Introduction

2020 ◽  
pp. 1-35
Author(s):  
Shibani Bose
Keyword(s):  
Archaeological Sites ◽  
Faunal Remains ◽  
Rock Paintings ◽  
Ecological Importance

This chapter sets the stage for the narrative which ensues by delineating the ecological importance of megafauna, and underlining the importance of the period chosen for study. It is also a historiographical sketch of the ways in which studies on animals have been approached. This is followed by an elucidation of the sources used by the study to reconstruct the histories of these mega mammals. These include multiple prisms ranging from faunal remains retrieved from archaeological sites, visual depictions in the form of rock paintings, seals, and terracottas to the formidable corpus of Sanskrit, Pali, Prakrit, and classical Western accounts.

scholarly journals Notes on distribution and relative abundances of some animal species, and on climate in the Kruger National Park during prehistoric times

Koedoe ◽  
1989 ◽  
Vol 32 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ina Plug
Keyword(s):  
National Park ◽  
Animal Species ◽  
Climatic Conditions ◽  
Kruger National Park ◽  
Archaeological Sites ◽  
Animal Population ◽  
Faunal Remains ◽  
The Past ◽  
Relative Abundances ◽  
Insight Into

Faunal remains obtained from archaeological sites in the Kruger National Park, provide valuable information on the distributions of animal species in the past. The relative abundances of some species are compared with animal population statistics of the present. The study of the faunal samples, which date from nearly 7 000 years before present until the nineteenth century, also provides insight into climatic conditions during prehistoric times.

Human and Dog Consumption of Fish on the Lower Ob River of Siberia: Evidence for a Major Freshwater Reservoir Effect at the Ust’-Polui Site

Radiocarbon ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 60 (1) ◽  
pp. 239-260 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert J Losey ◽  
Lacey S Fleming ◽  
Tatiana Nomokonova ◽  
Andrei V Gusev ◽  
Natalia V Fedorova ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Stable Isotope ◽  
Age Differences ◽  
Dietary Patterns ◽  
Fish Bone ◽  
Archaeological Sites ◽  
Faunal Remains ◽  
Siberian Arctic ◽  
Freshwater Reservoir ◽  
Age Range ◽  
Stable Isotope Data

AbstractUst’-Polui is one of the most extensively studied archaeological sites in the western Siberian Arctic. New radiocarbon (14C) dates for charcoal, faunal remains, bark, hide, and human bone from this site are presented. When modeled, the charcoal dates span from ~260 BC to 140 AD, overlapping with the dendrochronology dates from the site. These dates also overlap with the expected age of the site based on artefact typology. 14C dates on reindeer bone have a slightly younger modeled age range, from ~110 BC to 350 AD. In contrast, dates on the site’s numerous dog remains, and on human and fish bone, all predate these modeled age ranges by over 500 years, despite being from the same deposits. Several sets of paired dates demonstrate significant age differences. Bone dates with lower δ13C values tend to be over 500 years older than those with higher δ13C values. Stable isotope data for the humans, dogs, and other faunal remains are also presented. These data suggest the dogs and the humans were regularly consuming freshwater fish. The dogs were probably fed fish by their human counterparts. Overall, the dog and human dietary patterns at Ust’-Polui created 14C dates biased with major freshwater reservoir effects.

Bison Procurement in the Far West: A 2,100-Year-Old Kill Site on the Columbia Plateau

1995 ◽  
Vol 60 (4) ◽  
pp. 751-763 ◽  
Author(s):  
James C. Chatters ◽  
Sarah K. Campbell ◽  
Grant D. Smith ◽  
Phillip E. Minthorn
Keyword(s):  
Channel Wall ◽  
Columbia River ◽  
Archaeological Sites ◽  
Faunal Remains ◽  
Columbia Plateau ◽  
Stone Artifacts ◽  
Local Topography ◽  
Evidence Analysis ◽  
Kill Site ◽  
Game Hunting

Bison bones are found in Columbia Plateau archaeological sites from throughout the Holocene, yet no information on people's tactics for procuring them has yet been reported. The discovery of the Tsulim Site, a 2,100-year-old bison kill near the Columbia River in central Washington, has provided the opportunity to investigate those tactics. Despite the deteriorated state of the evidence, analysis of stone artifacts, faunal remains, and site geology revealed that at least eight animals were killed in the apex of a parabolic dune during the early to mid-winter by hunters using both atlatl and bow. Local topography and meteorology make it most likely that the herd was encountered in a low paleochannel, driven northward between the limbs of the dune, up the steep channel wall, and into the kill area, a sort of inverted buffalo jump. Results not only illuminate the large-game hunting practices of the Plateau peoples, but also point out how much can be learned from disturbed, low-density scatters of debris that are often dismissed as insignificant.

