Dialogues in Cuban Archaeology

Subsistence of Cimarrones / 177
horses were domestic animals introduced by Spanish settlers, and they were a
common feature on any plantation or farm at that time in Cuba. Letters from
slave and hacienda owners from the western region of the island that complain
to authorities about the constant robbery of domestic animals by cimarrones
sheltered in the nearby forests and mountains are common in the colonial
period. It is interesting to point out that of the 50 individuals identi¤ed in the
faunal remains, 42 percent were juvenile (n=21). This indicator is one expression
of the predatory character of these groups that survived, in great measure,
on the resources of the haciendas, who were victims of their night forays.
The abundant remains of hutías and of a majá or Cuban boa demonstrate that
these human groups also used the natural resources offered by the forest, an
alimentary tradition that in the case of Cuba goes back to the skilled exploitation
of aboriginal groups. 8
The presence of two juvenile dogs in the collection does not necessarily
re®ect the imperatives of subsistence. The ¤rst occasion in which the existence
of dog remains was reported from cimarrón sites was during excavations conducted
in a cave located in the Pan de Matanzas, part of the Alturas del Norte
de La Habana-Matanzas (La Rosa Corzo and Ortega 1990). Those remains
were found in the ¤re pit and had slight burning and cutting marks. This
pattern was repeated at the Cimarrón 1 site, with the remains of two juvenile
individuals. This pattern may not simply correspond to subsistence needs that
forced an indiscriminate use of all food sources but may go back to traditions
from the continent of origin. While it has been af¤rmed since the eighteenth
century that the Ararás 9 slaves belonging to the Ewe-Fon cultures, whose main
place of origin is Benin, might exchange two pigs for a dog and consume it
roasted (Labat 1979:176), it has also been stated that in some cultures, such
the Yoruba, these habits are linked to certain rites and cults (Beier 1961:15).
Finally, an interesting topic for consideration is the possible differences between
the dietary practices of slaves and cimarrones, as well as of the persistence
of some African traditions in the alimentary habits of the latter. In
Cuba, most of the historians who have studied the question of slave diet have
generally agreed in evaluating it favorably. Moreno Fraginals considered it
“an exceptionally rich diet” (1986:59). 10 Pérez de la Riva (1981:176) also considered
it ample. More recently, in a study on slaves from military forti¤cations,
F. Pérez Guzmán (1997:120) concludes that their diet “included enough
food and calories to guarantee slaves and prisoners suf¤cient nutrition.”
It is necessary to keep in mind that all these historical studies were based
primarily on the documentation of the time, especially documentation of a