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"Households on the Mimbres Horizon: Excavations at La Gila Encantada, Southwestern New Mexico" by Barbara J. Roth is a significant publication for Mimbres Mogollon research, providing insights into the development of households and their spatial and artifactual patterns at early Mimbres Mogollon habitation sites. The author's research at the La Gila Encantada site, uncluttered by overlying pueblo remains, allows for a clearer understanding of site layout, habitation, and contextual relationships of features and artifacts. The volume includes seven chapters, with contributions from specialists, covering topics such as excavation methods, ceramic data, stone artifacts, jewelry, and plant and animal remains. This book is valuable for researchers studying Mogollon archaeology and early village and household developments in the region. [Extracted from the article]

This paper is a synthesis of zooarchaeological evidence from 27 medieval and post-medieval sites from Finland. These faunal samples derive from rural, town, manor, castle and ecclesiastic sites, and their production and consumption patterns were examined by studying the role of the major domesticates (cattle, sheep, goats and pigs). As taxonomic abundance in faunal material may be altered by taphonomic processes, such as burning, these factors were assessed before comparison. The animal husbandry system in Finland was shaped by environmental constraints that limited the number of animals that could be kept over winter. However, some specialisations were observed within the frame of the basic pattern. This paper demonstrates the usefulness of zooarchaeological data in the study of animal husbandry and consumption and production patterns. These findings support data integration as a useful tool for understanding general large-scale processes, such as urbanisation, development, environmental adaptation and the specialisation of animal production. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

AbstractThis paper presents the results of dietary stable isotope analyses performed on Migration Period (450–550 AD) and Pre-Viking Age (550–800 AD) populations of Lepna and Viidumäe, Saaremaa Island, Estonia. To date, research on dietary stable isotope analysis in Estonia has mainly focused on populations from other historical periods with an exclusion of material from the fifth to ninth centuries AD. Moreover, the research has been mainly conducted on populations from mainland Estonia, with three Stone Age groups from Saaremaa Island previously studied. The results of this paper suggest that the individuals buried at Lepna and Viidumäe had a diet of mainly terrestrial resources with minimal input from fresh- or brackish-water fish and marine resources. These results are supported by previous zooarchaeological material from Saaremaa, as well as additional analysis of the animal bones found in the Lepna grave. Although the dietary isotope values of Lepna and Viidumäe are similar to previous Estonian data from the Bronze Age (1750–500 BC) up to the Medieval Period (1225–1550 AD), the isotope values of these two populations show variations from the data collected from Iron Age sites in Latvia, Poland, Denmark, Sweden, and Finland thus far. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Faunal remains from Ḥorvat Tevet, a site located in the rural hinterlands of the Jezreel Valley, reveal patterns of a complex redistributive apparatus during the Late Iron IIA. This paper assesses a large assemblage of animal bones within inter- and intra-site comparative analyses. Inter-site comparisons to contemporary sites in the northern valleys of Israel demonstrate that the agricultural production of grain and animal by-products at Ḥorvat Tevet is unprecedented and went far beyond the site's local needs. Further, an intra-site comparison reveals a hierarchical distinction in the consumption patterns between elites and the labour force. These results further reinforce the conclusion that the late Iron IIA Ḥorvat Tevet was an administrative centre of a royal Israelite estate in the Jezreel Valley. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Medieval Archaeology is the property of Taylor & Francis Ltd and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

This paper reviews the available vertebrate record from the Lesser Sunda Islands to explore the effect the Last Glacial Maximum had on human subsistence strategies. By focusing on vertebrate assemblages from Laili and Matja Kuru 2 in Timor Leste, Tron Bon Lei in Alor Island, and Here Sorot Entapa in Kisar, this paper investigates biodiversity and resource availability in these nearby islands through the application of standardising indices and statistical testing. Results indicate that vertebrate biodiversity remained fairly stable through and after the Last Glacial Maximum, suggesting that in terms of available mammals, birds and reptiles, this period did not led to severe resource depletion. Hence, potential variations in human subsistence practices or occupation dynamics might not be due to changes in vertebrate diversity. As such, this analysis contributes to investigating anatomically modern humans' subsistence adaptation in the Lesser Sunda Islands pre- and post-Last Glacial Maximum. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Kiva is the property of Taylor & Francis Ltd and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

