Course Description
Animal remains recovered from archaeological sites, studied in light of zoological and archaeological methods and theories and interpreted in terms of human and animal behavior.
Additional Requirements for Graduate Students:
Graduate students will be assigned more difficult and/or larger
samples. Their papers should be thoughtful, thorough, and
theoretical treatments of the assemblage studied. They will be
expected to present a preliminary (15 minute) version of their
papers to the class.
Athena Title
ZOOARCHAEOLOGY
Undergraduate Prerequisite
Permission of department
Graduate Prerequisite
Permission of department
Semester Course Offered
Offered every year.
Grading System
A - F (Traditional)
Course Objectives
• To identify and compare general theory, site formation processes, basic archaeological field techniques, and the disciplines that contribute to zooarchaeology, particularly as they apply to zoological evidence of human/environmental relationships • To identify and compare strengths and weaknesses in the materials, methods, and techniques used in zooarchaeology • To identify and compare the contributions zooarchaeology makes to studies of the relationships between humans and their environments and to the studies of current environmental issues by documenting historical trends • To practice professional-level research skills needed to do lab-based research in zooarchaeology. These skills include: 1) identification of mammal, bird, reptile, amphibian, and fish remains 2)quantification of archaeofaunal remains using common zooarchaeological methods; and 3)interpretation of the results in terms of human behavior and environmental relationships
Topical Outline
Lectures: Introduction to Zooarchaeology Vertebrate Taxonomy and Comparative Osteology Comparative Osteology #1 Comparative Osteology #2 Ecology First and Second Order Changes Primary data #1 Primary data #2 Primary data #3 Secondary Data #1 Secondary Data #2 Secondary Data #3 Humans as Predators Past Environments Integration and Conclusions Labs: Mammal osteology (class; element; left/right) (1 wk) Bird osteology (proximal/distal) (1 wk) Reptile and Amphibian osteology (epiphysis/diaphysis) (1 wk) Shark, Ray, and Fish osteology (MNI; simple interpretation) (1 wk) Lab exercise in recording primary data using hypothetical collection (3 wks) Lab exercise in recording secondary data using hypothetical collection (3 wks) Lab work specific to the class project and review of class project (6 wks)
Syllabus