"BA" Guide to Artifacts: The Study of Faunal Remains from Archaeological Sites

1983 ◽  
Vol 46 (1) ◽  
pp. 49-53
Author(s):  
Richard H. Meadow
Keyword(s):  
Archaeological Sites ◽  
Faunal Remains

scholarly journals Notes on distribution and relative abundances of some animal species, and on climate in the Kruger National Park during prehistoric times

Koedoe ◽  
1989 ◽  
Vol 32 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ina Plug
Keyword(s):  
National Park ◽  
Animal Species ◽  
Climatic Conditions ◽  
Kruger National Park ◽  
Archaeological Sites ◽  
Animal Population ◽  
Faunal Remains ◽  
The Past ◽  
Relative Abundances ◽  
Insight Into

Faunal remains obtained from archaeological sites in the Kruger National Park, provide valuable information on the distributions of animal species in the past. The relative abundances of some species are compared with animal population statistics of the present. The study of the faunal samples, which date from nearly 7 000 years before present until the nineteenth century, also provides insight into climatic conditions during prehistoric times.

Human and Dog Consumption of Fish on the Lower Ob River of Siberia: Evidence for a Major Freshwater Reservoir Effect at the Ust’-Polui Site

Radiocarbon ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 60 (1) ◽  
pp. 239-260 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert J Losey ◽  
Lacey S Fleming ◽  
Tatiana Nomokonova ◽  
Andrei V Gusev ◽  
Natalia V Fedorova ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Stable Isotope ◽  
Age Differences ◽  
Dietary Patterns ◽  
Fish Bone ◽  
Archaeological Sites ◽  
Faunal Remains ◽  
Siberian Arctic ◽  
Freshwater Reservoir ◽  
Age Range ◽  
Stable Isotope Data

AbstractUst’-Polui is one of the most extensively studied archaeological sites in the western Siberian Arctic. New radiocarbon (14C) dates for charcoal, faunal remains, bark, hide, and human bone from this site are presented. When modeled, the charcoal dates span from ~260 BC to 140 AD, overlapping with the dendrochronology dates from the site. These dates also overlap with the expected age of the site based on artefact typology. 14C dates on reindeer bone have a slightly younger modeled age range, from ~110 BC to 350 AD. In contrast, dates on the site’s numerous dog remains, and on human and fish bone, all predate these modeled age ranges by over 500 years, despite being from the same deposits. Several sets of paired dates demonstrate significant age differences. Bone dates with lower δ13C values tend to be over 500 years older than those with higher δ13C values. Stable isotope data for the humans, dogs, and other faunal remains are also presented. These data suggest the dogs and the humans were regularly consuming freshwater fish. The dogs were probably fed fish by their human counterparts. Overall, the dog and human dietary patterns at Ust’-Polui created 14C dates biased with major freshwater reservoir effects.

Introduction

2020 ◽  
pp. 1-35
Author(s):  
Shibani Bose
Keyword(s):  
Archaeological Sites ◽  
Faunal Remains ◽  
Rock Paintings ◽  
Ecological Importance

This chapter sets the stage for the narrative which ensues by delineating the ecological importance of megafauna, and underlining the importance of the period chosen for study. It is also a historiographical sketch of the ways in which studies on animals have been approached. This is followed by an elucidation of the sources used by the study to reconstruct the histories of these mega mammals. These include multiple prisms ranging from faunal remains retrieved from archaeological sites, visual depictions in the form of rock paintings, seals, and terracottas to the formidable corpus of Sanskrit, Pali, Prakrit, and classical Western accounts.

