archaeologicalnews:

A tomb in the ancient Maya city of Copán, in Honduras, holds the skeleton of a young woman who was cross-legged, surrounded by large animals. The bones of two deer and a crocodile lay alongside her. And most impressive: A complete puma skeleton was also found in the tomb, apparently slaughtered as part of the burial ritual. They’d all been there since the year A.D. 435, early in Maya history.

Now, researchers say the puma skeleton may have been domesticated, according to a paper published today (Sept. 12) in the journal PLOS One that describes the cross-legged woman’s tomb. That ancient puma was part of a vast scheme of big-cat domestication, the researchers wrote.

“Encoded into the bones of jaguars and pumas at the Maya site of Copán was evidence of both captivity and of expansive trade networks,” Nawa Sugiyama, an archaeologist at George Mason University in Virginia, and lead author of the study, said in a statement. Read more.