Organic Remains 2
- Created by: ktommo
- Created on: 21-05-17 16:21
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- Organic Remains 2
- Zooarchaeology is the study of the remains of animals from archaeological contexts.
- Faunal remains are vital to archaeologists in two ways; To reconstruct past environments; To identify the ways in which animals contribute to human economies.
- Minerals in bone can survive well in alkaline soils like sand and gravel, but acidic soils normally dissolve bones, apart from burnt bones.
- NISP-Number of Identified Specimens Present.
- MNI-Minimum Number of Individuals
- Establishing the age and sex of an animal can help to reconstruct past systems like hunting or agriculture.
- Large amounts of bones that have not been processed are normally considered evidence of feasting.
- The sex of bones can be identified from anatomical features, or the dimensions, as males are larger in most species.
- Changes in the skeleton can also help to identify age, using things like teeth eruption, growth and wear and bone fusion.
- Biostratigraphy is the technique of using fossil animals to date layers, and has been used to help date Palaeolithic sites.
- Beetles can be found in almost every environment as the hard shell casing or 'exoskeleton' of a beetle is very resistant and varies sufficiently between species to enable identification underneath a microscope.
- Snails are especially useful to archaeologists as different species have particular vegetation habits.
- The physical topography of hills, rivers and plains and the underlying soil provides the bones, while vegetation and fauna provide the flesh and skin.
- Star Carr
- Britain's most well-known Mesolithic site.
- The original radiocarbon date for the site was 7600 BC. Radiocarbon dates taken from charcoal have pushed this date back to be between 8700-8350 BC.
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