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Descended from junglefowl of Asia and South-east Asia, the chicken was introduced into Europe during the first millennium BCE. As one of the most recently domesticated species, it makes an excellent case study for investigating the consequences of such introductions to past ecological communities. We present a unique application of a novel ecological method to explore multiple past interspecies relationships. Analysing the faunal record using a Bayesian belief network, which allows for the analysis of multiple interspecies relationships simultaneously, indicates that the chicken has more affinity with other domestic birds rather than domestic mammals in terms of species interactions. We find that the introduction of the chicken affected fox, partridge, pigeon and rat, but the success of the chicken was most affected by responses to abiotic variables, rather than biotic interactions. As the method is not limited to environmental variables, we also examined the effect of recovery method and demonstrate that sieving would enhance the frequency of small animal remains recovered from archaeological sites.

This paper discusses some of the approaches and results from two multi-disciplinary projects. The first is the AHRC-funded ‘Cultural and Scientific Perceptions of Human-Chicken Interactions’ Project, which investigates the history of the exploitation of chickens in Europe. The second is the Leverhulme Trust-funded ‘Rural Settlement of Roman Britain’ Project, which has collated evidence from excavation reports from thousands of sites. This paper updates the evidence for the exploitation of chickens in Roman Britain, showing that there were significant variations in the abundance of chicken bones found on different types of settlement. There was also a modest increase in their abundance during the Roman period, suggesting chickens became slightly more frequent contributors to the diet, albeit still only a rare commodity. However, they continued to be frequently represented in graves, shrines and other ritual deposits. The paper also discusses evidence of egg production and avian osteopetrosis, demonstrating that when traditional zooarchaeological research is integrated with scientific analyses, a deeper understanding of past human diet (and other avian-human interactions) can be acquired.

An understanding of population dynamics is essential for reconstructing the trajectories of central and southern Levantine Pre-Pottery Neolithic (PPN) villages. The aim of this investigation was to derive more empirically and statistically robust absolute demographic data than currently exists. Several methodologies were explored, including those based on dwelling unit size and the number of dwellings; residential floor area per person; population density; and allometric growth formulae. The newly established storage provisions formulae based on the affordance of sleeping individuals within structures was found to be the most viable method. Estimates were adjusted to reflect potential structural contemporaneity calculated from building use-life and phase length estimates based on archaeological, ethnographic and experimental research, and Bayesian chronological modelling of radiocarbon dates. The application of methodologies to the PPNB site of Beidha in southern Jordan is presented. The analysis highlights inconsistencies with current theory relating to population density at Beidha. In particular, the results suggest that nuclear families probably did not form the predominant dwelling unit type during Subphases A2 and B2. In addition, population density was estimated at anywhere between 350 and 900 people per ha. This range far exceeds the ethnographically derived density values commonly utilized for reconstructing PPN village populations (c.90 to 294 people per ha).

This systematic study of selected ‘Wessex’ Early Bronze Age burial assemblages was undertaken to reassess the original purpose of the artefacts deposited and their significance in the burial ritual. Use-wear analysis and fragmentation assessment has been undertaken on daggers, whetstones, bone objects and beads. Lithological and physical analysis was also undertaken on the stone objects. The results show a remarkable disparity in use and fragmentation between certain artefact types. Some objects and groups might be seen as symbolic depositions placed by mourners, or as parts of ceremonial costume, rather than as possessions of the deceased.

The paper compares the abundance of domestic fowl bones with those of sheep/goat and pig from published and unpublished reports on Romano-British animal bones assemblages. The samples are drawn from 68 urban, military, nucleated, villa and unromanized rural settlements. Variations in abundance of domestic fowl within and between these settlement types are noted. Some methodological problems encountered in this survey are discussed and suggestions are made about how more reliable results could be achieved. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

The paper compares the abundance of domestic fowl bones with those of sheep/goat and pig from published and unpublished reports on Romano‐British animal bones assemblages. The samples are drawn from 68 urban, military, nucleated, villa and unromanized rural settlements. Variations in abundance of domestic fowl within and between these settlement types are noted. Some methodological problems encountered in this survey are discussed and suggestions are made about how more reliable results could be achieved. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.