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The Morgado Superior Rock Shelter is located near the city of Tomar, in Central Portugal. This site presents important funerary contexts that according to published information encompass the Neolithic, Chalcolithic and Bronze Age. Other non-funerary uses have not yet been characterised but were briefly suggested. A faunal sample of the 1988 and 2012 interventions is analysed from a zooarchaeological and taphonomical perspective, focusing on the leporid remains that largely dominate the assemblage. Clear indicators of a human origin are absent, while a configurational approach allows the description of exogenous and intrusive origins. The characteristics of the registered consumption taphonomical indicators are suggestive of scat and non-ingested accumulation by foxes. Furthermore, this study allows us to discuss some aspects of the formation of the stratigraphy of this important cave necropolis, while also serving as an example of the expected results of foxes' action on leporid remains in an archaeological site. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The dispersal and development of pastoralism during the Bronze Age profoundly influenced human livelihoods and adaptability to diverse environments in northwestern China. Although diachronic changes in the composition of animal resources have been discussed, the specific utilization form of these resources remains unclear due to the lack of age-class and sex ratio data for inferring population structure. Here, we report new zooarchaeological data from the Haizang site dated between 4000 and 3500 cal. yr BP in an oasis in northwestern China’s Hexi Corridor. The 7092 identified animal remains are dominated by sheep/goat (53.44%) and cattle (15.61%), supplemented by pig (11.96%) and wildlife (11.11%), representing the largest animal remains assemblage in this area thus far. The mortality age profiles of sheep/goat and cattle remains show that domesticated ruminants were utilized for multiple purposes, implying the introduction of livestock utilization knowledge alongside these species. During this stage, the reliance of local subsistence on ruminant pastoralism was geographically varied in and around the Hexi Corridor, although these areas shared similar Qijia cultural phenomena. We argue that ancient inhabitants of Haizang took a more ruminant-focused and multipurpose animal utilization strategy, which alleviated the survival pressure caused by colder and drier climate in the global context of ‘4.2 ka BP event’ and underpinned local social development. The acceleration of trans-regional exchange across Eurasia during the early Bronze Age provided the paramount material and knowledge for this transformation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We discuss new data from Colonization Phase and Early Expansion/Development Phase assemblages in the pre‐contact Society Islands. We focus on analysis of marine faunal remains and fishing gear to infer diachronic shifts in subsistence practices at two well‐dated coastal sites. Both Colonization Phase (AD 950–1200) and Early Expansion Phase (AD 1200–1450) faunal assemblages are dominated by fish and mollusks as opposed to animal domesticates. Colonization Phase assemblages see higher capture of Scombrids and higher capture of marine mammals and turtle. Early Expansion fishhook assemblages and faunal remains document a movement towards increased capture of reef fish as well as the adoption of local styles and locally specific fishing practices. Overall, the diachronic trend in the Society Island diets is towards a decrease in turtle, marine mammal, and wild bird remains and an increase in terrestrial domesticated species roughly two hundred years after colonization, similar to patterns seen elsewhere in Eastern Polynesia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We investigated how Mississippian residents of the Central Illinois River Valley (CIRV) altered their hunting strategies in response to climate change and warfare in the 13th and 14th centuries. The CIRV, located in west-central Illinois just north of Greater Cahokia, was characterized by optimal climatic conditions in the 11th and 12th centuries, followed by centuries of drought and warfare. We integrated paleoclimatic reconstructions and evidence of violence with bone collagen and apatite isotopic analyses on white-tailed deer remains to investigate how CIRV residents minimized risks associated with white-tailed deer hunting. This is the first study in this region to effectively use δ13C apatite measurements to show the selective consumption of maize by white-tailed deer. Our results indicate that there were varied responses to climate change and conflict that were socially contingent upon community size. Notably, deer hunted by residents of Roskamp, occupied in the 13th century during the period of warfare, had highly elevated δ13C apatite values, demonstrating residents partook in garden hunting. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rituals and feasting ceremonies at Polynesian marae depict culturally complex relationships between humans and animals that cannot be explained by subsistence alone. In Central‐East Polynesia, this topic still requires the elaboration of a “ritual zooarchaeology” framework. Using sea turtle assemblages from three sacred sites on Fakahina atoll (Tuamotu), this study offers a preliminary approach to faunal deposits from ritual contexts. Following systematic excavations of marae on Fakahina, analysis aimed to determine whether faunal deposits could be linked with intentional feasting and offering behaviours. To detect how ritual actions were organised through space, skeletal and taphonomic variables were examined for both overall sites and “sub‐assemblages” within sites based on the spatial associations of fauna with site features.At certain site features, derived quantitative units such as %MAU and recovery rate could identify potential offering behaviours through the intentional sorting of culturally significant body parts. The taphonomic signatures of site features could also identify open or closed deposition environments, assisting with the identification of disturbed features as either exposed platforms or enclosed cists. In addition to highlighting previously undocumented complexity in the use of site features, an overall comparison of turtle remains from the three sites shows the potential of these methods to explore variation in ritual practices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although the trans-Atlantic cod trade linked North American and European socioeconomic spheres, few studies analyze both regions concurrently to understand the impact and extent of cod trade at a wider scale. We summarize new results of zooarchaeological analysis from Louisbourg, Nova Scotia, Canada, a major North American cod-trading port, and consider its role in the wider trans-Atlantic trade network by conducting a meta-analysis of the archaeological record of cod trade during the fifteenth to nineteenth centuries. We show that though cod remains are abundant in assemblages from the Northeast and Atlantic Canada where they were caught and processed, they are relatively rare in other North American assemblages, including Caribbean plantations where cod was imported in large quantities to support slave laborers. Furthermore, though North Atlantic cod have been identified isotopically in European assemblages, they are found primarily within the known habitat range of Atlantic cod at this time. Finally, by comparing European and North American datasets we demonstrate that length is unlikely to be reliable as a means of sourcing cod. This examination contributes to our understanding of cod's important economic role in the development of trans-Atlantic connections between North American and European trading ports. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Burgess Shale-type (BST) Lagerstätten record an exceptional variety of Cambrian soft-bodied fauna, yet these deposits are typically restricted to outboard depositional settings >1000 km from the paleocoastline. For shallow, well-oxygenated shelf environments, our knowledge of non-mineralized animals (the majority of diversity) is severely limited, giving rise to substantial bias in our perception of Cambrian biotas. An alternate means of detecting soft-bodied Cambrian fauna, independent of paleobathymetry, is to use acid maceration to extract microscopic organic remains of non-mineralized animals, known as "small carbonaceous fossils" (SCFs). Here, a hitherto unknown diversity of Cambrian arthropod and mollusk remains are reported from shallow-marine sediments (Cambrian Stage 3 Mickwitzia Sandstone, Sweden). These microfossils comprise a variety of arthropod cuticles preserving sub-micron-scale anatomy alongside abundant radular mouthparts from mollusks--among the oldest known arthropod and molluscan SCFs on record. Significantly, at least three distinct types of fossil radula are identifiable (uniseriate, distichous, and polystichous forms), revealing that substantial diversification of the basic molluscan radula had already taken place by the early Cambrian. These cryptic elements of the biota--otherwise undetectable in such deposits--offer novel insights into Cambrian primary consumers as well as aspects of the fauna that are absent from deeperwater BST deposits. [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]

Identification of archeological fish remains requires the use of comparative reference materials, generally in the form of disarticulated fish skeletons. Photographic or illustrative atlases provide an additional resource for the analysis of fish remains. Photographic resources exist for many marine species and for specific geographic regions, whereas freshwater European species have not been covered in great detail. Here, we present a photographic atlas for the bones of freshwater and migratory fish commonly recovered from archeological sites in Central Europe, alongside a discussion of the difficulties and considerations for the analysis of freshwater fish remains. The atlas also highlights the morphological similarity of many species and the interpretive limits of freshwater fish assemblages. The atlas aims to act as an accessible and user‐friendly resource, which can be used for basic identification purposes when access to physical collections is not possible, to supplement pre‐existing collections, or for training purposes. This paper acts as a platform from which the full atlas can be downloaded. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

One of the periods with the greatest social, cultural, and religious changes was, without a doubt, the European medieval period. The concept of "Family" was one of the fields that gradually evolved, from individuals who shared the same biological lineage, to members of the same "House". One of the ways to study the concept of "Family" in ancient periods is through a bioarchaeological perspective, where both anthropology and genetics have proven to be essential disciplines for studying "Families". Through burial rituals, observing whether the graves were single or multiple, as is carried out in the study of human remains, we discuss the profound contribution of anthropology to the "Family" investigation, through mobility studies, the investigation of biological sex, observing certain congenital anomalies or, even, the study of certain ancient infectious diseases. Concerning genetics, the study of bones or teeth allows us to determine whether individuals were from the same close family or if they belonged to the same lineage through the maternal and paternal sides, being one of the only scientific ways of proposing social relationships between individuals, such as that created through adoption. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Shifts in projectile technology potentially document human evolutionary milestones, such as adaptations for different environments and settlement dynamics. A relatively direct proxy for projectile technology is projectile impact marks (PIM) on archaeological bones. Increasing awareness and publication of experimental data sets have recently led to more identifications of PIM in various contexts, but diagnosing PIM from other types of bone-surface modifications, quantifying them, and inferring point size and material from the bone lesions need more substantiation. Here, we focus on PIM created by osseous projectiles, asking whether these could be effectively identified and separated from lithic-tipped weapons. We further discuss the basic question raised by recent PIM research in zooarchaeology: why PIM evidence is so rare in archaeofaunal assemblages (compared to other human-induced marks), even when they are explicitly sought. We present the experimental results of shooting two ungulate carcasses with bone and antler points, replicating those used in the early Upper Paleolithic of western Eurasia. Half of our hits resulted in PIM, confirming that this modification may have been originally abundant. However, we found that the probability of a skeletal element to be modified with PIM negatively correlates with its preservation potential, and that much of the produced bone damage would not be identifiable in a typical Paleolithic faunal assemblage. This quantification problem still leaves room for an insightful qualitative study of PIM. We complement previous research in presenting several diagnostic marks that retain preservation potential and may be used to suggest osseous, rather than lithic, projectile technology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article presents the analysis of a sample of fish bone remains recovered from the La Galepia site, located in the district of Mompós (Department of Bolívar, Caribbean Region of Colombia). This analysis was conducted as part of research designed to evaluate the importance of local freshwater fish in the subsistence and dietary patterns of the site’s population during the Late Formative Period (13th to 16th centuries AD). The article summarizes the findings of a preliminary examination of the ichthyoarchaeological remains from La Galepia, based on two methodological stages. The first involved zooarchaeological analysis, through which anatomical and taxonomic identification of the sample was carried out. In the second stage, ichthyoarchaeological data from the site were compared with two lines of evidence: 1) the zooarchaeological record and 2) the historical record of the Momposina Depression and the Lower Magdalena River. By situating the fish assemblage from La Galepia in the regional context, our aim was to interpret possible interactions between humans and fish in this late occupation. It was determined that the assemblage at this site consists of local freshwater species, which were used as food by humans. These results align with trends reported in other riverside occupations in the region, prompting a reconsideration of the role of fish acquisition and consumption within the adaptive strategies of pre-Hispanic populations in the Colombian Caribbean.

