Dogs in the prehistoric Southwest

At Arroyo Hondo Pueblo, a fourteenth-century archaeological site southeast of Santa Fe, New Mexico, researchers have found evidence of domesticated turkeys and speculate that these "may be why the excavations didn't find many canid [i.e., dog] bone specimens." Dogs perhaps weren't man's best friend at this prehistoric village, "due to the risk these animals might pose to turkeys." At other locations, though, domesticated dogs may have assisted in hunting or could even have been used as food, at least during times of starvation. Some may have served as beasts of burden.
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Coyote: The Hohokam may have tamed coyotes in addition to deriving domesticated dogs from them.

Ceramic figurines of dogs (Pueblo Grande Museum exhibit)

In the Hohokam area, dog skeletons have been found, some buried along with people. Dogs also have been immortalized in art. At one village in modern-day Tempe, Arizona, many ceramic representations of dogs have been recovered from excavations. Dogs appear in rock art, too.

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Drawing of dog or coyote depicted in Hohokam rock art.

Drawing of dogs (center) in hunt scene from Hohokam rock art.