|
 |
- Most information about early subsistence comes directly from the remains of the plants and animals that were eaten. The only incontrovertible evidence that something was actually consumed by humans is its presence in either preserved stomachs or feces.
- Though plant remains are preserved in several different ways, charring is the most common cause of preservation at most sites. In many cases it is plant remains that reveal the function of a location, for example areas used for food processing and preparation. Tools can even suggest that plants were processed at a site. The presence of sickles, for example, may imply cereal cultivation and phytoliths recovered from the surface of a tool can indicate what species of plant the tool was used to cut. Written evidence gives archaeologists a detailed though short-term view of subsistence.
- Animal remains retain a high degree of importance in archaeological analysis. The most abundant and informative animal remains are macroremains: bones, teeth, shell, etc. Much effort has been put into the recognition of butchery marks on animal bones to differentiate those killed by humans from those killed by other predators.
- A major field of archaeology concerns the domestication of plants and animals. In many plant species, selection and utilization by humans brings about changes visible to archaeologists, for example cereal grain size increase. In animals, domestication can be identified through such physical evidence as the preference for one sex of animal for milking herds and through bone diseases related to the penning and working of animals. Progress is even being made on tracing the history of domestication through animal DNA. The line between domesticated and undomesticated is hotly debated.
Key Concept Identifications
You should be familiar with the meaning and importance of each of the following terms:
Paleoethnobotany: A Case Study
- Paleoethnobotany, pp. 278-279
Strategies of Plant Use: Seasonality and Domestication
- Seasonality, p. 284
- Domestication, pp. 284-85
Investigating the Rise of Farming in Western Asia
- Neolithic Revolution, pp. 286-87
Taphonomy
- Taphonomy, pp. 292
- Bone assemblage, pp. 291-92
Quantifying Animal Bones
- Minimum Number of Individuals (MNI), pp. 294-95
- Number of Identified Specimens (NISP), pp. 294-95
The Study of Animal Teeth
- Attritional age profile, p. 298
- Catastrophic age profile, p. 298
Shell Midden Analysis
How Were Animal Resources Exploited? Tools, Vessels and Residues
- Residues in vessels, p. 307
Tools and Art: Evidence for the Secondary Products Revolution
- Secondary Products Revolution, p. 309
Isotopic Methods: Diets over a Lifetime
- Isotopic analysis, p. 313
|
|
|
