Taphonomy of owl pellet deposition

1990 ◽  
Vol 64 (4) ◽  
pp. 629-637 ◽  
Author(s):  
Karla D. Kusmer
Keyword(s):  
Small Animal ◽  
Archaeological Sites ◽  
Skeletal Element ◽  
Animal Remains ◽  
Owl Pellets

Remains derived from owl pellets are a major source of small-animal remains in paleontological and archaeological sites. Pellet remains are examined here to further develop workable strategies for extracting taphonomic information from microvertebrate assemblages. Study of the remains of three wild owl species yielded characteristic patterns of bone fragmentation and skeletal element representation. At the assemblage level, owl-derived assemblages are shown to differ quantitatively from other assemblages. The possible variability to be expected in owl-derived assemblages is examined and the patterns are contrasted with those produced by other depositional agents. The patterns can be useful in the identification of owl-deposited remains in some assemblages; however, overlap with patterns produced by other mechanisms may complicate analysis.

Flotation Techniques for the Recovery of Small-Scale Archaeological Remains

1968 ◽  
Vol 33 (3) ◽  
pp. 353-362 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stuart Struever
Keyword(s):  
Small Animal ◽  
Archaeological Sites ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Water Separation ◽  
Small Plant ◽  
Animal Remains ◽  
Animal Bone ◽  
Animal Bones ◽  
Plant Remains ◽  
Flotation Technique

AbstractThis paper outlines the procedures and equipment necessary for applying a simple flotation technique to recover animal bone, seeds, and other small cultural remains lost in the normal screening of soils from archaeological sites. Soil is initially processed in the field by a water-separation technique. The resulting concentrate is later treated, in the laboratory, by chemical flotation, to separate faunal from plant remains.This simple, inexpensive technique enables processing of soil in quantity, thereby allowing recovery of small plant and animal remains from midden or feature fills where they occur in very low densities.It is argued that, without use of such a flotation procedure, inferences about prehistoric subsistence patterns from faunal and floral remains are sharply biased in favor of larger animals and in favor of hunting, over natural plant food collecting, since conventional screens are not adequate for recovery of most plant remains or small animal bones.

scholarly journals Biodiversity of Early Holocene large mammals from the territory of Bulgaria according to remains from archaeological sites

2019 ◽  
Vol 2 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nadezhda Karastoyanova
Keyword(s):  
Early Holocene ◽  
General Idea ◽  
Archaeological Sites ◽  
Large Mammals ◽  
General Picture ◽  
Wild Mammals ◽  
Animal Remains ◽  
Good Sample ◽  
Major Factors

Animal remains from archeological sites give a rather good sample of data, showing habitats and biodiversity during the early Holocene . In multiple settlements in the Eastern Balkans, there are numerous remains of wild mammals that were hunted by humans through the prehistory (7200-5800 BP). This gives a general idea of the habitats around and near the settlements. Such deposits of animal remains are the main source of data on fauna during this period and give us information on the processes leading to the extinction of some species. This paper analyzes more than 26000 animal remains (bones, horns, antlers and teeth) from large mammals from orders: Аrtiodactyla, Perissodactyla and Carnivora from 4 still unpublished deposits from Bulgaria. I summarize data from already published remains from 33 sites in East Balkans. These analyses provide a general picture of both habitats and biodiversity and some of the major factors that caused extinction of some large mammals in Bulgaria during the early Holocene.

Bone Remains from Archaeological Sites in the Podravina Area with Traces of Metallurgical Activity

2021 ◽  
pp. 227-232
Author(s):  
Snježana Kužir ◽  
Lucija Bastiančić ◽  
Nikolina Škvorc
Keyword(s):  
Middle Ages ◽  
Late Antiquity ◽  
Archaeological Sites ◽  
Primary Analysis ◽  
Species Determination ◽  
Early Middle Ages ◽  
Animal Remains ◽  
Bone Remains

The studied material includes animal remains from the four archaeological sites in the Podravina region of Croatia. The animal remains originate from sites with traces of metallurgical activity as well as from some settlement features which were also investigated. According to C14 analysis, and comparison with archaeological finds excavated in the vicinity of Torčec, the majority of the finds date from the period of Late Antiquity and the early Middle Ages. At all four sites, the animal remains were damaged, sporadic findings, which made a complete archaeozoological analysis impossible. A descriptive primary analysis (element representation and taxonomic interpretation) was carried out. At all sites the remains were mainly from domestic mammals. One fragment of a bird bone was also found, but species determination was not possible. Particular attention was paid to the taphonomic effects on the bones.