Bison Procurement in the Far West: A 2,100-Year-Old Kill Site on the Columbia Plateau

1995 ◽  
Vol 60 (4) ◽  
pp. 751-763 ◽  
Author(s):  
James C. Chatters ◽  
Sarah K. Campbell ◽  
Grant D. Smith ◽  
Phillip E. Minthorn
Keyword(s):  
Channel Wall ◽  
Columbia River ◽  
Archaeological Sites ◽  
Faunal Remains ◽  
Columbia Plateau ◽  
Stone Artifacts ◽  
Local Topography ◽  
Evidence Analysis ◽  
Kill Site ◽  
Game Hunting

Bison bones are found in Columbia Plateau archaeological sites from throughout the Holocene, yet no information on people's tactics for procuring them has yet been reported. The discovery of the Tsulim Site, a 2,100-year-old bison kill near the Columbia River in central Washington, has provided the opportunity to investigate those tactics. Despite the deteriorated state of the evidence, analysis of stone artifacts, faunal remains, and site geology revealed that at least eight animals were killed in the apex of a parabolic dune during the early to mid-winter by hunters using both atlatl and bow. Local topography and meteorology make it most likely that the herd was encountered in a low paleochannel, driven northward between the limbs of the dune, up the steep channel wall, and into the kill area, a sort of inverted buffalo jump. Results not only illuminate the large-game hunting practices of the Plateau peoples, but also point out how much can be learned from disturbed, low-density scatters of debris that are often dismissed as insignificant.

scholarly journals Insect Marks on Bones from La Guillerma Archaeological Locality (Salado River Depression, Buenos Aires, Argentina)

Quaternary ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 4 (4) ◽  
pp. 45
Author(s):  
Paula D. Escosteguy ◽  
Alejandro E. Fernandez ◽  
María Isabel González
Keyword(s):  
Detailed Analysis ◽  
Buenos Aires ◽  
Total Sample ◽  
Archaeological Sites ◽  
Buenos Aires Province ◽  
Faunal Remains ◽  
Faunal Assemblage ◽  
Different Types ◽  
Salado River ◽  
Bone Remains

The La Guillerma archaeological locality is located in the northeast sector of Buenos Aires province (Argentina). Two of its sites (LG1 and LG5), dated between ca. 1400- and 600-years BP, have a great amount of faunal remains including deer, rodents, fish and small birds that are subjected to taphonomic agents and processes (e.g., weathering, manganese, roots). Previous studies have shown osteophagic behaviour in different insects (e.g., Coleoptera, Blattodea). In this paper, we evaluate their incidence on La Guillerma faunal assemblage. We performed an analysis on marks that were identified in bone remains of various taxa and applied the criteria for identifying bone alteration by insects (i.e., by measuring each trace and comparing them with the types of insect marks described in the literature). Fifteen specimens (LG1 = 6 and LG5 = 9) exhibited different types of modifications (e.g., pits with striae in base, pits with emanating striae, striations) that are related to the action of insects. Although the proportion of affected bones is low in relation to the total sample, we highlight our study as the first detailed analysis of insect marks on archaeological bones from Argentina. We also emphasize the significance of addressing insect-produced modifications on Argentinean archaeological sites.

A Comment on Nomenclature in Faunal Studies

1981 ◽  
Vol 46 (1) ◽  
pp. 192-194 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sandra L. Olsen ◽  
John W. Olsen
Keyword(s):  
Broad Spectrum ◽  
Archaeological Sites ◽  
Faunal Remains ◽  
Animal Remains ◽  
Current Usage ◽  
Faunal Studies

The study of faunal remains from archaeological sites has been described using a variety of terms including: zooarchaeology, archaeozoology, osteoarchaeology, and ethnozoology. With such a broad spectrum of terms in current usage, we feel that the contradictions and errors inherent in some of this nomenclature need to be corrected. We prefer the term zooarchaeology, as a contraction of the word zoologico-archaeology proposed by Lubbock in 1865, to define the study of animal remains from archaeological sites and their relationship to humans.

