Contained in:
  • Florentia
  • Edited by Michele Nucciotti, Elisa Pruno
Book Chapter

Zooarcheology: animals talk, just to complete the story

  • Paul Mazza

Zooarcheology is a Frankenstein hybrid, born from the ribs of a myriad of disciplines. Its research focuses on animal remains from archeological contexts under an anthropological perspective with the primary and ultimate object of gaining information about human behavior. It has been, and often still is, considered a subdiscipline of archeology. And yet, it has the potential to greatly contribute to the advancement of knowledge in archeology. By using a variety of analytical methods, it provides independent lines of complementary scientific evidence from archeofaunal, geological, and sedimentary archives. It can yield detailed information on the environments in which past peoples lived, as well as on the intensity of human impacts on landscapes, on past human diets and on their evolution through time. It can also provide insights into the nature of the social organization of the people. All this reveals zooarcheology in a role that has not often been recognized.

  • Keywords:
  • Zooarchaeology,
  • archaeofauna,
  • taphonomy,
  • actualism,
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Paul Mazza

University of Florence, Italy - ORCID: 0000-0002-7664-3307

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  2. Binford, L.R. 1987, Researching ambiguity: Frames of reference and site structure, in Kent S., Method and theory for area research: An ethnoarchaeological approach, Columbia University Press, New York: 449-512.
  3. Binford, L.R. 2001, Constructing frames of reference: An analytical method for archaeological theory building using hunter-gatherer and environmental data sets, University of California Press, Berkeley.
  4. Clark J. and Kietzke K.K. 1967, Paleoecology of the Lower Nodular Zone, Brule Formation, in the Big Badlands of South Dakota, in Clark J., Beerbower J.R. and Kietzke K.K., Oligocene sedimentation, stratigraphy and paleoclimatology in the Big Badlands of South Dakota, Geology Memoirs, Fieldiana: 111-137.
  5. Clason A.T. 1972, Some remarks on the use and presentation of archaeozoological data, «Helinium», 12(2), 139-153.
  6. Gifford D.P. 1981, Taphonomy and paleoecology: A critical review of archaeology’s sister disciplines, «Advances in Archaeological Method and Theory», 4, 365-438.
  7. Gifford-Gonzalez D. 1991, Bones are not enough: Analogues, knowledge, and interpretive strategies in zooarchaeology, «Journal of Anthropological Archaeology», 10(3), 215-254.
  8. Herm D. 1972, Pitfalls in paleoecological interpretations: an integrated approach to avoid the major pits, in Mamet B.E. and Westermann G.E., International Geographic Congress, 24th Session, Section 7: Paleontology, International Geographic Union, Montreal: 82-88.
  9. Hooykaas R. 1970, Catastrophism in geology, its scientific character in relation to actualism, North-Holland Publishing Company, Amsterdam.
  10. Lawrence D.R. 1968, Taphonomy and information losses in fossil communities. «Bulletin of the Geological Society of America», 79(10), 1315-1330. DOI: 10.2307/2694423
  11. Lawrence D.R. 1971, The nature and structure of paleoecology, «Journal of Paleontology», 45(4), 593-607.
  12. Lyman R.L. 1994, Vertebrate taphonomy, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.
  13. Lyman, R.L. 1987, Zooarchaeology and taphonomy: A general consideration, «Journal of Ethnobiology», 7, 93–117.
  14. Meadow R.H. 1980, Animal bones: Problems for the archaeologist together with some possible solutions, «Paléorient», 6, 65-77.
  15. Olsen S.J. 1971, Zooarchaeology: animal bones in archaeology and their interpretation, Addison-Wesley Modular Publications 2, Addison-Wesley Publishing, Boston.
  16. Reitz E.J. and Wing E.S. 2008, Zooarchaeology (2nd ed.), Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.
  17. Rogers A.R. 2000, On equifinality in faunal analysis, «American Antiquity», 65(4), 709-723.
  18. Zeder M.A. 1997, The American archaeologist: A profile, AltaMira Press, Walnut Creek.
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  • Publication Year: 2024
  • Pages: 409-414
  • Content License: CC BY 4.0
  • © 2024 Author(s)

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  • Publication Year: 2024
  • Content License: CC BY 4.0
  • © 2024 Author(s)

Chapter Information

Chapter Title

Zooarcheology: animals talk, just to complete the story

Authors

Paul Mazza

Language

English

DOI

10.36253/979-12-215-0376-0.30

Peer Reviewed

Publication Year

2024

Copyright Information

© 2024 Author(s)

Content License

CC BY 4.0

Metadata License

CC0 1.0

Bibliographic Information

Book Title

Florentia

Book Subtitle

Studi di archeologia: vol. 5 - Numero speciale - Studi in onore di Guido Vannini

Editors

Michele Nucciotti, Elisa Pruno

Peer Reviewed

Number of Pages

596

Publication Year

2024

Copyright Information

© 2024 Author(s)

Content License

CC BY 4.0

Metadata License

CC0 1.0

Publisher Name

Firenze University Press

DOI

10.36253/979-12-215-0376-0

ISBN Print

979-12-215-0375-3

eISBN (pdf)

979-12-215-0376-0

Series Title

Strumenti per la didattica e la ricerca

Series ISSN

2704-6249

Series E-ISSN

2704-5870

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