Zooarchaeology, Second Edition

This book serves as an introductory text for students interested in the identification and the analysis of animal remains from archaeological sites. The emphasis is on animals whose remains inform us about the relationship between humans and their natural and social environments, especially site-formation processes, subsistence strategies, the processes of domestication, and paleoenvironments. Examining studies from all over the world, from the Pleistocene period up to the present, this volume is organized in a way that is parallel to a faunal study, beginning with background information, bias in a faunal assemblage, and basic zooarchaeological methods. A zooarchaeological Hypothetical Collection illustrates the fundamental methods for the collection of primary and secondary data that are applicable to zooarchaeology practice.

   This revised edition reflects developments in zooarchaeology that have occurred during the past decade. It includes new sections on enamel ultrastructure and incremental analysis, stable isotopes and trace elements, ancient genetics and enzymes, environmental reconstruction, people as agents of environmental change, applications of zooarchaeology in animal conversation and heritage management, and a discussion of issues pertaining to the curation of zooarchaeological materials.

ELIZABETH J. REITZ is Professor of Anthropology at the Georgia Museum of Natural History, University of Georgia. Her work is based on the identification and interpretation of animal remains from coastal archaeological sites, particularly in South America, the Caribbean, and the southeastern United States. She is the co-author and co-editor of several volumes, as well as the author of more than 150 articles and book chapters.

ELIZABETH S. WING is Curator Emeritus at the Florida Museum of Natural History, University of Florida. The co-author of two books and author of many scholarly articles, she received the Fryxell Award from the Society for American Archaeology in 1996 for distinguished contributions to archaeology through interdisciplinary research. In 2006, Dr. Wing was elected to the National Academy of Sciences and received the President’s Medal from the University of Florida.

Cambridge Manuals in Archaeology

General Editor
Graeme Barker, University of Cambridge

Advisory Editors
Elizabeth Slater, University of Liverpool
Peter Bogucki, Princeton University

Cambridge Manuals in Archaeology is a series of reference handbooks designed for an international audience of upper-level undergraduate and graduate students, and professional archaeologists and archaeological scientists in universities, museums, research laboratories, and field units. Each book includes a survey of current archaeological practice alongside essential reference material on contemporary techniques and methodology.

Books in the series

Clive Orton, Paul Tyers, and Alian Vince, POTTERY IN ARCHAEOLOGY

R. Lee Lyman, VERTEBRATE TAPHONOMY

Peter G. Dorrell, PHOTOGRAPHY IN ARCHAEOLOGY AND CONSERVATION, 2ND EDITION

A. G. Brown, ALLUVIAL GEOARCHAEOLOGY

Cheryl Claasen, SHELLS

Clive Orton, SAMPLING IN ARCHAEOLOGY

Steve Roskams, EXCAVATION

Simon Hillson, TEETH, 2ND EDITION

William Andrefsky, Jr., LITHICS, 2ND EDITION

James Conolly and Mark Lake, GEOGRAPHICAL INFORMATION SYSTEMS IN ARCHAEOLOGY

Andrew Chamberlain, DEMOGRAPHY IN ARCHAEOLOGY

A. M. Pollard, C. M. Batt, B. Stern, and S. M. M. Young, ANALYTICAL CHEMISTRY IN ARCHAEOLOGY

Zooarchaeology

SECOND EDITION

Elizabeth J. Reitz University of Georgia

Elizabeth S. Wing Florida Museum of Natural History

CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY PRESS
Cambridge, New York, Melbourne, Madrid, Cape Town, Singapore, São Paulo, Delhi

Cambridge University Press
32 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10013–2473, USA

www.cambridge.org
Information on this title: www.cambridge.org/9780521857260

© Elizabeth J. Reitz and Elizabeth S. Wing 2008

This publication is in copyright. Subject to statutory exception
and to the provisions of relevant collective licensing agreements,
no reproduction of any part may take place without
the written permission of Cambridge University Press.

First published 2008

Printed in the United States of America

A catalog record for this publication is available from the British Library.

Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data

Reitz, Elizabeth Jean, 1946–
Zooarchaeology / Elizabeth J. Reitz, Elizabeth S. Wing. – 2nd ed.
   p. cm. – (Cambridge manuals in archaeology)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-0-521-85726-0 (hardback) – ISBN 978-0-521-67393-8 (pbk.)
1. Animal remains (Archaeology) – Identification – Handbooks, manuals, etc.
I. Wing, Elizabeth S. II. Title. III. Series.
CC79.5.A5R45  2007
930.1–dc22      2007019451

ISBN 978-0-521-85726-0 hardback
ISBN 978-0-521-67393-8 paperback

Cambridge University Press has no responsibility for
the persistence or accuracy of URLs for external or
third-party Internet Web sites referred to in this publication
and does not guarantee that any content on such
Web sites is, or will remain, accurate or appropriate.