This paper presents a novel perspective concerning the emergence of al-Andalus based on the study of food. This is a field of human behaviour that is highly informative in socio-cultural terms because of its links to ethno-religious identity. The aim is to demonstrate the usefulness of studying zooarchaeological evidence that provides information on the consumption of (or abstinence from) pork by different peninsular communities during the first centuries of al-Andalus. The results show the analytical potential of this line of research for examining the advance of the process of social Islamisation, understood as the fundamental dynamic of historical change in the shaping of Andalusi society, and one of the main mechanisms used by the Umayyad state to establish its power. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Within the project 'Harvesting Memories: Ecology and Archaeology of Monti Sicani Landscapes', this paper aims to reconstruct human–environment interactions in the inland areas of Western Sicily during the Early Middle Ages through a comparative analysis of environmental archaeological data. We analyse carpological and anthracological finds and faunal remains originating from different layers of the rural settlement of Contrada Castro (Corleone, Palermo), excavated in 2017–2019. The site was mainly occupied between the Byzantine and Islamic periods (late 8th to 11th c. AD). The examination of wood charcoal enabled the identification of plant species selected and exploited in the landscape of the site for each main chronological period. The archaeobotanical data indicated a precise, qualitative picture on the historical vegetation of this area, accompanied with the agricultural practices of the communities. The zooarchaeological data added further information on the reconstruction of rural economy and animal exploitation patterns. An integrated comparison of the characteristic landscape and the archaeobotanical and zooarchaeological data presented the dynamics of agricultural strategy, wood exploitation, and management of animal resources of an early medieval rural community in Western Sicily. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper uses interdisciplinary methods to investigate responses to the Little Ice Age in regions where livestock farming was dominant, a neglected subject due to the scarcity of detailed written records regarding pastoral land use. It argues that landscape-level histories which include pollen evidence and archaeology can address this challenge and reveal local processes of climate adaptation. Here we focus on Ireland and Scotland and a fascinating rise in small-scale cereal cultivation on upland pastures during the Little Ice Age. Bayesian modeling is used to test the chronological resolution of field evidence and compare it with climate reconstructions. We can see that the cultivation emerged in late medieval times, when cattle were facing climate-related stresses, and increased in early modern times during the Little Ice Age's main phase. We suggest that it started in an indirect adaptation to climate change, supplementing supplies of food and fodder for pastoralists, but increased as rural populations and external market demands grew. There is a need for finer temporal resolution in pollen records and archaeology, as well as greater integration with socio-economic history, if we are to be more certain about changes in the relative significance of climate in pastoral land use. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Azania: Archaeological Research in Africa is the property of Routledge and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The Early Bronze Age (3500–2000 bce) of the southern Levant experienced the development of bronze metal technology, but the rate and nature of its dissemination beyond the elite are unclear. In the southern Levant and elsewhere, based upon the microscopic analysis of butchering marks, it has been proposed that bronze slicing tools only begin to be used in quantities in the Middle Bronze. However, previous analyses have always lacked data sets from the Early Bronze IV/Middle Bronze I period (c. 2500–2000 bce). In this paper, we present the butchered animal bone data from the site of Tall Zirā´a (in the NW corner of Jordan) where there is a fuller chronological sequence for the Early and Middle Bronze Ages. These data provide a unique opportunity to investigate long-term changes in butchering practices in the southern Levant. The analysis demonstrates that the new (bronze) technology does not seem to be integrated into quotidian activities, such as the processing of animal carcasses, until well into the Middle Bronze Age (MB IIB). Until then, and in subsequent phases of the MB, the majority of butchering marks are made by stone implements. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper aims to characterise the modifications caused by the Pampas fox (Lycalopex gymnocercus) to the bones and teeth of its prey in the Espinal and Dry Chaco environments, in central Argentina. Plant remains, invertebrate remains, and vertebrate bones and teeth were recovered from a set of more than 180 faeces. From an actualistic perspective, we evaluated the taphonomic signature of this predator in the remains of snakes, birds and mammals recovered in its faeces. We achieved a high rate of taxonomical identification and recovered remains of exotic and native fauna, such as Ovis aries and Lagostomus maximus, respectively. The most remarkable aspects recorded in this taphonomic study were a high frequency of breakage, a low frequency of tooth marks (only observed in large prey), and a high frequency and intensity of digestion damage. The information generated in this study contributes to the evaluations of accumulating agents in archaeological and palaeontological sites of South America. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The integral study of micromammals recovered from archaeological contexts provides a number of contributions to the understanding of the dynamics of human occupation. In this paper, based on a comprehensive study of Holocene and actualistic samples from central Argentina, we discuss the taphonomic and paleoenvironmental implications in sites with hunter-gatherer occupations. The sequence studied (ca. 1500–4500 BP) indicates the presence of natural predators (i.e. nocturnal and diurnal birds of prey) as responsible for the formation of the assemblage, ruling out, so far, the participation of human groups. On the other hand, the taxonomic composition of the preterite and actualistic assemblages shows a process of advancement of shrubland and forest environments at the expense of the decrease of open environments, grassland and fresh water contexts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Kiva is the property of Taylor & Francis Ltd and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Kiva is the property of Taylor & Francis Ltd and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The Historic England Zooarchaeology Reference Collection includes more than 3470 mammal, bird, amphibian, reptile and fish specimens, the majority of which are complete skeletons. It comprises important research collections that support internal, national and international projects, and is being continuously developed, mainly through in-house specimen preparation. The collection is housed in different locations at Fort Cumberland, an eighteenth-century military monument, and is therefore subject to varying environmental conditions, requiring tailored curation. This paper reports on an audit of the collection carried out in December 2016, in response to a perceived increase in the presence of insects, mould and grease, and the subsequent actions taken. The audit involved visual assessment and condition recording of each accessioned specimen. New specialist storage solutions were then implemented as part of the on-going collection curation, within the context of an integrated pest management strategy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents the results of the analyses of 3793 bird remains archaeologically recovered from seven late pre-Hispanic sites (∼AD 1000-1500) on islands of the Venezuelan Caribbean. In order to address subsistence and manufacturing uses of bird bones, we first discuss the recovery process of this unique sample. We proceed to investigate the bones' archaeological contexts as well as the taphonomy in play and analyze diverse bone categories. We found that indigenous peoples consistently targeted several families of birds for food or feathers or both, and that avian bones were used for fashioning tools and adornments. We also discuss possible signatures of island campsite seasonal occupancy as inferred from the bio-ecology of the identified bird taxa. The data suggest that the differentiation of nesting grounds between the Red-footed and Brown Booby in the Southeastern Caribbean may be a result of anthropogenically-induced adaptation. The findings discussed in this paper open challenging avenues for assessing long-term changes in bird communities including the dynamics of resident and wintering bird populations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While researchers have long appreciated that mammal introductions were an important aspect of Amerindian-environment interaction in the prehistoric Caribbean, persistent questions about dispersal routes, animal management practices, possible domestication, and ritual use remain unresolved. In this three-article series, offered as a model approach for prehistoric translocation studies, I review the present state of knowledge on pre-Columbian Caribbean mammal translocations, focusing on three fundamental areas: (1) ethnozoogeographic distributions; (2) the sociocultural significance of translocated fauna; and (3) the ecological impact of introduced species. Here, in Part I, I consider species introduction patterns in relation to dispersal modes, the need to distinguish live introductions from the import of animal products, and the importance of direct-dating specimens to establish translocation chronology. In subsequent papers I explore topics II and III, advocating for a holistic approach to translocation research that integrates all three investigative areas to address larger questions about the role of introduced mammals in island society and ecology and their impact on human adaptation to the landscape. This first paper provides foundations for an ensuing final discussion in which I argue that intentional faunal translocation is sufficiently robust as a behavioural phenomenon across time and space to warrant theoretical treatment from an evolutionary perspective. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

When compared with earlier periods, the Neolithic in Ireland (4000–2500 cal BC) witnessed enormous changes in the foods being produced, and the work involved in their production and processing. Several crops were introduced – archaeobotanical studies indicate that emmer wheat became the dominant crop, with evidence also for barley (hulled and naked) and flax. Gathered resources were not abandoned; on the contrary, there is substantial evidence for a variety of nuts, fruits and leafy greens. Zooarchaeological studies indicate that new animals also arrived, including domesticated cattle, pig and sheep. Recent studies have provided substantial information on the timing and nature of these new ways of farming and living, but the focus is often on ingredients rather than food products. There are many challenges in determining which foods were being made with these new crops and animals, and in assessing their dietary and social importance. While cereals have been found at many sites, for example, it is