Over the last 10,000 y, humans have manipulated fallow deer populations with varying outcomes. Persian fallow deer (Dama mesopotamica) are now endangered. European fallow deer (Dama dama) are globally widespread and are simultaneously considered wild, domestic, endangered, invasive and are even the national animal of Barbuda and Antigua. Despite their close association with people, there is no consensus regarding their natural ranges or the timing and circumstances of their human-mediated translocations and extirpations. Our mitochondrial analyses of modern and archaeological specimens revealed two distinct clades of European fallow deer present in Anatolia and the Balkans. Zooarchaeological evidence suggests these regions were their sole glacial refugia. By combining biomolecular analyses with archaeological and textual evidence, we chart the declining distribution of Persian fallow deer and demonstrate that humans repeatedly translocated European fallow deer, sourced from the most geographically distant populations. Deer taken to Neolithic Chios and Rhodes derived not from nearby Anatolia, but from the Balkans. Though fallow deer were translocated throughout the Mediterranean as part of their association with the Greco-Roman goddesses Artemis and Diana, deer taken to Roman Mallorca were not locally available Dama dama, but Dama mesopotamica. Romans also initially introduced fallow deer to Northern Europe but the species became extinct and was reintroduced in the medieval period, this time from Anatolia. European colonial powers then transported deer populations across the globe. The biocultural histories of fallow deer challenge preconceptions about the divisions between wild and domestic species and provide information that should underpin modern management strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Animal remains are a common find in prehistoric and protohistoric funerary contexts. While taphonomic and osteological data provide insights about the proximate (depositional) factors responsible for these findings, the ultimate cultural causes leading to this observed mortuary behavior are obscured by the opacity of the archaeological record and the lack of written sources. Here, we apply an interdisciplinary suite of analytical approaches (zooarchaeological, anthropological, archaeological, paleogenetic, and isotopic) to explore the funerary deposition of animal remains and the nature of joint human-animal burials at Seminario Vescovile (Verona, Northern Italy 3rd-1st c. BCE). This context, culturally attributed to the Cenomane culture, features 161 inhumations, of which only 16 included animal remains in the form of full skeletons, isolated skeletal parts, or food offerings. Of these, four are of particular interest as they contain either horses (Equus caballus) or dogs (Canis lupus familiaris)–animals that did not play a dietary role. Analyses show no demographic, dietary, funerary similarities, or genetic relatedness between individuals buried with animals. Isotopic data from two analyzed dogs suggest differing management strategies for these animals, possibly linked to economic and/or ritual factors. Overall, our results point to the unsuitability of simple, straightforward explanations for the observed funerary variability. At the same time, they connect the evidence from Seminario Vescovile with documented Transalpine cultural traditions possibly influenced by local and Roman customs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Excavations at the vicarage yard (prästgården) at the famous Late Iron Age magnate centre of Gamla Uppsala, Sweden, have yielded six Viking Age (c. ad 750–1100) boat burials, several containing the remains of domestic dogs. The present study is an osteological examination of the remains of three of these dogs, one each from three boat graves, with a primary goal of morphological reconstruction and a secondary focus on identifying sex, age, and pathology. Two dogs were large, slender sight hounds, while the third was somewhat smaller and of indeterminate type. The preference for sight hounds in high-status graves is consistent with previous results from the contemporaneous nearby boat cemeteries of Vendel and Valsgärde, adding weight to the hypothesis of a shared funerary culture between these sites in the Late Iron Age. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Zooarchaeological studies of vertebrate remains from four lowland archaeological sites (consisting of 24 features) in the Kinki District, Honshu, have led to the reconstruction of certain components of local amphibian assemblages that existed in the past, ranging from a few centuries Before Common Era to the Eighth Century Common Era. However, the Japanese Rice Frog, Fejervarya kawamurai, a presently common and obligate lowland species with several biogeographic peculiarities, has been consistently absent from these reconstructions. The data presented here suggests that the major lowlands of this district (the Osaka and Wakayama plains and the Nara Basin) were devoid of this species until later times, and that the invasion was facilitated by human activities. This finding also supports a long-neglected view that the populations of this species in mainland Japan originated from an introduction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigated the historical consumption of pork in Croatia through a comprehensive analysis of pig bones from six medieval archaeological sites, comprising three castles and three monasteries dating from the 13th to the 16th century A.D. Employing a detailed morphological analysis of pig bones and teeth, the study quantified the number of identified specimens (NISP) per site. On bones and teeth, identification of sex and age was performed, and butchery patterns were documented. The results revealed a significant presence of pork in the diet of castle and monastery inhabitants, with pig bones being the most abundant animal remains. Age analysis suggested a prevalence of juvenile pigs, predominantly males. The findings implied that from the 13th to the 16th century A.D., pork was a staple in the diet of castles and monasteries in continental Croatia, sourced from pig breeding outside these sites. Typically, male pigs aged under two years were delivered for consumption to these establishments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: This paper looks at past relationships between humans and certain wild animal species, that is, raptors, bears, beavers, and elks. As we have observed, it was the behaviour of animals that caught the attention of humans, such as spectacular flights and hunting by raptors, the similarities in bear and human behaviour, the fascinating impressiveness and charisma of elks, and the landscape-shaping by enigmatic beavers. All these animals have special meanings to humans far beyond their economic significance. Wild goshawks, falcons, and other raptor species have acted as trained hunting companions, but they were never domesticated and had to be treated with care. As for bear, beaver, and elk, there were often complex rituals before, during, and after the killing, because there was no clear separation between humans and animals. The animals were not just prey but equal beings and other-than-human persons. However, there were also changes over time in the human–animal relationship, such as the advent of the farming way of life with a preference for domesticated animals, as well as the arrival of Christianity, by which animals became second to human. Humans have developed a special relationship with some animal species throughout history, even though these animals were never domesticated. Based on raptors, bears, beavers, and elks, the question of whether there are similarities between the perception of these animals that triggered a special kind of fascination in humans and how the relationship between humans and these animals changed between Mesolithic age and medieval times is addressed. As we demonstrate, the categorical antagonism between 'animal' and 'human' is a concept that saw different kinds of influence, from the advent of sedentarism and husbandry to Christianity and from philosophical thinking in Classical Antiquity and the Period of Enlightenment. In prehistory and early history, we find different, opposing world views across time, cultures, and periods. Differences between animals and humans have been considered as fluid, and humans have had to engage with animals and their needs. The well-known and famous 'bear ceremonies' attested to different peoples and times were not unique, but were a part of belief systems that also included other animal species. Among the considered animals, certain raptor species attracted the attention of humans who tried to establish contact with them, as companions, whereas bears were almost 'disguised humans' due to all their similarities with humans, but they were also tabooed beings whose real names had to be avoided. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: In this paper, we present the zooarchaeological and taphonomic study of a new Bronze Age site in the inland of the Iberian Peninsula. This study represents a significant contribution within the studied area, as it analyses the Pista de Motos faunal collection, one of the few representative samples from this period. This paper significantly contributes to completing the scarce information available for the Bronze Archaeology in the Middle Tagus Valley, located inland of the Iberian Peninsula. The Bronze Age zooarchaeological research for the interior and other regions of the Iberian Peninsula is currently limited. Despite several sites with known zooarchaeological profiles from the period, the main issue is that most of these derive from fragmentary and unrepresentative faunal records or are biased profiles from old excavations. New work has yielded novel zooarchaeological results in recent years that could help fill the existing zooarchaeological information gap in the Iberian inland, particularly in the Middle Tagus Valley. However, these projects are in the initial research stages and have not published much of their results. This paper presents the zooarchaeological profile of the Pista de Motos Bronze Age site to help fill this information gap. It analyses the taxonomic representation, skeletal profiles, and human activity patterns associated with faunal use. These observations suggest that animal exploitation at the site followed two primary purposes. One was linked to economic activities, mainly to obtain meat, milk, wool, or animal labour. The other was probably associated with symbolic-ritual practices suggested by the complete animal burials in some excavated units. We contextualise these interpretations with evidence from other Bronze Age sites in the Middle Tagus Valley. Finally, the paper assesses to what extent Pista de Motos is a relevant site for the zooarchaeology of the Bronze Age in the Iberian inland. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Faunal remains recovered during excavations beneath Wilson’s Arch in Jerusalem reveal the dietary and ritual uses of animals in the Late Roman colony of Aelia Capitolina. This colony was erected on the ruins of Jerusalem following the First Jewish War and occupied by the Legio X Fretensis. We show that over the course of the third and fourth centuries CE, pigs turn into a dominant source of food at the site, an assessment supported by excavations elsewhere in Late Roman Jerusalem. Significant variations of the domestic pigs from Jerusalem indicate that the animals may have been provisioned from multiple rural sites of primary production, and possibly represent different local breeds. More surprisingly, the pig remains from Wilson’s Arch are dominated by prime-aged (12–24 months) male jaws from two stratified deposits. The focus on mature males, particularly in Stratum V, is atypical of pig husbandry systems in general, and in Roman-period contexts in particular. Due to the rapidity with which the bones were deposited and the unusual demographic, alongside the disproportionate representation of mandibles, we interpret the remains as the end-product of rituals involving pigs. We suggest that the significance of pigs as an anti-Jewish cultural element provided soldiers and colonists a means of asserting their identity within an imperial context. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Pineland Site Complex, 8LL1902, is a large archaeological complex of middens, mounds, and other topographic features located in coastal, southwestern Florida. It was occupied from approximately AD 50 and was a major Calusa town at European contact. We combine extant research from this well-preserved site complex with new chronological and zooarchaeological analyses to provide new insight into the relationship between fisher-gatherer-hunter subsistence economies and small-scale but impactful climatic change. We identify and record the localized environmental changes co-occurrent with the global climatic episode known as the Little Ice Age (AD 1200–1850). By combining Bayesian statistical analyses of radiocarbon dates with zooarchaeological analyses of a waterlogged, shoreline midden we generate a high-resolution, localized view of socioecological interactions at the Pineland Site ca. AD 1200–1500. Such micro-scale temporal perspectives are necessary to achieve high resolution, localized histories of human-climate dynamics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Edible domestic dog remains in archaeological sites can be identified through three main ways. Firstly, from the domestic dog skeletons excavated from the sites, they can be judged by using indicators such as completeness, surface marks, and age structure, with particular emphasis on cut marks, scratch marks, burn marks, and smash marks that reflect cooking behaviors. Secondly, considering the archaeological context in which the domestic dog bones were excavated, the coexistence of domestic dogs with other edible animals and plants, as well as dog bones placed in the remains of cooking or food storage, are likely to reflect the presence of domestic dogs as a meat resource at the site. In addition, dogs used as food for rituals, dog bones made into bone tools, canine DNA left on stone tools and canine parasites preserved in the burial ventral soil are all able to corroborate to some extent the edible function of domestic dogs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ancient China had a long tradition of falconry and eagle hunting, and numerous archaeological sites have yielded remains of eagle and falcon bones as well as artifacts depicting them. However, the understanding of ancient Chinese eagle domestication remains unclear. To clarify this issue, this paper first organizes the excavated eagle and falcon remains from Chinese archaeological sites, providing initial insights into the domestication of eagles and falcons in ancient China. Additionally, it collects and examines the depictions of eagles and falcons in archaeological artifacts and murals, further confirming and supplementing the understanding of the utilization of these birds in ancient China. It comprehensively explores the relationship between ancient Chinese people and eagles, and combines historical literature to review the history of falconry in ancient China. Finally, it summarizes the characteristics of eagle and falcon domestication in ancient China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article presents the analysis of a sample of fish bone remains recovered from the La Galepia site, located in the district of Mompós (Department of Bolívar, Caribbean Region of Colombia). This analysis was conducted as part of research designed to evaluate the importance of local freshwater fish in the subsistence and dietary patterns of the site's population during the Late Formative Period (13th to 16th centuries AD). The article summarizes the findings of a preliminary examination of the ichthyoarchaeological remains from La Galepia, based on two methodological stages. The first involved zooarchaeological analysis, through which anatomical and taxonomic identification of the sample was carried out. In the second stage, ichthyoarchaeological data from the site were compared with two lines of evidence: 1) the zooarchaeological record and 2) the historical record of the Momposina Depression and the Lower Magdalena River. By situating the fish assemblage from La Galepia in the regional context, our aim was to interpret possible interactions between humans and fish in this late occupation. It was determined that the assemblage at this site consists of local freshwater species, which were used as food by humans. These results align with trends reported in other riverside occupations in the region, prompting a reconsideration of the role of fish acquisition and consumption within the adaptive strategies of pre-Hispanic populations in the Colombian Caribbean. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many Palaeolithic archaeological sites have been excavated in the Cantabrian region of northern Spain, between the Cantabrian mountain range and the coast of the Bay of Biscay. The analyses of the materials thus recovered in sites such as El Castillo, Morín, Pendo, Covalejos, Esquilleu, El Mirón, Hornos de la Peña, El Cuco, El Ruso, Lezetxiki, Axlor, Arrillor, Amalda, Abauntz, and Gatzarria, among others, have contributed greatly to the understanding of Neanderthal animal-based subsistence in the area. However, most of the sites studied are in the eastern part of this area, and we know little on the western part, from just a handful of sites (El Sidrón, Llonín, La Viña, and La Güelga in Asturias; Cova Eirós in Galicia) and the zooarchaeological information has been limited, but is currently growing. El Sidrón has many cannibalized Neanderthal bones but few faunal remains, the Llonín cave shows short Neanderthal occupations, the Mousterian of La Viña yielded few faunal remains, and the three Mousterian levels of Cova Eirós were also short occupations. In this work, we present the zooarchaeological and taphonomical analyses from the Mousterian Level XV of Sopeña (Onís, Asturias), very rich in faunal remains, aiming to shed light on the Neanderthal subsistence on the western part of northern Spain. Faunal remains from Sopeña Level XV appear very modified by neanderthal actions. They did exploit a variety of ungulates from diverse ecosystems, both high mountains and river valleys, displaying the great versatility and adaptability in their subsistence strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: The authors present a preliminary analysis of caprine remains from 70 burials at Dunping, a burial site associated with Bronze-Age pastoralists in northwestern China and featured by the interment of skulls and hooves of domestic ungulates in burial contexts. The minimal impact of weathering on the skeletal elements and the attachment of atlases in skulls suggest that the caprines chosen for burial may have been slaughtered on-site, and that the inhumation of the caprine skulls and hooves occurred shortly after their death. It is likely that the remaining carcasses of the caprines were consumed by or distributed among funeral participants. The mortality profiles indicate the presence of caprines across various age stages at the site, with individuals aged 6–12 months accounting for the largest proportion. This pattern differed from those observed in contemporaneous pastoral societies in the regions nearby. The late second and first millennium BC witnessed extensive economic, cultural, and political exchanges between pastoralists and sedentary farming states in East Asia. Decades of archaeological fieldwork across northern China have revealed a large number of burial sites associated with pastoralists during the first millennium BC. These sites were characterized by the inhumation of specific animal parts in burials, predominantly the skulls and hooves of sheep, goats, cattle, and horses. However, the selection preference for these animals and how they were integrated into the mortuary contexts of these pastoral societies remain poorly investigated. Here, we report a preliminary analysis of caprine remains from 70 burials at the site of Dunping in the southern Gansu region of northwestern China, dated to approximately the seventh to fourth centuries BC. Based on an examination of species composition, post-depositional effects, traces of human alteration, skeletal element representation, and age at death, we discussed the selection, slaughtering, and inhumation of caprines concerning the mortuary practices at the site. Comparisons between Dunping and several other contemporaneous burial sites in neighboring regions, specifically in terms of the mortality profiles, further highlight distinct patterns in the selection of caprines for mortuary purposes among pastoral societies. These differences suggest varying degrees of emphasis placed on the economic and social significance attributed to caprines. Our findings provide new insights into the roles that caprines played in both ritual performances and subsistence practices among pastoralists in East Asia during the first millennium BC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: Through a preliminary analysis of animal remains from the large settlement site of Yucun, located east of the Longshan Mountain and associated with the Zhou people during the first half of the first millennium BC, the authors investigated the subsistence practices in relation to the exploitation of animal resources by the site's residents. The examination of animal species representation and the mortality profiles of major domesticates suggest similarities between Yucun and sites associated with the Qin people, located to the west of the Longshan Mountain. However, differences were observed when comparing Yucun to other contemporaneous sites in the middle and lower Yellow River valley. These patterns in animal use strategies appear to have been influenced by local environmental conditions. The first millennium BC saw the expansion of the Western Zhou dynasty in its northwestern frontier, alongside the rise and development of the Qin State in the Longshan Mountain region of northern China. Exploring the subsistence practices of these communities is crucial to gaining a better understanding of the social, cultural, and political landscape in this region at the time. While much of the research to date has focused on the Qin people, the subsistence practices of the Zhou people remain poorly understood. In this study, we analyzed animal remains from Yucun, a large settlement site associated with the Zhou people, located to the east of the Longshan Mountain. These animal remains were recovered in the excavation seasons of 2018–2020. Our results show that pigs, dogs, cattle, caprines, and horses, which were the major domestic animals at Yucun, accounted for over 90.8% of the animal remains examined in terms of the number of identified specimens (NISP) and 72.8% in terms of the minimum number of individuals (MNI), with cattle and caprines playing dominant roles. In terms of the taxonomic composition and the mortality profiles of pigs, caprines, and cattle, Yucun shared similarities with Maojiaping and Xishan, two contemporaneous Qin cultural sites located to the west of the Longshan Mountain, and differ from other farming societies in the middle and lower reaches of the Yellow River valley. Considering the cultural attributes and topographic conditions of these various sites, these findings imply that environmental conditions may have played a more significant role than cultural factors in shaping the animal-related subsistence practices in northern China during the first millennium BC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This document is a report from the Palestine Exploration Quarterly titled "Investigating changing socio-economic landscapes from the Early Bronze I–III in the Levant through Zooarchaeology." The report aims to study the socio-economic changes associated with urbanization in the Levant during the Early Bronze Age I–III. The authors conducted zooarchaeological analysis at three sites in the Levant: Tel Qedesh, Tel Yaqush, and Tel Bet Yerah. The preliminary findings suggest variations in animal economies and site trajectories, highlighting the need for further research. The report also discusses the methods used in the analysis and acknowledges the support and collaboration of various individuals and institutions. [Extracted from the article]