Dedicated to our families and colleagues in appreciation of their support and inspiration.

CONTENTS

LIST OF FIGURES

LIST OF TABLES

PREFACE TO THE SECOND EDITION

When we were asked to prepare a second edition to Zooarchaeology, we anticipated that this would be relatively easy. We proposed to update the literature and work on sections that we or our colleagues found did not “work” in practice. We quickly realized, however, the truth of the statement that zooarchaeology is a dynamic field. We were surprised to find a few major changes in the traditional approaches in the field over the past 10 years and significant advances in archaeogenetic, isotopic, and incremental growth applications. A shift in research emphasis also has occurred. Whereas in 1999 many zooarchaeologists focused on biological and anthropological interpretations pertaining to economies and the history of animal domestication, today publications on environmental change, environmental reconstruction, and applied zooarchaeology constitute a large percentage of the literature. Advances in geochemical applications make it possible to develop holistic perspectives on the human–environment relationship, dissolving problematic distinctions among anthropology, archaeology, ecology, geology, human biology, and zoology. At the same time, after many years of functional interpretations, structural explanations have assumed a larger place in the literature. One of the most gratifying discoveries is the increase in important zooarchaeological studies published in peer-reviewed, international journals by scholars from beyond Europe and North America. This more broadly inclusive community of scholars is a good sign that zooarchaeology continues to be strongly international.

   Thus, in preparing this second edition, we made major changes in sections in which the greatest advances have been made in the past decade. Chapters 3, 9, and 10 are substantially rewritten to incorporate new information and research trajectories. Chapter 8 required significant, though less extensive, modifications. We have included literature from 1999 through 2006, as well as inadvertent omissions from before 1999. These new references reflect the directions that the field of zooarchaeology has taken over the past decade. We believe these directions represent the future of the field. We repeat, however, our admonition from the first edition that theoretical interpretations are no better than the methods used to develop supporting data. It is as necessary to be well-grounded in the basics as it is to be guided by good theory.

   There are some changes we did not make. As with the first edition, this edition is not intended to replace the many excellent biological references; works focused on single organisms or groups of organisms; methodological descriptions and reviews developed out of specific research needs; or regional archaeofaunal syntheses and theoretical treatments. The focus of the volume continues to be on topics of broadly global applications pertaining to major research trajectories. We do not advocate for or against methods or provide detailed descriptions of specific methods or outcomes. Students should recognize the importance of developing their own research designs, which will be implemented using appropriate methods obtained through their own review of the literature.

PREFACE TO THE FIRST EDITION

This volume is directed to all those interested in the recovery, identification, and ana-lysis of animal remains from archaeological sites. Our intent is to review standard zoo-archaeological methods and to suggest the circumstances under which they may be most successfully applied. Because we believe that a background in both anthropology and biology is important for a balanced approach to zooarchaeology, both relevant anthropological and biological information are reviewed. The exchange among archaeological, biological, ethnographic, and paleontological research is the important defining characteristic of the study of animal remains that links the following pages. The development of zooarchaeology owes much to an awareness of the importance both of ecological relationships on human behavior and of the human impact on the planet. Despite its diverse, interdisciplinary nature, zooarchaeology has three common research themes: (1) methodology; (2) continuity and change in human societies; and (3) biological relationships. These are the primary topics explored in this volume.

   The animals emphasized include macrofaunal as well as some microfaunal organisms. The term “macrofauna” refers to large vertebrates and invertebrates. All vertebrate classes are included. These are mammals (Mammalia), birds (Aves), reptiles (Reptilia), amphibians (Amphibia), cartilaginous fishes (Chondrichthyes), and bony fishes (Actinopterygii). Invertebrates include primarily molluscs (Mollusca) and crustaceans (Crustacea). The term “microfauna” may refer to small members of these same classes, such as anchovies, or to small organisms, such as land snails or insects. The tissues reviewed include skeletal bone and teeth, mollusc shell, and exoskeleton (such as crab shell). Egg shell and keratinized tissue, such as hair, skin, and feathers, are not stressed here.