not clear if they are being ground, boiled or other techniques are used for their processing. In this paper we explore aspects of food production, processing and foodways in Neolithic Ireland, drawing upon evidence from archaeobotany, zooarchaeology, isotopes, human skeletal remains and artefacts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The controversy between the DNA and morphological and osteometric identifications of animal remains from Sehonghong in Lesotho is discussed in this paper as a response to Horsburgh et al. (2016a)'s article ‘Bringing the Kalahari debate to the mountains’. Faunal identification procedures are described and base measurements provided. Morphological and osteometric data show that the aDNA result of eland on a morphologically identified sheep must be at fault. Furthermore, the cattle bones identified by aDNA as eland do not fit the morphology and are also too small for eland. New research on dairy lipids present in the potsherds of traditional hunter-gatherer ware strengthens the case for herding practices amongst past hunter-gatherer communities in the Lesotho highlands. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Studies of faunal discard reveal the everyday use of animal resources in the past. However, taphonomic processes, fragmentation due to butchery, equifinality, and other factors hamper identification of the practices responsible for creating accumulated faunal assemblages. In this paper, we suggest a way to reconceptualize mundane faunal waste from archaeological sites. We apply an everyday life theoretical framework to examine archaeofauna from domestic contexts at Jecosh, a settlement located in the Callejón de Huaylas of north-central Peru. Zooarchaeological analysis of 1,806 bone fragments demonstrate that from the Final Formative through the Late Horizon (ca. 340 BCE - 1630 CE), local camelid husbandry supplemented by deer hunting was a crucial economic resource, enmeshed in Jecosh's everyday routines. Simultaneously, we argue that the centuries-spanning continuity in animal use was not a static process. Continuity perseveres through changing practices, but the epistemological limits of archaeological analysis restrain their exact identification. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Azania: Archaeological Research in Africa is the property of Routledge and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

This paper uses the writings of early visitors to the field of Waterloo to examine the treatment of the dead following the battle fought on 18 June 1815. It is proposed that these memoirs and journals, along with various artworks, contain information that can assist not only in the explanation of the complexities of body disposal, but also guide us to the location of grave sites on the battlefield. It is further suggested, on the basis of the picture building from recent archaeological investigations, that at least some of the larger graves were exploited for human and animal bone, which in the first half of the nineteenth century served as an important source of phosphate fertilizer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Joint Archaeological Expedition to Tell el-Hesi (1970–1983) identified an unusually large number of incised bone tubes from Early Bronze Age IIIA contexts in Field VI. Excavations recovered a total of 15 fragments of the distinctive EB III incised artefacts, two incised bone beads, worked bone debris, and installations for heating concentrated in a sector immediately adjacent to the city wall. Based on these co-occurrences, the original project staff tentatively suggested a bone tube workshop was operational on the site. However, a follow up study was never conducted. This paper provides empirical evidence for the existence of this bone tube workshop and for an associated techno-stylistic tradition at Tell el-Hesi during the EB IIIA. We identify the workshop's presence using a suite of archaeological correlates: 1) the physical concentration of working debris, partially-finished artefacts, copper tools, and working installations in a differentiated 'industrial' space in Field VI; 2) evidence for the same chaîne opératoire involving distinctive production sequences and metal tool use on artefacts and debris from this sector; and 3) closely-shared stylistic and morphometric attributes among both finished and partially-finished fragments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper synthesises faunal data from medieval archaeological sites in the Iberian Peninsula, aiming to identify zooarchaeological evidence that can improve our understanding of socio-economic status and cultural identities. The main zooarchaeological indicators for social differentiation are explored: food procurement and cuisine (taking into account different types of sites – high status, urban and rural), and different socio-political systems (Islamic and Christian regions), from a diachronic perspective. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Studies of animal introductions have traditionally been the preserve of ecologists and natural historians but here it is argued that exotic species are a rich source of cultural evidence with the potential to enhance archaeological interpretations relating to human behaviour and beliefs. This paper focuses on the domestic fowl (Gallus gallus), a native of East Asia that spread across Europe during the Neolithic to Iron Age and became well established by the end of the Roman period. After reviewing the evidence for the diffusion of chickens and the concept of cockfighting, this paper presents a speculative argument about the impact of domestic fowl on Iron Age and Roman Britain. By drawing upon evidence from history, anthropology and human remains analysis, the article explores how the arrival of these new creatures may have helped shape human society, particularly in terms of gender definition and attitudes to violence. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This article explores practices of processing, displaying, and depositing human and animal crania in built environments and wetlands in the long Iron Age of Scandinavia. The paper first reports on a dataset of a range of practices targeting heads over the first millennium CE, with a particular focus on deposition of crania in built environments. I subsequently present a two-fold analysis of these data: an exploration of how reworking bodies into cranial objects transformed personhood in complex ways, and a discussion of how the particular practices afforded to the head connects with practices of placemaking and atmospheric intervention. I consider reworked, displayed and deposited heads as 'body-objects' – a different kind of being than 'person', 'animal' or 'thing' that breaks open some existing assumptions of the constitution of bodies and persons in Iron and Viking Age Scandinavia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract The biodiversity of animal species in the Última Esperanza inland sea (Magallanes region, Chile) provides an exceptional opportunity to study the economic and organizational strategies of maritime hunter-gatherer groups in the Fuego-Patagonian archipelago. The consumption of huemul (Hippocamelus bisulcus) in Southern South America is well documented since the Middle Holocene, although its role in the subsistence strategies of maritime hunter-gatherers varies depending on the geographical and environmental area. The aim of this paper is to assess the implications of huemul exploitation on organizational strategies by Late Holocene maritime hunter-gatherer groups from the Última Esperanza inland sea (Magallanes region, Chile). In this work we present the results of a zooarchaeological analysis of the huemul assemblage from the sites of Bahía Easter 1 and Bahía Easter 2 (Diego Portales Island, Última Esperanza, Chile). The results show the high importance of huemul in the maritime hunter-gatherer diet, and provide new insights into the hunting and transport strategies of this prey. Furthermore, the integration of the data within the local and regional archaeological record allowed us to identify similarities at the scale of the inland sea, where huemul was frequently exploited both in island and coastal environments in contrast to what is documented in the neighboring Skyring Sea and Otway Sea. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While preparing and sharing food both at home and at special feasts remains a valued tradition among Armenians world-wide, the visible shedding of animal blood preceding its preparation does not. In the Republic of Armenia and around the Middle East, the ritual public slaughter of an animal remains common, whereas elsewhere in the diaspora, it is usually regarded as "backward." Here the impact of these differences is explored through the ritual of madagh, often glossed in English as "sacrifice" and also as "community meal." Madagh may be a community-wide celebration or a family-based ritual prepared with salt blessed by the priest and distributed to other households. Across regional variations, clergy and lay people negotiate the meaning of the ritual and collaborate on defining the experience and its importance. The madagh prompts a discussion of what is theologically correct and, beyond that, provides insights into deeply felt perceptions of relationships with God, connections to faith and religion as practiced at home as well as within the church. Based on research and fieldwork in Cyprus, Syria, Armenia, London, and the United States, this paper explores continuing practices of the madagh and the interpretations that emerge in conversation with those who participate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper aims to demonstrate how subfossil bone remains from Pleistocene and Holocene deposits can help to reconstruct the history of recently extinct taxa through the example of Pholidoscelis lizards from the Guadeloupe Islands in the French West Indies. To achieve this, we conducted a new anatomical and zooarchaeological study of fossil Pholidoscelis remains collected from 23 archaeological and paleontological deposits on the Guadeloupe Islands from which this genus is nowadays absent. Our results shed light on the past existence of large Pholidoscelis lizards on all the Guadeloupe islands but also on the difficulties of confident specific identification for these remains. Nevertheless, we suggest a possible past occurrence of the now extinct Pholidoscelis major on nearly all of the Guadeloupe islands. In addition, we identified a new Pholidoscelis species, Pholidoscelis turukaeraensis sp. nov., on Marie-Galante Island, where no Pholidoscelis lizards were previously reported. This new species underwent an increase in size after the end of the Pleistocene period, possibly due to reduced predation pressure. We also highlight the consumption of Pholidoscelis lizards by pre-Columbian Amerindians and the huge impact of European colonization, which led to the extinction of all these lizards in less than 300 years.http://zoobank.org/urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:15C39436-A083-483F-B35E-78807B606904 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses various reports published within the issue including the increasingly complex and sophisticated means by which scholars are using zooarchaeological research and data to explore a variety of issues related to the human history and dynamic ecology of island ecosystems.

