Bone surface modifications in zooarchaeology

Cutmarks made by stone tools, conchoidal flake scars from hammerstone percussion, carnivore tooth marks, striations from sedimentary abrasion, and other surface modifications on bones from archaeological sites constitute a crucial body of evidence for investigating the role of human behaviors and of nonhuman taphonomic processes in site formation. This paper describes the various kinds of bone surface modifications produced by humans and by nonhuman processes and assesses the current status of bone surface modification studies with regard to such issues as the need for greater analytical standardization, the selection of instruments for examining bone specimens, tactics for identifying the origins of marks on bones, and strategies for inferring human behaviors.     

Bone density studies in zooarchaeology

Accurate bone density data are essential for assessing the influence of destructive processes in archaeological faunal assemblages. Unfortunately, the diversity of methods employed by different researchers to derive density values has resulted in recent confusion. Two recent publications in this journal [J Archaeol Sci 29 (2002) 883; J Archaeol Sci 29 (2002) 979] exemplify this state of misunderstanding. Both studies argued that the role of bone density in shaping archaeological faunal assemblages has been largely overrated, but both based their conclusions on density values that were inaccurately derived. The former employed a method of calculating bone density that has been largely discredited over the past decade [J Archaeol Sci 29 (2002) 883]. Within a larger discussion of zooarchaeological methodology, the latter provided an assessment of the current state of bone density research that inappropriately characterized the discrepancies between available sets of density data as a reflection of the differences between two technologies—photon densitometry and computed tomography [J Archaeol Sci 29 (2002) 979]. The actual dichotomy exists—irrespective of the technology employed—between studies that account for variation in the shape of bone cross-sections and those that do not. The different sets of density data currently available to zooarchaeologists vary tremendously in their accuracy. We review and evaluate the different techniques employed in the research of bone density patterns of mammalian fauna. Computed tomography produces the most accurate density data. For elements without medullary cavities, photon densitometry may provide density values of similar accuracy but only if a method of cross-sectional shape-adjustment is applied.     

Commercial zooarchaeology in the United Kingdom

Abstract

The following paper presents the results from two surveys of zooarchaeologists involved with commercial work in the United Kingdom. The surveys had a number of aims: they investigated the demographic of commercial zooarchaeologists; their relationship with organisations; the information they produce; how the current recession is affecting their work and what their priorities for help would be. The main survey was carried out during March–April 2009 with a further follow-up survey conducted during August. The surveys indicate that the demographic of zooarchaeologists varies from that of archaeologists in the United Kingdom as a whole. It also shows that the economic recession is affecting commercial zooarchaeologists in a number of ways. The paper also discusses the general structure and nature of the profession.     

基于质谱的动物考古学研究现状与展望

动物考古学对于重建古代居民活动范围附近的生态环境以及古人类动物资源利用方面的行为信息至关重要,然而传统的动物考古学方法难以鉴别缺乏明确形态学鉴定特征的动物考古材料和动物制品。基于质谱的动物考古学(zooarchaeology by mass spectrometry,ZooMS)利用蛋白质酶切后肽段的一级质谱分析对动物遗存进行种属鉴定,是古蛋白质组学的重要研究方法。本文介绍ZooMS的原理、方法以及研究进展,希望促进ZooMS技术在国内考古学界的应用。同时,该技术在现代食品、药品、保健品、皮草和海关缉私等相关行业也有着广泛的应用前景。     

Taphonomy and contextual zooarchaeology in urban deposits at York,UK

Zooarchaeological research on assemblages from deeply stratified sites in historic towns is complicated by the reworking of bones through intercutting and disturbance. Conversely, structural association with buildings and property boundaries may allow detailed spatial analysis, and interpretation at a close contextual level that reveal small details of people’s lives. Five years of excavation at the Hungate site in York has yielded a very large animal bone assemblage ranging from Roman to early modern times. Assessment of this assemblage has focussed on identifying context groups of good integrity and high research value. In this paper, we present preliminary results from Hungate to show the potential of contextual analysis in urban deposits, and the challenge presented by redeposition and time-averaging.     

