|
|
What is Archaeozoology
Where Do Archaeozoologists Work?
Archaeozoologists work on animal remains from all around the world.
Many participate in archaeological excavations. Archaeozoologists
can also be found in universities, museums, and private research
firms. Sometimes they work as private consultants.
When archaeozoologists participate in archaeological excavations
they often:
- Consult with the excavation directors to provide insight into
the nature of animal deposits and to identify the techniques most
appropriate to the recovery, processing, and preservation of the
faunal remains.
- Help to excavate animal remains to ensure that they are recovered
in good condition, document the species excavated, and note the
context of deposition.
- Provide feedback to excavators that may be helpful in their
characterization of specific deposits or in their plans for further
excavation.
- Collect and prepare the remains of modern animals to build
comparative collections that are essential to the identification
archaeofaunal remains.
- Study modern habitats, animals, and human groups in the region
to provide a better foundation for understanding past environmental
conditions and animal exploitation patterns.
When in the laboratory, archaeozoologists often:
- Identify archaeofaunal remains to ascertain the species present
and the relative frequency of the different taxa and their various
body parts.
- Measure animal remains to identify specific taxa or to characterize
the size of animals in the past to better understand the conditions
in which they lived or were kept.
- Study butchery scars and other human, animal, or naturally
induced marks on animals remains to reconstruct butchery techniques
of butchery and food preparation methods and to better understand
the changes that took place in the archaeofaunal collections during
and after burial.
- Identify the age and sex of the animals and the season of death
to learn about past human hunting, gathering, fishing, or husbandry
strategies and the population structure of ancient animal populations.
- Analyze the chemical, isotopic, or genetic content of archaeofaunal
remains to identify the species present, trace evolutionary relationships
between ancient and modern species, characterize the food eaten
by human and animals in the past, and identify environmental changes.
|