scholarly journals Insect Marks on Bones from La Guillerma Archaeological Locality (Salado River Depression, Buenos Aires, Argentina)

Quaternary ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 4 (4) ◽  
pp. 45
Author(s):  
Paula D. Escosteguy ◽  
Alejandro E. Fernandez ◽  
María Isabel González
Keyword(s):  
Detailed Analysis ◽  
Buenos Aires ◽  
Total Sample ◽  
Archaeological Sites ◽  
Buenos Aires Province ◽  
Faunal Remains ◽  
Faunal Assemblage ◽  
Different Types ◽  
Salado River ◽  
Bone Remains

The La Guillerma archaeological locality is located in the northeast sector of Buenos Aires province (Argentina). Two of its sites (LG1 and LG5), dated between ca. 1400- and 600-years BP, have a great amount of faunal remains including deer, rodents, fish and small birds that are subjected to taphonomic agents and processes (e.g., weathering, manganese, roots). Previous studies have shown osteophagic behaviour in different insects (e.g., Coleoptera, Blattodea). In this paper, we evaluate their incidence on La Guillerma faunal assemblage. We performed an analysis on marks that were identified in bone remains of various taxa and applied the criteria for identifying bone alteration by insects (i.e., by measuring each trace and comparing them with the types of insect marks described in the literature). Fifteen specimens (LG1 = 6 and LG5 = 9) exhibited different types of modifications (e.g., pits with striae in base, pits with emanating striae, striations) that are related to the action of insects. Although the proportion of affected bones is low in relation to the total sample, we highlight our study as the first detailed analysis of insect marks on archaeological bones from Argentina. We also emphasize the significance of addressing insect-produced modifications on Argentinean archaeological sites.

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.

THE ARCHAEOLOGICAL SITES OF MIRZAPUR

2019 ◽  
Vol 7 (11) ◽  
pp. 229-234
Author(s):  
Akanksha Singh ◽  
K. Ratanam
Keyword(s):  
Archaeological Sites ◽  
Heterogeneous Environment ◽  
Life Process ◽  
Dark Ages ◽  
Aesthetic Sense ◽  
Wide Scale ◽  
Rock Paintings ◽  
Unknown Period

The prehistoric man's era, which is reflected in the name of the Dark Ages, is also called from the unknown period, and the script was not invented in this period, in which case the human means of expressing his inner feelings in the pictures. Created, executed what he saw or felt, through the observation of these pictures, the knowledge of the prehistoric human's struggling life process and heterogeneous environment is gained, the idea of ​​depicting how he struggles with so many odd situations It must have come and not just the idea, how to invent such a wide scale illustration, but far ahead of these ideas of ours, prehistoric humans gave us proof of their original origin and aesthetic sense through the medium of rock paintings. प्रागैतिहासिक काल के मानव का काल जो अंधकार युग के नाम से प्रतिबिम्बित है, को अज्ञात काल से भी पुकारा जाता है, और इस काल में लिपि का अविष्कार नही हआ था, इस स्थिति में मानव ने अपनी आन्तरिक भावनाओं को प्रकट करने का माध्यम चित्रों को बनाया, उसने जो देखा या महसूस किया, उसे चित्रों के माध्यम से निष्पादित किया, इन चित्रों के अवलोकन से प्रागैतिहासिक मानव के संघर्षपूर्ण जीवन प्रक्रिया तथा विषमगत वातावरण का ज्ञान प्राप्त होता है, कैसे इतनी विषम परिस्थितियों से संघर्ष करते करते उसे चित्रण करने का विचार आया होगा और सिर्फ विचार ही नही, इतने व्यापक पैमाने पर चित्रण का अविष्कार कैसे किया होगा, किन्तु हमारे इन विचारों से बहुत आगे, प्रागैतिहासिक मानव ने अपनी मौलिक उद्भावना एवं सौन्दर्य बोध का प्रमाण हमें शैल चित्रों के माध्यम से दिया।

Archaeological Significance of Rabbit-Raptor Interactions in Southern California

1989 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 123-139 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bryan Scott Hockett
Keyword(s):  
North America ◽  
Southern California ◽  
Human Action ◽  
Archaeological Sites ◽  
Faunal Remains ◽  
Lacustrine Environment ◽  
End Effects ◽  
Subsistence Strategies ◽  
Diagnostic Characteristics ◽  
Over Time

