The Archaeology of Animal Bones

Texas A&M University Anthropology Series

by Terry P. O'Connor

Animal bones are one of the most abundant types of evidence found in archaeological sites dating from prehistoric times to the Middle Ages. They can give us a striking insight into the economy and way of life of people in the distant past. The Archaeology of Animal Bones offers a lucid introduction to the principles and methods involved in the study of this vital category of archaeological material. It also provides important information for archaeologists seeking to understand how bones can shed light on the relationship between humans and animals.

The book begins with a close analysis of bone itself, its form and composition, and the archaeological imprints left by the processes of life, death, and decomposition. The author goes on to look at how bone is recovered from archaeological sites, examined, described, and identified. But the bulk of the book is devoted to the interpretation of the bone fragments, which can tell us much about the animals themselves their health, growth, diet, injuries, and age at death. This archaeological evidence is then related to the culture and economy of people in the past. In particular, the book shows how information derived from bones can reveal to us the hunting and fishing activities of prehistoric communities, and it sheds fresh light on the controversial topic of animal domestication. The final chapter investigates the insights that animal bones can provide into the complex urban societies of medieval and later periods.

The Archaeology of Animal Bones supplies in a single volume a much-needed critical review of this quickly developing field of research. It will appeal to those involved in archaeology and to anyone intrigued by the re-creation of long-lost worlds from what may seem the most insignificant fragments.

Genres: Archaeology, Palaeontology, Animals

220 pages, Kindle Edition

First published August 28, 2000

About the author

Terry O'Connor read Archaeology at London University, specialising in field archaeology and the study of animal remains. On completion of a PhD in which sheep featured strongly, he worked at the Environmental Archaeology Unit, University of York for nine years, principally conducting zooarchaeological research on material from York. He then moved to the University of Bradford for a further nine years, teaching zooarchaeology and environmental archaeology.

Terry returned to York in 1999 and intends to stay there.

Reviews

[Anjj]

easier read than human osteology lol but just as facinating. what a waste of 19% of the book which is bibliography :-(

[Lee Broderick · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very good introductory text to zooarchaeology, using the author's own research as case studies and written with a great deal of humour. It also features more on taphonomy and palaeoecology than other introductory texts to the subject.

[Sarai · Rating 4 out of 5]

A perfect companion of a short course I attended on Osteoarchaeology, I was mainly interested in the animal side over the human so I purchased this interesting book.

[Maria · Rating 3 out of 5]

The guy who wrote this is a goofy Brit, and it comes out in randomly delightful places. Never would have thought that reading a textbook about zooarchaeology could be this much fun!

[Antonio De Cunzo · Rating 2 out of 5]

Very good discussion on basic bone biology, but otherwise very heavy on European examples and not particularly thorough.