No description available.

Recent archaeological research within the American west, especially the Great Basin (e.g., Graf and Schmitt 2007), has perpetuated the notion of decreased residential mobility accompanied by increased diet breadth of hunter-gatherer groups during the Early Holocene. The earliest occupations at North Creek Shelter (NCS), a multicomponent site in south-central Utah, date to this time, specifically the Paleoarchaic (~10,000-9000 BP) and Early Archaic (~9000-7500 BP) periods. The zooarchaeological data from these levels were analyzed to determine whether Paleoarchaic occupations on the Colorado Plateau possessed greater residential mobility and narrower diet breadth than those of the Early Archaic, as they do in the Great Basin. However, upon examination of the NCS data, neither seems to be the case, or at least not to the dramatic degree observed to the west, as settlement and subsistence strategies remain fairly constant throughout the Early Holocene.

The inclusion of animal remains in funerary contexts was a routine feature of Anglo-Saxon cremation ritual, and less frequently of inhumations, until the introduction of Christianity during the 7th century. Most interpretation has focused either on the animal as symbolic of identity or as an indication of pagan belief, with little consideration given to the interaction between these two aspects. Animals were a fundamental and ubiquitous part of early medieval society, and their contribution to mortuary practices is considered to be multifaceted, reflecting their multiple roles in everyday life. This project considers the roles of animals in mortuary practice between the 5th-7th centuries across five counties in eastern England – Norfolk, Suffolk, Lincolnshire, Cambridgeshire and Essex – in both cremation and inhumation rites. Animal remains have been recognised in 5th to 7th century burials in eastern England from an early date, and the quality of the existing archives (both material and written) is investigated and discussed as an integral part of designing a methodology to effectively summarise data across a wide area. From the eastern England dataset, four aspects of identity in mortuary practice are considered in terms of their influence on the role of animals: choice of rite (cremation/inhumation); human biological identity (age & gender); regionality; and changing expressions of belief and status in the 7th century. The funerary role of animals is argued to be based around broadly consistent cosmologies which are locally contingent in their expression and practice. / Arts & Humanities Research Council Studentship under the Collaborative Doctoral Award scheme with Norwich Castle Museum as the partner organisation.

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The inclusion of animal remains in funerary contexts was a routine feature of Anglo-Saxon cremation ritual, and less frequently of inhumations, until the introduction of Christianity during the 7th century. Most interpretation has focused either on the animal as symbolic of identity or as an indication of pagan belief, with little consideration given to the interaction between these two aspects. Animals were a fundamental and ubiquitous part of early medieval society, and their contribution to mortuary practices is considered to be multifaceted, reflecting their multiple roles in everyday life. This project considers the roles of animals in mortuary practice between the 5th-7th centuries across five counties in eastern England – Norfolk, Suffolk, Lincolnshire, Cambridgeshire and Essex – in both cremation and inhumation rites. Animal remains have been recognised in 5th to 7th century burials in eastern England from an early date, and the quality of the existing archives (both material and written) is investigated and discussed as an integral part of designing a methodology to effectively summarise data across a wide area. From the eastern England dataset, four aspects of identity in mortuary practice are considered in terms of their influence on the role of animals: choice of rite (cremation/inhumation); human biological identity (age & gender); regionality; and changing expressions of belief and status in the 7th century. The funerary role of animals is argued to be based around broadly consistent cosmologies which are locally contingent in their expression and practice. / Arts & Humanities Research Council Studentship under the Collaborative Doctoral Award scheme, with Norwich Castle Museum as the partner organisation

Yes / Social media platforms such as Twitter have allowed for a substantial increase in collaboration between academics, allowing access to information and advice from one side of the world to the other. This is especially true among both archaeologists and zooarchaeologists, who often turn to Twitter with faunal bones that they have been unable to identify so that another pair of zooarchaeological eyes can help. In many cases, Twitter has allowed access to reference collections that would have otherwise been inaccessible due to distance and monetary reasons. Based on numerous experiences in using the zooarchaeology community on Twitter to successfully identify archaeofaunal bones, this paper proposes that the next logical step for continuing collaboration among zooarchaeologists to is to develop an international digital database of faunal bone references, crowdsourced from reference collections of zooarchaeologists and institutions around the world. This database could bring zooarchaeology into the Open Access movement that will arguably define the future of archaeology in the digital world.

No description available.