This article examines the ungulate exploitation strategies of hunter-gatherer groups at Perito Moreno National Park (Santa Cruz Province, Argentina). In this ecotonal zone, guanaco (Lama guanicoe) and huemul (Hippocamelus bisulcus) have been the main prey from the Late Pleistocene/Early Holocene transition. The faunal assemblage analyzed correspond to a mid-Holocene midden (ca. 5000 years BP) from Cerro Casa de Piedra 7. The results point out that guanaco was the dominant prey, with a complementary contribution from huemul. The variety of anatomical parts and the diversity and frequency of butchery marks indicated an intensive exploitation of these resources. The exploitation of guanaco would have been focused mainly on family groups, with a dominance of prime-aged adults. The demographic increase in guanaco populations that occurred during the Middle Holocene, as indicated by molecular research in Patagonia, would have allowed this prey selection without negative ecological consequences. Meanwhile, huemul remains did not register a predatory selection based on age or sex. Ungulate ethology and demography offer a significant key to understanding the differences in the hunting strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Excavations at the site of Tombos at the Third Cataract in Sudan have revealed tumulus graves adjacent to Egyptian-style tombs created during the New Kingdom. These tumuli began near the end of Egypt's imperial control of Nubia (c. 1300 BCE) and continued into the early Napatan/Third Intermediate Period (1069–750 BCE). Thirty-five tumuli from the site are analyzed in terms of superstructure, substructure, artifacts and furniture, and the individuals buried within. The combined datasets of bioarchaeological observations and mortuary practices provide an opportunity to consider the processes of cultural expression in terms of "Nubian revival" within the context of Egyptian colonial "withdrawal." Through a theoretically informed approach, the complexity of intercultural interactions during these dynamic sociopolitical times is examined, expanding beyond the Egyptian/Nubia binary. The tumulus graves at Tombos are used to demonstrate that a diverse set of practices were used that transcend these categories. Practices are entangled with multidimensional influences that question what is considered local and foreign. With variations showing similarities and differences of structures and practices found in the region during earlier, contemporary, and later periods, an innovative group of practices is revealed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The data on ornaments and jewelry in the Kingdom of Urartu has been obtained from archaeological excavations rather than written documents. This study covers the data on the pins obtained from the Urartu centers in the Eastern Anatolia Region and mostly from their necropoleis. From this point of view, we analyzed the pins in Van, Ahlat, and Erzurum Archeology Museums in this study. Pins, one of the types of jewelry used for decoration, are generally thin, flat, cylindrical and mostly made of metal, and used for sewing clothes and attaching the ends of the clothes and the hair. The pin consists of a head, body and tip shaped in various ways. Some archaeological finds include a crown decorated with plant or animal figures on the head and elements called torus and bracelets on which it is placed. On the other hand, the body consists of a hole and a pin that tapers toward the tip. We analyzed the chronology, meanings, usage methods, and construction techniques of Urartian pins, which consist of animal heads, animal figures, fruit and plant heads, bud and knot heads, and flat heads. We obtained results by dating the settlement finds within the Urartu State's borders and the contemporary neighboring region by conducting analogies between them. We also tried to identify the symbolic meanings Urartian pins can have as protection from evil, magic, decoration, status indicators, and the belief that the person will be protected forever after death. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Medieval ecclesiastical estates have long been linked to vast flocks of wool-producing sheep that underpinned the wealth of the nation well into the sixteenth century. Recent surveys of English medieval animal remains have found evidence for an exceptionally high quantity of sheep at some of the earliest monastic communities established in England from the seventh century AD. The association between religious ideology and sheep is integral to teachings from the Bible, but sheep were also of economic value, and these ideas are considered alongside the changing meaning and value of flocks, and the increase in wool production in medieval England. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Archaeologists do not always differentiate between human activities, practices and techniques within landscape archaeology. This problem is reflected in some research into the development of pastoralism in the Alps. Here, we develop a framework within a “position paper” that engages with these different processes by assessing recent developments in bioarchaeological and palaeoenvironmental methods. Over the last two decades, alpine research has moved beyond the mere characterisation of human activities toward the classification and interpretation of specific practices and techniques, changing how we study the development of alpine pastoralism. Research into the development of mid-/long-distance transhumance from the Provencal plains to the Western Alps has generated considerable interest over the last 20 years. Therefore, the PATHWAy (Pastoralism, TransHumance in the Western Alps) project focuses on studying the Iron Age to Medieval pastoral systems in the Western Alps and south-eastern France, which is today one of the main regions in Europe where transhumant pastoralism still takes place. Finally, this contribution aims to review how bioarchaeological methods, combined with “cultural” archaeology, inform detailed quotidian aspects of lifeways rather than impactful, mediatised generalising statements, such as mass population movements or simplistic generalisations about past diet. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In zooarchaeology, animal bones are normally identified using comparative macro-morphological methods, which involve visual comparison of the bone with reference materials. However, recent work has oppugned the reliability of these methods. Although previous studies applying macro-morphological methods to identify sheep and goat bones have found low error rates, these results are based on small numbers of analysts and large numbers of different bone types and do not properly account for ambiguous ‘sheep/goat’ classifications. We present an extensive blind study of performance and reliability for binary macro-morphological species identification using just the astragalus. Each participant made independent comparative identifications on a random subset, including repeat presentations for consistency analysis. No sheep/goat category was offered. Instead, participants reported confidence scores on each sample. The participants also reported the reference materials used and indicated their regions of attention in each image. Findings indicate that neither the use of reference materials nor experience is a good predictor of accuracy, although more experienced analysts are found to be more consistent. Forcing binary classifications leads to a more transparent analysis but indicates lower performance scores than reported elsewhere, while corresponding confidence scores positively correlate with accuracy. Qualitative analysis of reported attention regions indicates that mistakes can occur when there is an overlap in the morphologies of the two species. We conclude that overreliance on reference materials impacts performance when the morphology of reference materials is not representative of the population variance, which is especially evident when the wider bone morphology is not adequately integrated into the classification decision. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Flatfish (Pleuronectiformes) vertebrae are difficult to identify to species due to the lack of diagnostic features. This has resulted in a lack of understanding of the species abundances across archaeological sites, hindering interpretations of historical fisheries in the North Sea area. We use a new approach, utilising a combined 2D landmark‐based geometric morphometric analysis as an objective and non‐destructive method for species identification of flatfish vertebrae from the North Sea area. Modern specimens were used as a reference to describe the morphological variation between taxa using principal component analysis (PCA) and to trial an automated classification using linear discriminant analysis. Although there is limited distinction between taxa using PCAs, the classification shows high accuracies, indicating that flatfish species identifications using geometric morphometrics are possible. Bone samples (n = 105) from two archaeological sites in the United Kingdom and France were analysed using this approach and their identifications were verified using collagen peptide mass fingerprinting. The success rate of species identification was usually less than 50%, indicating that this technique has limited applicability due to preservation/fragmentation of archaeological fish bone. Nonetheless, this could prove a valuable tool for modern and non‐fragmented samples. Furthermore, the technique applied in this study can be easily adapted to work on other landmark datasets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Evidence gleaned from 1796 pieces of zooarchaeological literature published between 1900 and 2019, from 22 zooarchaeology textbooks published between 1956 and 2019, and 16 books on taphonomy published between 1969 and 2016 is used to assess the history of graphing in zooarchaeology. Mirroring changes in archaeology in general, the use of graphs (bar graphs, line graphs, scatterplots, etc.) to summarize analytical findings in zooarchaeology began in earnest in the 1960s. The variety of graph types expanded in the 1970s as the diversity of zooarchaeological variables documented increased in an effort to answer new questions regarding human behavioral interactions with prey animals and, in the 1980s, to address taphonomic concerns. Newly available computer technology and increased knowledge of statistics, along with the general belief that numbers are objective measures of magnitude, facilitated this expansion. The mean number of graphs per page in zooarchaeology textbooks has remained static (statistically) over the past five decades. The mean number of graphs per page in taphonomy books is a bit greater than in the zooarchaeology texts but statistically no different. The paucity of detailed discussions of what makes for a good graph in the zooarchaeology literature parallels that in the archaeology literature in general. Each graph has its own more or less unique grammar, so rules of thumb for producing effective (minimum mental gymnastics required) and efficient (minimal ink used) graphs are outlined. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent anthropological interest in "animal work" has focused on contemporary human‐animal relations. This article explores the "provocation" of animal work in the deeper past through an analysis of human‐herd animal relations in the Late Bronze Age (1500–1100 BCE) in the South Caucasus. Zooarchaeological and isotopic data reveal unexpected traces of the complexity and diversity of human and animal labor, with implications for political life. Challenging the anthropocentrism of (zoo)archaeological practice, animal labor provides a starting point for repurposing standard tools to ask new questions. Engaging with critical ethnographic perspectives on (animal) work, I consider how the question of animal work in the deeper past raises important questions about labor prior to or outside of capitalism—and its relationship to hierarchy and inequality, and the implications for archaeology more broadly. This challenge to narratives, within and beyond archaeology, that treat production in the deeper past as the origin or a prototype of production and inequality under capitalism also undermines accounts that link contemporary human‐animal relations to an origin in the deep past. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Animal domestication is a profound change for human societies, economies, and worldviews. The shifting definitions of animal domestication reflect its varying and process-like nature. Reindeer is one of the species whose domestication is not easily pinned down using standard definitions and research methodologies of animal domestication. In recent years, advances in archaeological methodology and the conceptual understanding of animal domestication have opened new avenues for research on this topic. This review summarizes recent research on the archaeology of reindeer domestication among the Indigenous Sámi of northern Fennoscandia. It compiles a chronological framework of reindeer domestication with an emphasis on the development of reindeer-herding practices and human–reindeer relationships. I argue that while a major transition to reindeer herding occurred among the Sámi from the 15th century onward, small-scale reindeer herding characterized by interspecies sociality, cooperation, and care developed earlier during the Late Iron Age, with regional variations in the timing and details of the events. By focusing on reindeer-herding practices and the human–reindeer relationships embedded in them, I also argue that reindeer domestication, and animal domestication in general, is a relationship constructed and constantly renegotiated in everyday interactions with the animals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The spatio-temporal evolution of human subsistence strategies and their driving force in prehistoric Eurasia has received increasing attention with the rapid development of archaeobotanical, zooarchaeological, and isotopic research in recent decades, while studies focusing on the historical periods are relatively absent. In the Hexi Corridor in northwestern China, which has served as a hub for trans-Eurasian exchange since the late prehistoric period, archaeobotanical data have been reported from numerous Neolithic and Bronze Age sites, as well as sites from the Wei and Jin Dynasties (220–420 BCE) to the Yuan Dynasty (1271–1368 BCE). However, no archaeobotanical study has been conducted at sites of the Han Dynasty (202 BCE–220 CE), a crucial period connecting prehistoric and historical eras. In this study, we identified 32475 plant remains, including 31,463 broomcorn millets, 233 foxtail millets, and 780 weeds, from the Shuangdun North Beacon Tower (SDNBT) site of the Han Dynasty at the western end of the Hexi Corridor, suggesting that millets played a prominent part in human subsistence strategies in the area during this period. In addition, sheep, chicken, dog, horse, and rodent remains were also collected at the site. By applying a multi-disciplinary approach, we detected a remarkable change in plant-based subsistence in the ancient Hexi Corridor. Specifically, the importance of millet crops, compared with other crops (especially barley and wheat), in plant-based subsistence declined from the Late Neolithic to the Bronze Age; it apparently improved during the Han and Sui-Tang Dynasties (581–907 CE), when agricultural empires controlled the area, and then declined again during the Wei, Jin, Northern, and Southern Dynasties (220–581 CE) and the Song-Yuan Dynasty (960–1368 CE), when nomadic regimes controlled the area. Climate change, trans-Eurasian exchanges, and geopolitical shifts influenced the diachronic change in plant-based subsistence from the Late Neolithic to the historical periods in the Hexi Corridor. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

During the last forty years, the use of strontium isotopes in archaeology and biogeochemical research has spread widely. These isotopes, alone or in combination with others, can contribute to trace past and present environmental conditions. However, the interpretation of the isotopic values of strontium is not always simple and requires good knowledge of geochemistry and geology. This short paper on the use of strontium isotopes is aimed at those who use this tool (archaeologists, but not only) but who do not have a thorough knowledge of mineralogy, geology, and geochemistry necessary for a good understanding of natural processes involving these isotopes. We report basic knowledge and suggestions for the correct use of these isotopes. The isotopic characteristics of bio-assimilable strontium depend not so much on the isotopic characteristics of the bulk rock as, rather, on those of its more soluble minerals. Before studying human, animal and plant remains, the state of conservation and any conditions of isotopic pollution should be carefully checked. Samples should be collected according to random sampling rules. The data should be treated by a statistical approach. To make comparisons between different areas, it should be borne in mind that the study of current soils can be misleading since the mineralogical modification of soil over time can be very rapid. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Idioms illustrate special linguistic units since they reflect human wisdom in the perception of the world (Giang, 2023b). They have intertwined and transformed into archives of a community's culture in the past. Idioms also play a significant role in the linguistic ontologization of emotions such as happiness, sadness, anger, etc. Semantically, idioms in Vietnamese are all perceptively associated with typical images (Hanh, 2008), and idioms of happiness have their own happy images. The paper aims to investigate the happy images Vietnamese people perceive through idioms of happiness from a cultural perspective. This is a descriptive study that presents the theoretical background of Vietnamese idioms in general and the findings and discussion of happy images behind the idioms of happiness in particular. To gather the data, a hand search of Giang's (2018) collection of Vietnamese idioms was conducted to provide a corpus of 32 entries, from which three groups of happy images were identified. Results from this study show that happy images in Vietnamese perception through idioms of happiness derive from (i) animals, (ii) human body parts, and (iii) events and festivals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this article is to try to determine the probable cause of the disease from which the study animal suffered. The skeletal material included a caudal fragment of a cattle mandible. The specimen, exhibiting chronic disease was separated from approximately 10,000 early medieval cattle remains discovered during excavations of the former Kruszwica stronghold. The bone was underwent macroscopic, radiological and histopathological examination. Location, macroscopic, microscopic and X-ray images of the lesions within the examined mandible indicate it could have been caused by the actinomycosis. In the face of infection, no effective therapies were undertaken in the Middle Ages. Descriptions of lumpy jaw in the paleopathological literature are rare. This disease, due to its background and course, eliminated animals from breeding for centuries until the era of antibiotics. The case described in our paper is in an advanced stage, but its adult age suggests that efforts were possibly made to keep the cow alive as long as possible, indicating the significant economic importance of the animal. This analysis is limited by the absence of other anatomical elements of the affected animal, which impacts the interpretation of the palaeopathological bone. It is recommended that similar studies are conducted on better preserved and more numerous cattle assemblages. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study explores the presence and prevalence of working Rangifer tarandus tarandus (domestic reindeer) through entheseal changes present in Rangifer tarandus phalanges at the Sámi habitation sites of Juikenttä and Nukkumajoki, located in Finland and dating from the 14th to the 18th centuries. Modern samples (n = 23 phalanges, Rangifer tarandus fennicus ; n = 60 phalanges, Rangifer tarandus tarandus non-working; n = 72 phalanges, Rangifer tarandus tarandus working) with known life histories. Archaeological samples (n = 22 phalanges, Juikenttä; n = 118 phalanges, Nukkumajoki). We analysed entheseal changes on the first and second phalanges of both the thoracic and pelvic limbs. The minute movements of reindeer feet create entheseal changes which are specific to different activity patterns. This analysis was compared to the results obtained from long-bone analysis. Our results show the presence of working reindeer at both sites and are consistent with previous analysis of the long bones found at the site. This archaeological application of phalangeal entheseal changes suggests that reindeer phalanges may be used to assess both the presence and proportion of working animals in an assemblage. This study provides more evidence for the use of working reindeer as early as the 14th century in Northern Finland. This work also helps to provide archaeological evidence for Sámi subsistence patterns, as well as proving new tools for zooarchaeological assessment. Small sample size and taphonomy may affect assessment. Additionally, entheseal changes take time to envelope and may under-represent the number of working reindeer. Assessment of additional modern and archaeological samples. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we discuss bird bones from sixteen sites across Estonia, focusing on the Medieval and Early Modern Period (ca 1200â1800). Zooarchaeology, stable isotope analysis and Zooarchaeology by Mass Spectometry (ZooMS) are used to explore how the exploitation of birds has differed between sites of various functions and locations. The results demonstrate the ubiquity of the chicken as the most abundant avian species in most sites and periods under study. The goose and the duck were the second and third most common species identified in the assemblages. Species diversity was highest at castle sites, where the presence of different wild birds can be associated with higher social status; however, the use of several bird species is unlikely to be food-related. The most frequently discovered wild birds were the black grouse and the western capercaillie, which are also known to have been served at feasts. This paper presents the first comprehensive study of Estonian avian zooarchaeological material from various contexts, giving a better overview of the importance of birds to historical communities.

The cave site known as Matja Kuru 2 (MK2) in Timor-Leste was first occupied ∼40 kya. Of the caves investigated thus far in Timor-Leste MK2 is unique in being located proximal to a large freshwater lake, Ira Lalaro, providing the opportunity to examine changing occupation dynamics in a lakeside environment from the Late Pleistocene through to the late Holocene. We present the analysis of the Matja Kuru 2 assemblage including the stone, ochre, shell and bone artefacts, and the vertebrate and invertebrate remains. We discuss the challenges posed by cave deposits in tropical Island South East Asia which often preserve little in the way of identifiable stratigraphy. Such caves also present challenges in terms of disentangling what components of the faunal assemblage were deposited as meal refuse by humans, as opposed to by other predators or as a result of natural deaths. We suggest a method for assisting with this taphonomic conundrum.

Las Zanjillas (Torrejón de Velasco, Madrid) es un yacimiento Calcolítico precampaniforme ubicado en el valle medio del Tajo, caracterizado por más de 500 estructuras que incluyen silos y cubetas. Este estudio se centra en el análisis zooarqueológico y tafonómico de muestras óseas encontradas en este sitio. A diferencia de otras acumulaciones faunísticas en sitios precampaniformes de la región, aquí no se observan depósitos de individuos completos de animales; en cambio, se identifican acumulaciones de fauna de contextos domésticos, mayormente compuestas por restos de vacas y caprinos. Los análisis tafonómicos revelan la presencia de marcas de cortes en todos los taxones, indicando un aprovechamiento cárnico de los animales. No obstante, los patrones de mortalidad identificados en las distintas especies domésticas señalan un predominio de individuos adultos, lo que podría sugerir usos alternativos de las cabañas ganaderas más allá de su función exclusivamente cárnica. Este aspecto, sumado a las cronologías proporcionadas por el sitio, plantea un interesante punto de discusión que abordaremos en este trabajo. ABSTRACT: Las Zanjillas in Torrejón de Velasco (Madrid, Spain), is a pre-Bell beaker Chalcolithic site situated in the middle Tajo Valley, characterized by over 500 structures consisting of silos and basins. This study presents the zooarchaeological and taphonomic analysis of bone samples found at this location. In contrast to other faunal accumulations in other sites in the vicinity, complete individual deposits are not present here. Instead, accumulations of domestic contexts, primarily composed of cow and sheep remains, are identified. Taphonomic analyzes indicate cut marks on all taxa, suggesting a carnivorous utilization of the animals. However, mortality patterns identified across different domestic species highlight a prevalence of adult individuals, implying alternative uses for livestock cabins beyond their exclusive carnivorous function. This aspect, along with the chronologies provided by this site, raises an intriguing point of discussion that we will address in this study.