Taphonomy of small fauna is not as well known as actualistic studies performed with large faunal remains. Yet small fauna like rabbit may dominate an archaeological assemblage. Small fauna was a primary meat source for many prehistoric groups in North America. Raptors also damage and disperse rabbit bones. Taphonomic research with rabbit-raptor interactions was undertaken in a lacustrine environment in southern California to determine the role played by raptors in damaging and dispersing rabbit bones which may subsequently be introduced into archaeological sites. Raptors often damage, disperse, and accumulate rabbit bones in a number of areas, including open-air localities and within abandoned human structures. Potential diagnostic characteristics of rabbit bones damaged by raptors are offered as baseline end-effects of raptors exploiting rabbit carcasses. Archaeologists can compare rabbit bones excavated from archaeological sites to these bones known to be damaged by raptors. This information is crucial to archaeologists for accurately interpreting rabbit bones modified by human action, and thus past subsistence strategies over time.

scholarly journals Archaeobiogeography of extinct rice rats (Oryzomyini) in the Lesser Antilles during the Ceramic Age (500 BCE–1500 CE)

The Holocene ◽  
2020 ◽  
pp. 095968362097278
Author(s):  
Marine Durocher ◽  
Violaine Nicolas ◽  
Sophia Perdikaris ◽  
Dominique Bonnissent ◽  
Gwenola Robert ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Lesser Antilles ◽  
Archaeological Sites ◽  
Human Consumption ◽  
Human Populations ◽  
Long Distance ◽  
Geometric Morphometric ◽  
The North ◽  
Ceramic Age ◽  
Ecological Importance

During the Ceramic Age (500 BCE–1500 CE), Lesser Antilles rice rats (Tribe Oryzomyini) made up a significant portion of the diet of Caribbean islanders. Archaeological excavations across the archipelago resulted to the discovery of large quantities of remains from to these now extinct taxa. It offers a unique opportunity to investigate the past biogeography of this taxon of high cultural and ecological importance. We have studied 1140 first lower molars originating from 40 archaeological sites across eleven islands of the Lesser Antilles archipelago using two-dimensional geometric morphometric approaches to establish spatiotemporal patterns relying on phenotypic variations. This study identified three morphological groups, present in all chrono-cultural periods, that were geographically restricted and consistent with published ancient mitochondrial DNA clusters. These three geographically-separate groups likely represent three distinct genera of rice rats. The first group includes specimens from the North of the archipelago (Saint-Martin, Saba, Saint-Eustatius, Saint-Kitts, and Nevis) and likely referable to as Pennatomys sp.; the second, occurring in the South (Martinique), is assigned to Megalomys desmarestii; and the third corresponds to specimens from the center of the Lesser Antilles (Antigua, Barbuda, Marie-Galante, and Guadeloupe) and likely corresponds to Antillomys sp. These oryzomyine morphotypes are present during all studied periods and support an older presence of these rodents in the region. Our results are congruent with ancient DNA studies that favor the hypothesis of a natural introduction of the group in the archipelago before settlement of human populations. Moreover, the observed phenotypic homogeneity and stability over the 2000 years of Pre-Columbian occupation suggests that rice rats were not part of long-distance inter-island exchanges by humans. Instead, rice rat human consumption was likely based on in-situ hunting of local populations.

Shellfish Feeders, Carrion Eaters, and the Archaeology of Aquatic Adaptations

2001 ◽  
Vol 66 (3) ◽  
pp. 413-432 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jon M. Erlandson ◽  
Madonna L. Moss
Keyword(s):  
Animal Species ◽  
Archaeological Sites ◽  
Human Origin ◽  
Faunal Remains ◽  
Aquatic Animals ◽  
Natural Sources ◽  
Aquatic Fauna ◽  
Potential Sources ◽  
Archaeological Materials

Numerous taphonomic studies show that archaeologists should carefully evaluate the origins of faunal remains found in archaeological sites. Although extensive research has been done on natural sources of terrestrial faunal remains in archaeological sites, much less has been devoted to potential sources of aquatic fauna. Hundreds of animal species feed on shellfish, fish, and other aquatic fauna, and many transport food to terrestrial landforms where they may be mixed or confused with faunal remains left by humans. In this paper, we illustrate the problem by summarizing the habits of a number of animals known to feed on and transport shellfish and other aquatic animals. We also discuss examples where the remains of aquatic animals of non-human origin may have been confused with archaeological materials. Such biological imprints may be most pronounced on early sites, where questions about the antiquity of aquatic adaptations are paramount.

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