Archaeological Significance of Rabbit-Raptor Interactions in Southern California

1989 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 123-139 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bryan Scott Hockett
Keyword(s):  
North America ◽  
Southern California ◽  
Human Action ◽  
Archaeological Sites ◽  
Faunal Remains ◽  
Lacustrine Environment ◽  
End Effects ◽  
Subsistence Strategies ◽  
Diagnostic Characteristics ◽  
Over Time

Taphonomy of small fauna is not as well known as actualistic studies performed with large faunal remains. Yet small fauna like rabbit may dominate an archaeological assemblage. Small fauna was a primary meat source for many prehistoric groups in North America. Raptors also damage and disperse rabbit bones. Taphonomic research with rabbit-raptor interactions was undertaken in a lacustrine environment in southern California to determine the role played by raptors in damaging and dispersing rabbit bones which may subsequently be introduced into archaeological sites. Raptors often damage, disperse, and accumulate rabbit bones in a number of areas, including open-air localities and within abandoned human structures. Potential diagnostic characteristics of rabbit bones damaged by raptors are offered as baseline end-effects of raptors exploiting rabbit carcasses. Archaeologists can compare rabbit bones excavated from archaeological sites to these bones known to be damaged by raptors. This information is crucial to archaeologists for accurately interpreting rabbit bones modified by human action, and thus past subsistence strategies over time.

Shellfish Feeders, Carrion Eaters, and the Archaeology of Aquatic Adaptations

2001 ◽  
Vol 66 (3) ◽  
pp. 413-432 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jon M. Erlandson ◽  
Madonna L. Moss
Keyword(s):  
Animal Species ◽  
Archaeological Sites ◽  
Human Origin ◽  
Faunal Remains ◽  
Aquatic Animals ◽  
Natural Sources ◽  
Aquatic Fauna ◽  
Potential Sources ◽  
Archaeological Materials

Numerous taphonomic studies show that archaeologists should carefully evaluate the origins of faunal remains found in archaeological sites. Although extensive research has been done on natural sources of terrestrial faunal remains in archaeological sites, much less has been devoted to potential sources of aquatic fauna. Hundreds of animal species feed on shellfish, fish, and other aquatic fauna, and many transport food to terrestrial landforms where they may be mixed or confused with faunal remains left by humans. In this paper, we illustrate the problem by summarizing the habits of a number of animals known to feed on and transport shellfish and other aquatic animals. We also discuss examples where the remains of aquatic animals of non-human origin may have been confused with archaeological materials. Such biological imprints may be most pronounced on early sites, where questions about the antiquity of aquatic adaptations are paramount.

Great Basin Hunting Patterns: A Quantitative Method for Treating Faunal Remains

1969 ◽  
Vol 34 (4) ◽  
pp. 392-401 ◽  
Author(s):  
David H. Thomas
Keyword(s):  
Great Basin ◽  
Quantitative Method ◽  
Archaeological Sites ◽  
Faunal Remains ◽  
Treatment Results ◽  
Tehuacán Valley ◽  
Cottontail Rabbit ◽  
Tehuacan Valley ◽  
Washoe County ◽  
Quantitative Treatment

AbstractRecent excavation and subsequent analysis have been undertaken for the express purpose of deriving quantitative techniques for the analysis of faunal remains from archaeological sites. Experiments were conducted which indicate that significant amounts of bones are lost through the various meshes of screen used by archaeologists. Factors were then calculated to alleviate this problem and to yield results amenable to rigorous quantitative treatment. Results obtained in this manner can add accuracy to most salvage operations and credibility to the more ideal excavation conditions. The proposed method was applied to data from Smoky Creek Cave, a Medithermal site approximately 40 mi. north of Gerlach, Washoe County, Nevada; results indicate a pattern of cottontail rabbit and mountain sheep hunting similar to the model which Flannery has proposed for the Tehuacán Valley, Mexico.

Approaches to Faunal Analysis in Archaeology

1969 ◽  
Vol 34 (2) ◽  
pp. 146-153 ◽  
Author(s):  
Patricia Daly
Keyword(s):  
Human Activity ◽  
Archaeological Sites ◽  
Faunal Analysis ◽  
Faunal Remains ◽  
Food Animal ◽  
Animal Remains ◽  
Careful Investigation

AbstractAnalysis of faunal remains from archaeological sites is at least as much an archaeological as a zoological problem since food animal remains are essentially artifactual in nature, their occurrence in deposits being the result of human activity.This paper examines some of the methods used to make such analyses and suggests the merits and faults of the various approaches. It also suggests some of the kinds of inferences which may be drawn when detailed and careful investigation of faunal material is carried out, preferably by the archaeologist.

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