Modern excavation techniques aim accurately to recover extant archaeological data. Usually bone micro-fragments are gathered as a result, however, during archaeological analysis these remains are often set apart as indeterminate bones and generally do not contribute to the interpretation of the deposits. How to decipher archaeological palimpsests using these small bone fragments is the aim of this paper. El Mirón Cave, located in northern Iberia, contains a very rich Cantabrian Lower Magdalenian deposit (17-15 uncal ka BP) with high densities of faunal remains and artefacts. Here, we present zooarchaeological, taphonomic and spatial distribution analyses of macromammal finds, including those small bone fragments, accumulated during a series of intensive and repeated human occupations found in the outer vestibule excavation area. Our results show that a broad spectrum of activities was performed there, including meat, marrow and grease processing and waste abandonment. We propose that bone micro-fragments must be considered when addressing human subsistence reconstructions from animal remains, as they represent the leftovers of the chaîne opératoire of animal carcass exploitation. The archaeological implications of their inclusion are extremely valuable, especially when deciphering palimpsests. A multidisciplinary approach to study these small animal remains provides information that otherwise would be missed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Chaco Canyon served as a regional center for the Northern U.S. Southwest from AD 850-1130. Reconstructions of the social organization of great houses within the canyon have varied, with models alternately drawing on ethnographically described “Eastern” (predominantly moiety-based) or “Western” (predominantly clan-based) Pueblo organizational systems. Ethnographic research demonstrates the significance of animals in Pueblo social and ritual life, and associations between social groups and certain animals remain important today. Whole animals, skulls, and claws are heavily involved in ritual practice, the organization of which is intricately intertwined with social organization. In this paper, we examine spatial and contextual patterns in the deposition of these remains to understand social organization at the best-studied Chaco great house, Pueblo Bonito. Two central patterns emerge: distinctions in the taxa deposited within the eastern and western halves of the pueblo, and the long-term significance and restricted use of macaws in the foundational northern arc. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Kiva is the property of Taylor & Francis Ltd and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Barbuda and Antigua’s national animal is the fallow deer,Dama dama dama, a species native to the eastern Mediterranean that has been transported around the world by people during the last 8000 years. The timing and circumstances by which fallow deer came to be established on Barbuda are currently uncertain but, by examining documentary, osteological and genetic evidence, this paper will consider the validity of existing theories. It will review the dynamics of human–Damarelationships from the 1500s AD to the present day and consider how the meaning attached to this species has changed through time: from a symbol of colonial authority and dominance, to a ‘walking larder’ after the slave emancipation of 1834, and now an important part of the island’s economy and cultural heritage that requires careful management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we examine the changes in household ecology that resulted from the introduction of European domesticates to Yucatán after the Spanish invasion. New animals and plants were not adopted wholesale as a Euroagrarian suite in the sixteenth century. Instead, heterogeneous practices took root in highly altered demographic and environmental settings. Ecosystems were re-engineered as animals moved into new anthropogenic niches. We compare archaeological and ethnoarchaeological evidence of animal husbandry practices in farming settlements in central Yucatán to the residential patterns and zooarchaeological evidence recovered from labourers’ house lots at the Hacienda San Pedro Cholul, a henequen hacienda located on the outskirts of Mérida. Our evidence shows that adoption of European domesticates altered mutualistic relations among humans, plants, and animals in native communities. Animal traction transformed hydrologic technologies and transportation across the peninsula and spurred industrialisation in the nineteenth century. Agropastoralism heightened socioeconomic disparities among rural households and contributed to uneven socioeconomic development in Yucatán over the last 500 years. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A three-stage taphonomic analysis was performed on the small, small-medium and large bovid bone assemblages from Dunefield Midden, an open-air Later Stone Age site on South Africa's west coast. The results of the first stage of the analysis, which focuses on surface and subsurface bone modifications, are presented here. A forthcoming paper will detail the subsequent two stages, in which skeletal element abundance, longbone breakage patterns and overall taphonomic variability are investigated. The Dunefield Midden bovid bone assemblages are amenable to such an indepth study since they were subjected to a comprehensive refitting operation, with particular emphasis on longbone reconstruction. This enabled the systematic incorporation into the analysis of shaft fragments, a crucial yet frequently ignored component of mammalian zooarchaeological assemblages. Including shafts not only improves estimates of skeletal element abundance and thus our understanding of how prehistoric foragers acquired, transported and distributed animal carcasses, but also yields better assessments of the techniques employed for carcass butchery and bone processing. This paper explores the latter two aspects of subsistence at Dunefield Midden by integrating quantitative and configurational data on bovid bone modifications. It shows that the assemblage was principally shaped from within-bone nutrient acquisition by humans. Variation in bone modification patterning is suggested to stem largely from size-related differences in butchery effort and utility-related differences in skeletal element treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The following paper presents the results from two surveys of zooarchaeologists involved with commercial work in the United Kingdom. The surveys had a number of aims: they investigated the demographic of commercial zooarchaeologists; their relationship with organisations; the information they produce; how the current recession is affecting their work and what their priorities for help would be. The main survey was carried out during March–April 2009 with a further follow-up survey conducted during August. The surveys indicate that the demographic of zooarchaeologists varies from that of archaeologists in the United Kingdom as a whole. It also shows that the economic recession is affecting commercial zooarchaeologists in a number of ways. The paper also discusses the general structure and nature of the profession. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents a case study of fish intensification in the subsistence of hunter-gatherers and fishers who inhabited the Beagle Channel region in southern South America. The main goal is to identify and to understand the multiple factors and conditions under which fishing intensification operated in this area, regarding it as a process integrated by multiple potential strategies. Ichthyoarchaeological assemblages from eight sites are examined against the predictions of a general intensification model evaluating variations in animal-based subsistence through time. Spatial, environmental and historical dimensions of the intensification process are analysed and evidence of increased effort in fishing activities is observed. Results support the existence of a foraging reorganization on a regional scale, a mechanism by which fish productivity was raised. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Zooarchaeology, by its very nature, requires the melding of two disciplines, zoology and archaeology. As the name for this discipline suggests, the former often has primary emphasis. Practitioners have employed a wide variety of methods and theories that were first developed in the biological sciences. However, human cultural behavior does not always match that of other animals. We, therefore, need to modify the methods and theories to emphasize the cultural component of our inquiries. The present paper addresses a number of these issues in the context of the articles written for this publication as well as those presented in the symposium. Finally, the issue of whether or not there is need for an “Island Zooarchaeology” within the recognized subfield of “Island Archaeology” is considered. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper discusses bronze pendants resembling animal canines and commonly interpreted as replicas of bear canine pendants. The traditional identification of these pendants to be representing bear canines is questioned, as bronze pendants do not follow the identifiable features of organic bear canines. Alternative interpretations and other species, like canids (dogs and wolves) or pigs, are suggested as prototypes for bronze pendants. Finally, it is also speculated that bronze pendants can represent fangs of fantastic creatures like dragons or serpents and, thus, be symbols of some ruling families. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This paper concerns the role of costly signalling in the ritual expressions of Middle Bronze Age human culture of Central Italy. A wide overview of the existing literature and the accurate examination of recent case studies enabled us to demonstrate that costly signalling is especially identifiable through the study of the ecofactual remains found in caves that are central ritual sites in Apennine protohistory. The dozens of perinatal domesticates from Grotta Mora Cavorso and the quintals of burnt seeds from Grotta di Pastena, had they not been considered in their burial and strongly ritual framework - which has been identified with certainty also thanks to these ecofacts - could have provided only a general and highly unreliable palaeoenvironmental and palaeoeconomic subsistence reconstruction. The same remains, analysed in a social perspective, have allowed us to recognize a complex set of symbolic practices and to clarify some possible features of the society that performed these rituals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates the consumption of animals