Zooarchaeology Flashcards
How do archaeofaunas differ from paleontological assemblages
Because humans could have a hand in archaeofauna findings.
What is an archaeofauna?
Something that consists of the animal bones recovered from an archaeological site.
The two major archaeological contexts that animal bones turn up in
At a kill or butchering site or in camps and villages
What do archaeologists do after recovering a archaeofauna site
A faunal analysis done by a zoo archaeologist
Who found the agate basin site
William spencer
What was found at the agate basin site
Spear points and bison bones
What is the element in faunal analysis
A specific skeletal part of the body for example a humerus
What is taxon
The classification of skeletal element to a taxonomic category like a species
How many animal size classes are there
Rodent/rabbit size, wolf/antelope size, mule/deer/bighorn sheep size, bison/elk size, giraffe/hippos/elephant size
What is comparative collections
A skeletal collection of modern fauna of both sexes and different ages to identify archaeofauna
What is a way to tell different taxons were deposited by humans
If bones bear stone tool cut marks, if they were burned, impact fractures,
What does NISP stand for
Number of identified specimens
What does NISP count
The total number of bones from one category found
What does MNI stand for
Minimum number of individuals
What is an axial skeleton
The head, mandible, vertebrae, ribs, sacrum and tail or the animal
What is an appendicular skeleton
All parts of the animal excluding the axial skeleton
What did they find at the keatley Creek site
Many fish bones from three different species of salmon
What did analyzing seven vertebrae at keatley Creek show a strong correlation between
The correlation between house size and age distribution of salmon species
What did dongya yang Camilla speller and brain Hayden do
Do used ancient salmon DNA from Keatley Creek to test it’s different species of salmon were used by different social hierarchies
How was dongya yang contributions important
It contributed to how archaeofaunas are used in archaeology to help piece together what the society was like at the time
What is the Paleoethnobotanist
An archaeologist who specializes in recovering and identifying plant remains from ancient contexts focusing on the world of plant people interactions
What are macro botanical remains
Readily recognizable plant parts
How are part remains preserved
By being burned or carbonized or preserves in waterlogged contexts, sun-dried adobe bricks, waddle and daub walls, and ceramics.
What are coprolites
Desiccated feces often containing macro botanical remains such as: pollen.
What is Palynology
A technique through which the fossil pollen grains and spores from archaeological sitesare studied
What is one important method of learning about plants in ancient sites
Fight…