The zooarchaeology of exclusion and expropriation: Looking up from the lower city in Late Bronze Age Hazor

The collapse of complex societies is a recurring theme in archaeological and historical scholarship. Zooarchaeological investigation, conventionally applied in recent studies to detect environmental degradation resulting in resource stress, is employed here to study the social conditions leading to the decline of the powerful Bronze Age city of Hazor, located in the northern Jordan Valley, Israel. The results of the analysis of faunal remains from the lower city show that the exclusion of its residents from ideological use of animals and their impoverishment by elite livestock expropriation preceded other material manifestations of sociopolitical decline in the city. The results are encouraging in respect to the prospective value of zooarchaeology for investigating collapse not directly caused by subsistence failures.     

Taphonomy and zooarchaeology of the Upper Palaeolithic cave of Dzudzuana,Republic of Georgia

We present the results of a detailed taphonomic and zooarchaeological study of the faunal remains from the Upper Palaeolithic layers of Dzudzuana Cave, Republic of Georgia. This study presents the first carefully analysed Upper Palaeolithic faunal assemblage from the southern Caucasus and thus serves as a significant point of reference for inter‐regional studies of Upper Palaeolithic subsistence in Eurasia. A series of intra‐site taphonomic comparisons are employed to reconstruct the depositional history of the bone assemblages within the different occupational phases at the site and to investigate subsistence, meat procurement and bone‐processing strategies. Caucasian tur (Capra caucasica), aurochs (Bos primigenius) and steppe bison (Bison priscus) were the major prey species throughout the Upper Palaeolithic. Their frequencies do not change significantly over time, and nor does bone preservation vary by layer. The assemblage is characterised by significant density‐mediated biases, caused by both human bone‐processing behaviours and in situ post‐burial bone attrition. Bone marrow extraction produced large numbers of unidentified bone fragments, many exhibiting green bone fractures. The density and size of bone assemblages and the extent of fragmentation indicate that Dzudzuana Cave was repeatedly occupied by Upper Palaeolithic foragers over many years. Skeletal part representation and butchery marks from all stages of carcass processing suggest that prey occasionally underwent field butchery. Intra‐site taphonomic comparisons highlight uniform patterns of cultural and economic behaviours related to food procurement and processing strategies. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The Impact of recovery methods on taxonomic richness in Roman faunal assemblages

Recovery methods can affect species richness in faunal assemblages, which can in turn impact interpretations of diet. A comparison of sample size to species richness across faunal collections from screened and from unscreened deposits associated with Roman occupations clearly shows these influences. Not surprisingly, the rate of species input was higher for collections recovered using screening methods than for collections not recovered from screens. Syntheses of published data and comparative analyses of faunal assemblages must be cognizant of whether or not included assemblages were recovered using screens.     

Virtual zooarchaeology: building a web-based reference collection of northern vertebrates for archaeofaunal research and education

Osteological reference collections are a crucial tool in archaeofaunal analysis, but few are comprehensive; most lack a broad range of taxa or multiple individuals per taxon. This problem is especially prominent in arctic zooarchaeology, where difficulty in obtaining, transporting, and processing northern taxa has led to a dearth of appropriate reference collections. The Virtual Zooarchaeology of the Arctic Project, or VZAP, seeks to develop a comprehensive virtual comparative assemblage for the skeletons of northern vertebrates. VZAP (http://vzap.iri.isu.edu) is designed to assist with identifications in the lab or field and provides significant educational value, for both classroom demonstration and personal consultation. The VZAP website presents high-resolution digital photographs and 3D models of skeletal elements via an intuitive graphical user interface, designed to mimic the visual experience of working with a real comparative collection. This custom-built interface, the Dynamic Image Engine, represents a new way to present heritage media in an interactive and engaging format. VZAP also implements unique 3D scanning protocols to increase the realism of 3D models, and delivers them on a platform that allows for point to point measurements, cross-sections, morphological labels, and anatomical orientations.     