   Our emphasis is on animals whose remains inform us about aspects of relationships between humans and their natural and social environments, especially site-formation processes, subsistence strategies, and paleoenvironments. Among these animals, those that offer food, shelter, transport, fuel, tools, ornaments, clothing, and social identity receive particular attention. We also explore material culture related to the procurement and husbandry of animals. Examples are primarily those illustrating modern human (Homo sapiens sapiens) uses of these animals. The time period is from the Pleistocene into the twenty-first century A.D.

   The geographic range is global. Although examples are drawn from many parts of the world, we make no effort to provide regional surveys of zooarchaeological developments. Smith’s (1995) review of the emergence of agriculture throughout the world provides regional surveys of both plant and animal data. His volume is a good place to obtain an overview of zooarchaeological knowledge in the context of broader archaeological research. Our intention is to review anthropological, biological, and ecological aspects of zooarchaeology from the wide variety of geographical settings in which zooarchaeology is practiced and to summarize, broadly, the diverse ways in which humans and animals interact.

   The volume is organized in much the same way as a faunal study might be. Familiarity with the history of zooarchaeology and current research topics provides the intellectual background a zooarchaeologist should bring to the study of a specific faunal assemblage (Chapter 2). It is also important to be familiar with biological (Chapter 3) and ecological principles (Chapter 4) basic to the discipline. In Chapters 5, 6, and 7, three sources of bias in a faunal assemblage are reviewed, beginning with taphonomy and excavation procedures. Chapters 6 and 7 present some of the most basic zooarchaeological methods, using an archaeofaunal Hypothetical Collection to illustrate fundamental methods for collecting primary and secondary data. In the remaining chapters, animal remains are interpreted in terms of subsistence strategies (Chapter 8), domestication (Chapter 9), and human interactions with the environment (Chapter 10). The final chapter (Chapter 11) draws these threads together and considers future directions in the field.

   This volume is not intended to replace the many excellent biological references available; works focused on single organisms or groups of organisms; methodological descriptions and reviews; regional archaeofaunal syntheses; or theoretical treatments. Extensive references are offered for each topic covered in the following pages. We urge readers to use these as guides to more detailed treatments of each subject. We hope to excite students to pursue their own interests in this diverse field so that they may share, with us, many hours of stimulating puzzlement.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

It is with deep gratitude that we acknowledge the contributions of the many people who helped to bring the first and second editions of this volume to completion. In particular, we appreciate the willingness of Graeme Barker, Laszlo Bartosiewicz, Don R. Brothwell, Anneke T. Clason, Dena F. Dincauze, Norman Herz, Stephen A. Kowalewski, Clark Spencer Larsen, William H. Marquardt, Arturo Morales Muñiz, Lynette Norr, Barnett Pavao-Zuckerman, Ann B. Stahl, and an anonymous reviewer to read all or portions of the manuscript. Richard G. Cooke, Simon J. M. Davis, Annie Grant, Laura Kozuch, Robert Newman, Nanna Noe-Nygaard, Wendell H. Oswalt, Paul W. Parmalee, Sebastian Payne, Irvy R. Quitmyer, and Melinda A. Zeder were particularly generous in helping to prepare the illustrations. Sarah M. Colley, Greg Cunningham, Elizabeth McGhee, Katherine E. Quitmyer, Dawn Reid, Donna Ruhl, Jaap Schelvis, Pamela Soltis, David W. Steadman, and Stephen R. Wing also provided invaluable assistance at critical times. Special thanks are extended to Max Reitz, Sylvia J. Scudder, Irvy R. Quitmyer, and the students in our zooarchaeology classes. We may not have followed all of the insightful suggestions offered, but we are grateful for the comments nonetheless. The volume is enhanced by the artistic contributions of Virginia Carter Steadman, Paloma Ibarra, Tina Mulka, Tara Odorizzi, Daniel C. Weinand, Molly Wing-Berman, and Wendy Zomlefer. The cover illustration was prepared by Molly Wing-Berman. Most of the graphics not attributed to these artists were prepared by Gisela Weis-Gresham, who once again demonstrates the value of good illustrations. We are grateful to the many individuals and presses who granted permission to use work previously published. We also appreciate the advice and support of Beatrice Rehl, Peggy M. Rote, Jessica Kuper, Frances Brown, and the Cambridge University Press staff. Through the generosity of Kitty Emery, the Florida Museum of Natural History provided essential support during the final preparation of the second edition. Finally, we thank the Florida Museum of Natural History, the Georgia Museum of Natural History, colleagues (among whom we number our students), and families for their patience and cooperation as we attempted to squeeze the field of zooarchaeology into a single volume.