Zooarchaeology

About this book

This is an introductory text for students interested in identification and analysis of animal remains from archaeological sites. The emphasis is on animals whose remains inform us about the relationship between humans and their natural and social environments, especially site formation processes, subsistence strategies, the processes of domestication, and paleoenvironments. Examining examples from all over the world, from the Pleistocene period up to the present, this volume is organized in a way that is parallel to faunal study, beginning with background information, bias in a faunal assemblage, and basic zooarchaeological methods. This revised edition reflects developments in zooarchaeology during the past decade. It includes new sections on enamel ultrastructure and incremental analysis, stable isotyopes and trace elements, ancient genetics and enzymes, environmental reconstruction, people as agents of environmental change, applications of zooarchaeology in animal conservation and heritage management, and a discussion of issues pertaining to the curation of archaeofaunal materials.

Contents

1. Zooarchaeology; 2. Zooarchaeological history and theory; 3. Basic biology; 4. Ecology; 5. Disposal of faunal remains and sample recovery; 6. Gathering primary data; 7. Secondary data; 8. Humans as predators: subsistence strategies and other uses of animals; 9. Control of animals through domestication; 10. Evidences for past environmental conditions; 11. Conclusions.

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