Zooarchaeology
Zooarchaeology
Experience the eBook and the associated online resources on our new Higher Education website.
Go to site
For other formats please stay on this page.
This is an introductory text for students interested in identification and analysis of animal remains from archaeological sites. The emphasis is on animals whose remains inform us about the relationship between humans and their natural and social environments, especially site formation processes, subsistence strategies, the processes of domestication, and paleoenvironments. Examining examples from all over the world, from the Pleistocene period up to the present, this volume is organized in a way that is parallel to faunal study, beginning with background information, bias in a faunal assemblage, and basic zooarchaeological methods. This revised edition reflects developments in zooarchaeology during the past decade. It includes sections on enamel ultrastructure and incremental analysis, stable isotyopes and trace elements, ancient genetics and enzymes, environmental reconstruction, people as agents of environmental change, applications of zooarchaeology in animal conservation and heritage management, and a discussion of issues pertaining to the curation of archaeofaunal materials.
- Covers a wide range of organisms, not included in other texts, for example vertebrate classes, molluscs and crustaceans, providing readers with a thoroughly rigorous examination of the field
- Global in scope and includes examples from the Pleistocene into the nineteenth century A. D.
- Combines a strong biological basis with anthropological interpretations with an extensive bibliography
Reviews & endorsements
'Students of zooarchaeology and seasoned practitioners alike will derive great benefit from this new edition of a classic work. Reitz and Wing have combined their considerable talents and decades of experience to produce a volume that is useful at every level. Issues particular to zooarchaeology are covered with clarity and thoroughness, while matters of general concern to the discipline, such as sampling, are prominently featured, making the book an excellent reference work. … All archaeologists are indebted to the authors for producing such a worthy volume: I encourage them to repay the debt by purchasing it.' Journal of Archaeological Science
Product details
March 2008Paperback
9780521673938
560 pages
251 × 178 × 30 mm
1.02kg
Available
Table of Contents
- 1. Zooarchaeology
- 2. Zooarchaeological history and theory
- 3. Basic biology
- 4. Ecology
- 5. Disposal of faunal remains and sample recovery
- 6. Gathering primary data
- 7. Secondary data
- 8. Humans as predators: subsistence strategies and other uses of animals
- 9. Control of animals through domestication
- 10. Evidences for past environmental conditions
- 11. Conclusions.