Taphonomy and zooarchaeology of a high-altitude Upper Pleistocene faunal sequence from Hovk-1 Cave,Armenia

The Caucasus is a key region for the study of hominid evolution and Neanderthal ecology. Taphonomic and zooarchaeological studies of sites from this region are few and only focused on sites at low-to-mid altitude zones with evidence of relatively intensive hominid occupation. This study focused on the taphonomic and zooarchaeological characteristics of a high-altitude site from the Upper Pleistocene – Hovk-1 Cave – looking at diachronic change in both natural and cultural processes which shaped the faunal assemblage. Results best fit a model in which the bones of most large mammals, mainly ungulates (wild goat, Capra aegagrus and red deer, Cervus elaphus) and cave bears (Ursus spelaeus) accumulated naturally through pitfalls, with minimal input from human or carnivore activity. This accumulation is characterized by a high frequency of complete ungulate and carnivore bones, a bear assemblage which is dominated by young-adults and a wild goat assemblage that includes juvenile and young-adult individuals. Our taphonomic reconstruction serves as a point of reference for comparative studies of palaeoenvironments and human subsistence patterns of Middle and Upper Palaeolithic sites in the Caucasus and broadens our perspective on hominid occupation and ecological adaptation in other high-altitude world regions.     

Absolute age and tooth eruption and wear sequences in sheep and goat: determining age-at-death in zooarchaeology using a modern control sample

This paper seeks to improve our understanding of the relationship between mandibular tooth eruption and wear sequences and absolute age in modern sheep and goat. While the relationship between tooth eruption and wear and absolute age has been investigated for primitive breeds in parts of the Old World, our pilot study extends the applicability of this research to modern breeds and to another geographic region (North America). A modern control sample of two species of domestic caprines – Ovis aries (sheep) and Capra hircus (goats) from Manitoba, Canada – are used to evaluate the two major systems for analyzing mandibular tooth wear and eruption (Payne and Grant) and for assigning an absolute age-at-death. In order to compare the two systems, an absolute age for Grant's Mandibular Wear Stages was established for the first time, previously demonstrated only for Payne's system. The analysis confirmed that there is a very high correlation between the known age and estimated age based on tooth eruption and wear. However, Payne's system generated far coarser age-at-death profiles, which lowers its utility in constructing harvest profiles. Grant's system is recommended for ageing be utilized since it can yield more sensitive age estimations. In conclusion, it is possible to utilize the modern caprine breeds to establish the relationship between tooth eruption and wear and absolute age to reconstruct age and season of death of archaeological samples.     

Spinal arthritis (spondylosis deformans) in the red fox, Vulpes vulpes, with some methodology of relevance to zooarchaeology

The skeletons of 252 adult foxes killed in suburban London were used to study the development of spondylosis deformans, a condition of the spinal column previously unrecorded in the Red fox. Although the average age of the specimens was only one year nine months, 34·5% of the population were found to be affected with spondylosis. The distribution of osteophytes on the vertebral column is shown, and factors such as age and trauma, which affect the development of the condition, are examined. The significance of such well-developed pathological conditions in a wild mammalian population is discussed.     

Pascal programs for computing taxonomic abundance in samples of fossil mammals

The number of identified specimens (NISP) and the minimum number of individuals (MNI) are the two most widely used measures of taxonomic abundance in samples of fossil bones. Each has disadvantages which can be largely offset when the two are used together and when both are calculated and presented for each skeletal part of each taxon in a sample. However, joint use does not reduce the tedium and likelihood of error involved in MNI calculation, or affect the possibility that MNIs may not be comparable among samples, because different analysts employ different and often vague calculation assumptions. The integrated Pascal computer programs described in this article dramatically cut the time and effort involved in MNI calculation, while simultaneously reducing the likelihood of calculation error. They also ensure that calculation is based on explicit, though flexible assumptions. Finally, they provide an inexpensive and compact way to store and retrieve bone data for manipulation by other programs.     

The taxonomic placement of the Miocene Patagonian frog Wawelia gerholdi (Amphibia: Anura)

Nicoli, L. Muzzopappa, P. & Faivovich, J., July 2016 The taxonomic placement of the Miocene frog Wawelia gerholdi (Amphibia: Anura). Alcheringa 40, xxx–xxx. ISSN 0311-5518.