and their products in the northwestern provinces of the Roman Empire. A regional approach was used, comparing two research areas: the northern part of modern Switzerland and the central part of the modern Netherlands. These two regions have different histories, backgrounds and landscapes. Our aim was to find out whether these different histories and backgrounds led to different consumption patterns and to what extent they correspond to Roman-style nutrition. Furthermore, we looked for developments over time in consumption of meat and exploitation of livestock. A data set consisting of over 282,000 fragments of cattle, sheep/goat and pig from 188 samples from military sites, urban centres and vici was collected. Our study identified both differences and similarities in consumption and exploitation patterns. Differences can be explained by the regional character of each research area, while similarities suggest wider economic developments in the Empire and general supply strategies of the Roman army. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the course of a general review of archaeological animal bone studies, this paper draws particular attention to the importance of data quality, and the assessment of the integrity and information potential of bone samples, and the integration of such studies with the rest of archaeology and with palaeobiology. Taxonomic identification and bone diagenesis remain two key problem areas, the second of which is slowly yielding to detailed research. The integration of animal bone studies with the rest of archaeology is discussed, with particular reference to the linking of research questions with particular interpretative models. Animal bone studies are seen as a fundamental part of archaeology, with a contribution to make to palaeobiology, rather than the converse. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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The extent to which breeding populations of fallow deer were established in Roman Europe has been obscured by the possibility that the skeletal remains of the species, in particularDamafoot bones and antlers, were traded over long distances as objects in their own right. This paper sets out to refine our understanding of the evidence for the transportation of living and dead fallow deer in Iron Age and Roman Europe. To achieve this, museum archives containing purportedly early examples ofDamaantler were searched, with available specimens sampled for carbon, nitrogen and strontium isotope analyses, and compared with data for archaeological fallow deer from across Europe. Importantly, the resulting isotope values can be interpreted in light of new modern baseline data for fallow deer presented here. Together these multi-isotope results for modern and archaeological fallow deer provide a more critical perspective on the transportation of fallow deer and their body parts in antiquity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The roots of the English population lie in diverse cultural origins. Within the second half of the first millennium AD, there were two major migrations, firstly the Saxons in the immediate post-Roman period, and later following the 'Viking' incursions of the mid-9th century. This paper considers the visibility of these migrations in the animal economy. Zooarchaeological data from 141 Saxon sites within England were analysed for evidence of diet and animal husbandry. Results indicate that there were signatures specific to native British rural populations in the early Saxon phase, relying largely on a self-sufficient economy, consuming very few wild species or domestic birds. Saxon cultural differences were implied from a number of sites, dependant on the increased importance of cattle in the diet and as culturally symbolic animals signifying status and utilised for trade. There was also evidence for the earliest settlers to have used pigs as a 'mobile larder', to provide meat while they established herds and flocks of cattle and sheep. Regional differences were visible in the late Saxon phase, within Wessex and the Danelaw, related to agricultural changes in the midlands and central southern region, and cultural identity, particularly within the heartlands of the northern Danelaw, towards an increase in cattle production. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper argues that our current understanding of the animal bones from causewayed enclosure sites in Britain is flawed. During the 1980–90s, a number of key interpretations, still frequently espoused, were based more upon anecdote and theory-driven assertion than on empirical evidence. An example is that evidence of bone processing (butchery and bone fracture) does not feature heavily in the faunal record from causewayed enclosures. Using data from the sites of Etton and Staines, this view must now be questioned. Both butchery and peri-mortem bone fracture are present in these assemblages in substantial quantities. These sites are compared with Ludwinowo 7, a Linearbandkeramik settlement site in Poland and there are considerable similarities between the three different sites. This suggests possibility that the broader economic utility of animal bone assemblages at causewayed enclosures has been underestimated, having been, up to now, regarded as ‘not indicative of domestic settlement’. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]