Topic 8: Zooarchaeology

Question 1

What is a specimen?

Answer 1

• an Isolated bone, tooth, shell ect.
• can be complete or in fragments

Question 2

What is an element?

Answer 2

• single, complete bone, tooth, shell, ect

Question 3

What is a sample?

Answer 3

• multiple faunal specimens of various taxa in the same area

Question 4

What is a collection?

Answer 4

• all samples from a single time period from a single site

Question 5

What is an assemblage?

Answer 5

• When a site has multiple occupations representing different time periods within a site

Question 6

What is the cranium?

Answer 6

• skull and mandible (jaw bone)

Question 7

what kind of bones are the leg or hind limb bones?

Answer 7

• femur, tibia, and fibula

Question 8

What kind of bones are the arm or forelimb bones?

Answer 8

• Humerus, radius, ulna

Question 9

what are the three steps to the analysis/identification of faunal specimens?

Answer 9

• Determine what element is present (side (left or right) and portion (if fragments)), record anatomical traits
• attribute to taxonomic category using morphological features and geographic area
• compare to skeleton reference collection or photographs

Question 10

How is morphological variation in teeth used to determine diet?

Answer 10

• carnivores have incisors, large canines, and long premolars all uses to tear and rip flesh
• herbivores have “crowded” premolars and molars, used for grinding vegetable matter
• additionally, dental microware can tell us if an organisms ate harder or softer foods

Question 11

How can we assign sex in faunal specimens?

Answer 11

• size differences (sexual dimorphism)
• pelvis shape
• baculum (penis bone)
• spurs
• antlers
• medullary bone

Question 12

How can we age faunal specimens?

Answer 12

• degree of suture closer on bones, such as the fusion of the epiphyses
• toot eruption or ware
• growth rings (in teeth, claws, shells, horns ect)
• size

Question 13

What is NISP? How do we identify NISP?

Answer 13

NISP= number of identified specimens. It is the total number of identified bones in a single taxa
- to calculate you just add up all elements of a single taxa

Question 14

What is MNI? How do we calculate MNI?

Answer 14

MNI = Minimum number of individuals. This measures the minimum number of animals represented in an assemblage
1. Identify all elements in an assemblage
2. identify number of elements in a single individual (ex 1 skull per bison)
3. calculate the MNI for all elements of the same species in an assemblage (3 right tibia/1 right tibia per bison = 3 individuals)
4. the highest value is the MNI

Question 15

What are some of the types of faunal deposits?

Answer 15

• kill, collection, or processing sites (animals harvested from their environments)
• residential refuse (middens and waste sites)
• intentional burial (pets)

Question 16

What is taphonomy? What are some of the kinds of taphonomy?

Answer 16

• taphonomy is any process that alters the appearance of an animal bone.
• can be cultural: such as killing, skinning, butchering, cooking, ect
• can be from animals: gnawing, digestion, trampling
• can be environmental: climate, temperature, weathering, root etching

Question 17

What can the analysis of faunal remains tell us about human behavior in the past?

Answer 17

• can tell us about trade and consumption practices
• can tell us cultural/ethnic/status differences

Question 18

What is ethnoarchaeology?

Answer 18

• Ethnographic information can provide us with details about human relationships with animals, such as how food is cooked, how refuse is discarded, how people butcher carcasses’, ect.
• ethnographic observations also provide information about herd management practices, food prohibitions, ect.
• in combination with zooarchaeology, we can paint a picture how how human and animal relationships in the past looked like.