Le site moustérien de la Grotte du Bison est situé au cœur des grottes préhistoriques longeant la rivière de la Cure à Arcy-sur-Cure (Yonne, France). La couche I-J de ce gisement représente une occupation néandertalienne datant de la fin du stade isotopique 4 (MIS 4) et du début du stade 3. Face à l’instabilité du climat durant cette période, les groupes de chasseurs-cueilleurs néandertaliens doivent faire des choix en matière d’acquisition des ressources alimentaires. Le mode de subsistance de ces groupes implique des choix stratégiques de comportements de chasse, de transport et de traitement des carcasses, ainsi que de mobilité de groupe. Quelles sont les stratégies d’exploitation de la faune employées par les Néandertaliens à Arcy-sur-Cure il y a un peu plus de 50 000 ans? Ce mémoire présente une analyse archéozoologique de l’assemblage faunique mis au jour durant la mission de fouilles 2014. Les résultats indiquent que les populations néandertaliennes ont occupé le site de façon saisonnière en alternance avec d’autres animaux carnivores comme l’ours des cavernes et la hyène des cavernes. Les hyènes et les Néandertaliens sont deux potentiels agents accumulateurs d’ossements dans la grotte. Un regard taphonomique sur l’assemblage faunique de la couche I-J suggère que les groupes néandertaliens ont chassé le renne et le cheval, alors que les meutes de hyènes ont accumulé des ossements de bovinés et de chevaux. Les groupes néandertaliens de la Grotte du Bison ont rapporté les carcasses entières de leurs proies sur le site. Ils en ont exploité la viande, la moelle, les peaux, ont fabriqué des outils en os et ont utilisé les plumes des rapaces, vraisemblablement à des fins symboliques. / The “Grotte du Bison” is a Mousterian site located along the river Cure at Arcy-sur-Cure (Yonne, France). Level I-J is a Neanderthal occupation of the cave that occurred during the end of marine isotope stage 4 (MIS 4) and the beginning of stage 3. This period is characterised by strong climate instability, which conditioned the Neanderthals’ choices regarding their subsistence. Subsistence patterns are defined by various behaviours such as the type of hunting strategy adopted, carcass transport and butchery practices and residential mobility. What subsistence strategies were adopted by Neanderthal groups who occupied the Grotte du Bison over 50 000 years ago? This thesis presents a zooarchaeological analysis of the faunal assemblage excavated during the 2014 excavations. The results indicate that Neanderthal populations seasonally occupied the site alternating with carnivores such as bears (hibernating in the cave during the winter) and hyenas. Both Neanderthals and hyenas served as bone accumulators in the cave. Preliminary taphonomic analysis of the faunal assemblage from level I-J suggest that the Neanderthals hunted horses and reindeers while hyenas hunted and/or scavenged bovines and horses. Neanderthals from the Grotte du Bison transported whole carcasses to the site where they butchered them, exploiting their bone marrow and grease, processed the skins, made bone tools, and used raptor feathers (possibly as items of personal adornment).

This study addresses the use of wild and domestic animals at the Iron Age site of Bosutswe, Botswana. I argue that that the Western (commoner) inhabitants consumed more wild game than Central (elite) inhabitants. The overall roll that wild animals played in the diet decreased radically over time, perhaps due to environmental degradation, a change in hunting practices, or due to a combination of both factors. The importance of domestic animals increased over time. Both commoners and elites had access to cattle and small stock, but elites consumed a greater amount of these species. During the Early and Middle Lose, Bosutswe elites were able to preferentially consume young and aged domestic animals rather than consuming mainly adult animals. This may have been a form of conspicuous consumption. Despite the differences in what was eaten, how meat was cooked appears to be similar amongst both commoners and elites. Meat appears to have largely been boiled, as much meat is in Botswana today. The elite inhabitants of Bosutswe retained much of the favored cuts of meat- upper limbs- for themselves. Less-favored cuts of meat, especially lower limbs and craniums, were distributed to the commoners of Bosutswe. This redistribution of resources may have provided the commoners of Bosutswe with tangible material benefits, but also served to emphasize their non-elite status and reinforce the social hierarchy. Likewise, herding cattle may have provided commoners with access to their labor and milk, but also served to codify and increase social hierarchy by enabling elites to maintain large cattle herds. / text

Ce mémoire consiste en une analyse zooarchéologique d’un assemblage faunique provenant d’un site Dorsétien des Îles Nuvuk dans l’Arctique canadien. Les données fauniques ont été analysées statistiquement en appliquant des indices d’utilité économique et des indices de densité des os. Une étude concernant le niveau de conservation de l’assemblage a révélé peu d’évidence de modification taphonomique des spécimens. Les analyses fauniques ont permis d’identifier une stratégie de subsistance de type généraliste et basée sur l’exploitation de mammifères marins, surtout des phoques annelés, pratiquée par les occupants du site de KcFs-2. Une prédominance d’individus immatures (phoques annelés) dans l’assemblage indique une abondance de ressources marines dans les régions du nord de la Baie d’Hudson et du détroit d’Hudson au moment de l’occupation, ce qui est aussi manifeste dans des études antérieures concernant les économies des peuples du Paléoesquimau tardif pour la période donnée. L’occupation du site de KcFs-2 s’est produite durant la période du Dorsétien récent au Nunavik (1500-800 B.P.), et la séquence est définie comme ayant été multi-saisonnière (de l’hiver à l’été). L’analyse des produits de l’industrie osseuse (têtes de harpons et sculptures en ivoire) a permis de confirmer l’affiliation culturelle des occupants. / This thesis presents a zooarchaeological analysis of a faunal assemblage from a Dorset site (KcFs-2) on the Nuvuk Islands in the Canadian Arctic. The faunal data was analyzed through the application of bone density and economic utility indices and bivariate statistical tests. A brief taphonomic study was also undertaken, showing that the assemblage was not heavily affected taphonomically. The faunal analysis revealed a generalized subsistence strategy with an intensified focus on marine mammal exploitation, specifically ringed seals. The predominance of immature ringed seals exposed through the study indicates an abundance of marine resources in the northern Hudson Bay and Hudson Strait regions during the period under study, which correlates well with existing studies concerning Late Palaeoeskimo economy. Occupation of the KcFs-2 site occurred in the Late Dorset period of Nunavik (1500-800 B.P.) and is defined on a multi-seasonal level, from late winter through summer. Analyses of the organic artefact assemblage (harpoon heads and sculpted objects) served to confirm the relative dating of the site and aided in the definition of the cultural affiliation of the inhabitants of the KcFs-2 site.