The Miocene frog Wawelia gerholdi, from northern Patagonia, was previously attributed to Ceratophryidae, the clade of extant South American horned frogs, making it one of the oldest records known for this group. However, the only known specimen has juvenile traits and is strongly similar to the australobatrachian Calyptocephalella. We re-examined the morphology of W. gerholdi and provide additional anatomical information and comparisons with juvenile individuals of Ceratophryidae and Calyptocephalella gayi, the only extant species of Calyptocephalella. We reject a close relationship between W. gerholdi and Ceratophryidae. Furthermore, the holotype is indistinguishable from juveniles of C. gayi and shares with all the species of this genus a character state combination that seems unique among anurans. Therefore, we consider Wawelia to be a junior synonym of Calyptocephalella. The problematic taxonomic status of numerous fossil species of Calyptocephalella, together with its untested monophyly, also prompts us to provisionally consider the extinct species as a species inquirenda included in this genus, pending a comprehensive revision of all available remains.

Laura Nicoli [lnicoli@macn.gov.ar] and Julián Faivovich [julian@macn.gov.ar], División Herpetología, and Paula Muzzopappa [pmuzzopappa@macn.gov.ar], Sección Paleontología de Vertebrados, Museo Argentino de Ciencias Naturales ‘Bernardino Rivadavia’-CONICET, Av. Angel Gallardo 470, C1405DJR, Buenos Aires, Argentina.     

The search for a precise method of measurement in psychical experiments

Presents three brief case studies to show how cognition and psychic activity were explored as energetic and economic transactions in a variety of experimental settings. First, in the 1870's German psychiatrist Emil Kraepelin began a search for an objective measurement of cognitive performance in which he engaged for several decades. His investigations resulted in a graphic representation of cognitive efficiency, the Arbeitscurve, delineating numbers of additions per time interval in close resemblance to representations of machine efficiency. Second, at the turn of the century American nutrition scientist and agronomist Wilbur Olin Atwater convinced himself in a series of precision measurements that the human motor was a perfectly closed input-output system and that any mental surplus in the form of cognitive energy transformation did not count as contradictions to the principle of the conservation of energy. Third, at the beginning of the 20th century and on the basis of Atwater's results, German psychiatrist Hans Berger stipulated a special form of psychic energy for mediating between the principle of the conservation of energy and mental causality. Berger attempted to quantify psychic energy as one factor of brain metabolism. In the three cases of precision investigations into psychic life presented here, the experimental space of psychophysiology turned mental activity into a form of machine-like behavior.     

The measurement of ancestral roots with genealogical data

This study presents a new method to measure the depth of ancestral roots in a population. This method sheds light on the migratory movements that led to present-day population distribution across space. The method was applied to a dataset of 5,100 ascending genealogies from 17 regions of the province of Quebec (Canada). Dates of marriage of the earliest ancestors married in the same region as their descendants were used to measure the age of individual ancestral roots. The average regional ages vary between 16 and 157 years, while some individual roots reach as far back as 300 years in the same region. The proposed method can be useful for assessing how deeply rooted a contemporary population is at a local, regional, or other geographical level.     

Pits and pitfalls: taxonomic variability and patterning in tooth mark dimensions

Archaeologists use experimentally derived tooth mark frequencies, locations, and size data to infer (a) the extent of carnivore involvement in the formation and modification of faunal assemblages, (b) the size classes of predators marking those assemblages, and (c) whether hominins accessed fleshy or defleshed carcasses (Blumenschine and Pobiner, 2007; Dominguez-Rodrigo et al., 2007). These inferences are often debated in part because frequency counts can vary widely among observers and because the carnivore taxa for which tooth mark dimensional data are available are limited. This study contributes to the body of actualistic/experimental tooth mark data and presents a methodology for collecting these data. We offer a greatly simplified method that may encourage others to collect and quantify tooth mark dimensions. We present dimensional data from feeding experiments with 16 omnivore and carnivore species of known age and mass, ranging in size from skunks to tigers, significantly expanding the taxonomic and size range of carnivores for which we have tooth pit data. Our results demonstrate considerable, but not complete, overlap in tooth pit dimensions among size, class, and taxon. Tooth mark dimensions on epiphyses and metaphyses were relatively strongly correlated with body mass, whereas diaphyseal tooth marks exhibited the weakest correlation. Human consumption of animal tissue produced tooth marks comparable in size to medium felids and small canids, suggesting the possibility that some tooth marks on Early Stone Age (ESA) faunal assemblages could, as suggested by Oliver (1994), result from small carnivore and/or hominin consumption.