Archaeozoology: Methods

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Veerle Linseele
Keyword(s):  
Human Life ◽  
Rapid Development ◽  
Mesh Size ◽  
Archaeological Sites ◽  
Complete Understanding ◽  
The Past ◽  
Animal Remains ◽  
Efficient Communication ◽  
Additional Loss ◽  
Taphonomic Processes

Archaeozoology is the study of animal remains, mainly bones and other hard parts, from archaeological sites. It contributes to a more complete understanding of various aspects of human life in the past. Ideally, archaeozoologists, like other specialists, should be involved in the entire process of an archaeological research project, from its design, to fieldwork and data collecting, to final reporting and publication. For efficient communication and fruitful collaboration, the archaeologists involved in this process need to understand the basics of archaeozoological methodology and the range of questions that the discipline can answer. Methods vary among archaeozoologists—not least with regard to quantification—and it is important to be aware of these differences and their possible impact on results when comparing data for different sites. While the actual analysis of animal remains is done by the archaeozoologists, preferably in circumstances where they have access to a comparative collection of recent animal skeletons, the excavation and collection of remains is often the responsibility of the archaeologists. Animal remains are affected by a host of taphonomic processes of loss that are beyond our control. To avoid additional loss of information at the fieldwork stage, appropriate methods are particularly important. The use of sieves with a mesh size no greater than 2 mm is essential in order not to miss the smaller, but no less informative, animal remains. Project leaders play an important role in providing good storage facilities for archaeozoological remains after excavation and after study. With the rapid development in analytical methods, it can be extremely interesting to return to previously studied remains and sample them.

On the Methodology of Faunal Analysis

1973 ◽  
Vol 38 (4) ◽  
pp. 432-439 ◽  
Author(s):  
Donald K. Grayson
Keyword(s):  
Archaeological Sites ◽  
Faunal Analysis ◽  
Reliable Analysis ◽  
Animal Remains ◽  
Minimum Number ◽  
Minimum Number Of Individuals ◽  
Minimum Numbers ◽  
Faunal Studies ◽  
Number Of Individuals ◽  
Proper Unit

AbstractAlthough faunal analysis has a long history in archaeological studies, little emphasis has been placed upon the development of methodologies which would allow the valid and reliable analysis of animal remains from archaeological sites. The most crucial decision which a faunal analyst must make as regards the statistical manipulation of his data concerns the proper unit to use in that manipulation. The 2 units which seem to have gained most popularity in faunal studies are discussed, as are the generally non-comparable results which stem from the various ways in which 1 of these units—the minimum number of individuals—has been applied. Finally, suggestions for the standardization of the use of minimum numbers in faunal analysis are made.

The Relative Value of Fragmentary Mammalian Remains

1961 ◽  
Vol 26 (4) ◽  
pp. 538-540 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. J. Olsen
Keyword(s):  
Diagnostic Value ◽  
Archaeological Sites ◽  
Limb Bones ◽  
Foot Bones ◽  
Animal Remains ◽  
Relative Value

AbstractThe diagnostic value of animal remains from archaeological sites is discussed in the following order of importance of the various osteological elements which can be used for interpreting the fauna they represent: teeth, skull fragments, articular ends of limb bones, foot bones, portions of the pectoral and pelvic girdles, and vertebrae.

A Comment on Nomenclature in Faunal Studies

1981 ◽  
Vol 46 (1) ◽  
pp. 192-194 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sandra L. Olsen ◽  
John W. Olsen
Keyword(s):  
Broad Spectrum ◽  
Archaeological Sites ◽  
Faunal Remains ◽  
Animal Remains ◽  
Current Usage ◽  
Faunal Studies

The study of faunal remains from archaeological sites has been described using a variety of terms including: zooarchaeology, archaeozoology, osteoarchaeology, and ethnozoology. With such a broad spectrum of terms in current usage, we feel that the contradictions and errors inherent in some of this nomenclature need to be corrected. We prefer the term zooarchaeology, as a contraction of the word zoologico-archaeology proposed by Lubbock in 1865, to define the study of animal remains from archaeological sites and their relationship to humans.

