not have been trans- ported and one would not expect cutmarks resulting from trans- port-related dismemberment. The absence of cutmarks related to processing and cooking, however, is another matter. Cutmarked dog remains are widely reported in the archaeologi- calliterature (e.g., Crockford 2000; Horard-Herbin 2000; Mick- O'Hara 1994; Olsen 1990; Parmalee 1965; Snyder 1991); their virtual absence at Henderson, therefore, implies that the dogs had been cooked prior to most dismemberment and flesh re- moval. Traditionally, dogs were either roasted or boiled, generally with the hair singed off but the skin left intact (Gilmore 1934; Powers and Powers 1990; Schwartz 1997; Snyder 1991; Wing 1978). In light of the presence of burning on a number of the Henderson dog bones (4.3% ), it would appear that some of these animals had been roasted, although the near absence of cutmarks suggests that the majority were boiled. Most of the butchered remains derive from skeletally ma- ture individuals (85.6%; based on NISP). The very limited amount of wear on the lower M 1 's, however, indicates that many, perhaps most, of the mature animals were young when they were killed (Horard-Herbin 2000). None of the unfused bones were burned. 221