Zooarchaeological Analysis at Mudaybic

Edward Maher

Outline

1. Importance of Animal Remains
   
   Objective - to portray the interactions between animals and humans in a cultural setting.
   1. commonly lead to questions regarding diet and economy

   However, it is also important to consider how animals were conceptualized by the people who interacted with them.
    

2. Descriptive Techniques
   • Identification: genus and species
     - isolate what is found. Note the relative numbers of each species, how many different species are represented. Species diversity may reflect cultural preferences or taphonomic loss – very few bird bones may mean they didn’t eat many birds or it may mean that recovery methods were not great and many bird remains were actually missed.
      
   • Bone identification – use reference collections
      
   • Age
     1. epiphyseal fusion
     2. tooth wear
     3. dental eruption sequences
         
   • Sex – measurements can sometimes be used to id males and females, due to sexual dimorphism.
     - certain morphological traits are specific to one sex:
     1. only male birds have spur on leg.
     2. different pelvic morphology in male and female mammals
     3. horns/antlers commonly appear on only male ungulates
     4. many male mammals have a penis bone
         
   • Quantification: NISP and MNI
      
   • Body Part Distribution
     1. Cranial, Forelimb, Hind limb, Trunk, Feet (may be cultural or taphonomically related-smaller bones lost due to taphonomic processes.
     2. Compare non-meat to meaty bones. If non-meat are twice as abundant, animals occurred whole and presumably alive at site; if value is less than 2:1, animals were parceled in
         
   • Cultural Modifications
     1. Cut Marks – length, depth, orientation, location (which end of a long bone). Implies butchery intent: dismemberment, filleting, skinning, etc.
     2. Burning – different colors (blue, green, white, brown, black) can indicate the heat achieved by the bone. Color variation implies differential treatment of bone. A bone that as burnt due to the cooking of its meat would look much different than bones used to fuel a fire.
         
3. Issues that can be Addressed by Zooarchaeological Research
   • Animals as Trade Commodities
     
     Identifying those animals in archaeological deposits that are outside of their expected range.
     Example: Fish trade in the Middle East (Nile perch)
     
     Nearly 50 sites around the Eastern Mediterranean Basin, and Nile perch dominate the assemblages. Restricted to Africa, yet it has been found in Israel, Jordan, Turkey, Lebanon, Cyprus, and even Italy. From the Chalcolithic to the Byzantine Period.
     
     Example: Parrot fish found at KRP demonstrates contact with coastal communities near the Red or Med Sea.
      
   • Early Domestication – relates to the time when humans became more sedentary. If you no longer have such mobility because you are tied to one locality, following game around would not be as easy as before. Therefore, animals had to be controlled so they became dependent on humans, in which case they are more likely to stick around.
      

     Ein Mallaha (Israel) burial – 11,600 BP
     Dogs – the first truly animal domesticated by the Natufian Culture.

     • earliest known domestic animal in the world
     • a puppy (3-5 months old) found in a grave with a human. Implies close relationship between animal and person.

     (Bear mandible) Mesolithic site in France –

     • mandible of a brown bear shows perfectly symmetrical wear between the 1st and 2nd molars. May have been caused from a leather strap of some type. It would have taken a long time for the bone to develop this groove, and it was suggested that this bear had been under human control since early in its life, as a cub.
     • even if they are right, just proves it was tamed, not domesticated

     Chronological Appearance of domesticated animals

     • most are from the Near East
     • dog earliest, followed by sheep, goat, cattle, pigs, and horses and donkeys. Chickens from 4000 years ago in India are the first known domestic birds.
        
   • Seasonality
     1. dention – species shed their deciduous teeth at a
        known rate (Gazelles 13-15 months)
     2. antlers – shed at certain seasons
        1. elk (Jan.), Red deer (April) and Roe deer (Oct.)
            
   4. Animals as a Sociofact – can refer to the fact that ruling elite had differential access to certain animals (rare or imported). For example, ancient Egyptians may have domesticated the cheetah and used it as a hunting aid.
      
      Different cuts going to people occupying different rungs of society. Can also refer to differential access to different cuts of meat. Not all parts of the animal have the same amount of meat as others, very little on head or feet.
      
      Data from the American 1880’s. A ritzy hotel, 2 bars, and the city jail. The rich have access to better cuts: ribs, chuck, round, sirloin. Less is found at the bars, and even less in the jail.
       
   5. Animals as a Food Source
      • Cut marks
      • Evidence of Burning
      • Age classes are usually dominated by specimens older than 12 months and younger than 3 years. Why? After 12 months, they have achieved a substantial amount of bulk in regards to body weight. Feeding them longer will not necessarily add to this bulk. Instead of wasting more food on an animal where the gains will not be proportionate, slaughter will then be carried out.
      • Predominance of meat bearing bones
      • Can be male or female, but will mostly be male as females are kept to continue the herd
   6. Animals as Secondary Products
      • Dairy – Important source of calcium, fat, sugars, proteins, and Vitamin D
        • many older individuals, upwards of 5 years. Dominated by mature females.
      • Wool – mature animals, either male or female. Few juveniles.
        • presence of Murex shells can be used for purple dye.
      • Power/Beasts of Burden
        • cattle pulling and hauling heavy things around
          1. Depressions on horn cores (depending on the type of yoke that was used)
          2. Foot Malformations.

        Use of bones as a resource

        • some cultures made tools out of animal bones. Others used the bones of very large animals to build shelter, such as some structures in ancient Russia built form mammoth bones.
   7. Sacred Uses of Animals
      • Ancient Egyptians mummified many different types of animals. Dogs, cats, birds, monkeys, and fish. Fish cemeteries include fish that were mummified and then buried. Their insides were also filled with ash.
      • Catal Huyuk (Turkey) – wild cattle (bulls) skulls imbedded into the plaster walls of a shrine. This is also one of the earliest cases of domestic cattle (8500 BP).
      • Worked Astragali- ankle bones
        1. edges are polished and squared. Some are covered in silver or gold foil, while others are painted. Hole drilled and filled with iron. Fiance astragalus found in the Tomb of Tutankahmun. What is the significance? We don’t know.
      • Ashkelon dog burials – date from the Persian Period (6th to 4th century BCE). Over 1000 burials in all. Each one was individually buried. All were of the same species. No pattern regarding age of death, or any evidence of ritual slaughter.
      • Tel Miqne-Ekron: Philistine Temple from 7th Century BCE
        • many animal bones found in Temple
        • display traits that appear to indicate animals appropriate for sacrifice
        • most were young males, in good health
        • brought whole and alive to the site
        • were killed at or near sacred area (cut marks across neck bones)