scholarly journals Animal remains from the el-Hamra Christian complex in the el-Ga'ab Depression, West Dongola (Sudan)

2019 ◽  
pp. 455-464
Author(s):  
Hamad Mohamed Hamdeen ◽  
Yahia Fadl Tahir
Keyword(s):  
Small Mammals ◽  
Nutritional Value ◽  
Ovis Aries ◽  
Capra Hircus ◽  
Archaeological Sites ◽  
Sheep And Goats ◽  
Early Christian ◽  
Melanoides Tuberculata ◽  
Animal Remains ◽  
Mollusk Species

The animal remains discussed in this paper come from three archaeological sites in the el‑Hamra Christian complex, excavated within the frame of the el‑Ga'ab Depression archaeological, ethnographical and ecological project. During two seasons in 2013/2014 and 2014/2015, a team directed by Yahia Fadl Tahir collected and examined a total of 89 mammal, five ostrich egg and 16 mollusk remains. The bone assemblage was divided into seven groups representing the most and least attractive parts of the carcass in terms of nutritional value. Identified species include sheep (Ovis aries) and goat (Capra hircus), while other animal remains include ostrich egg fragments and mollusk species: Pila ovata, Melanoides tuberculata and Lanistes carinatus. Similarities can be observed in livestock husbandry and subsistence patterns in the early Christian period in the Dongola region, where the economy depended on small mammals like sheep and goats to provide milk and meat.

scholarly journals An annotated check list of the land mammal fauna of the West Coast National Park

Koedoe ◽  
1990 ◽  
Vol 33 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
D.M. Avery ◽  
I.L. Rautenbach ◽  
R.M. Randall
Keyword(s):  
Small Mammal ◽  
National Park ◽  
Small Samples ◽  
Archaeological Sites ◽  
Mammal Species ◽  
Interesting Insight ◽  
Land Mammal ◽  
Observational Techniques ◽  
Initial List ◽  
Owl Pellets

Some 4 000 Barn Owl pellets with small mammal remains have been collected over a period of nine years from two locations at the south end of the Langebaan lagoon. Two small samples of bones from archaeological sites on the Churchhaven peninsula provide evidence for past mammal occurrences. The remains of small mammals from the owl pellet collections provide an initial list of 18 species that occur within theWest Coast National Park. Subsequent conventional censusing by means of trapping and observational techniques to assess the small and large mammal species diversity of the area were conducted during 1989. This study documents the definite occurrence of 63 mammal species in the park, seven of which are exotics. The presence of a further five species requires confirmation. Interesting insight is gained into how direct censusing and owl pellet analyses augment each other in establishing the presence of small mammal taxa of an area.

Intertaxonomic Variability in Patterns of Bone Density and the Differential Representation of Bovid, Cervid, and Equid Elements in the Archaeological Record

1999 ◽  
Vol 64 (2) ◽  
pp. 343-362 ◽  
Author(s):  
Y. M. Lam ◽  
Xingbin Chen ◽  
O. M. Pearson
Keyword(s):  
Bone Density ◽  
Rangifer Tarandus ◽  
Archaeological Sites ◽  
Skeletal Element ◽  
Selective Treatment ◽  
Equus Burchelli ◽  
Proxy Measure ◽  
Behavioral Attributes ◽  
Survival Patterns ◽  
Destructive Processes

Intertaxonomic differences in skeletal element representation in archaeological faunas may reflect preferences in the procurement, processing, transport, and/or consumption of these species by prehistoric foragers. However, the possibility that they also may result from preservational bias must be addressed before behavioral attributes of human hunters may be inferred. For example, at many archaeological sites, the remains of equids exhibit a different pattern of skeletal element representation than those of bovids and cervids. To evaluate the significance of such differences, this study examines intertaxonomic variability in patterns of bone density, the attribute most commonly employed as a proxy measure of resistance to destructive processes. Density data derived for a bovid (Connachaetes taurinus), a cervid (Rangifer tarandus), and two species of equid (Equus burchelli and E. przewalskii) exhibited very similar patterns, suggesting that values for one species may be used to interpret the survival patterns for other species of generally similar morphology. The differences in skeletal element representation between bovid, cervid, and equid species observed in archaeological faunas do not correspond with bone density and thus likely indicate selective treatment by human or other biotic agents.

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