People, Plants, and Animals in the Past

Chapter Overview

• Focus on interactions of people with plants and animals in the past.

Learning Objectives

• Understand what zooarchaeological and archaeobotanical studies involve.

• Recognize how plants aid in reconstructing ancient diets.

• Identify how pollen can help reconstruct past environments.

Zooarchaeology

• Definition: Study of animal remains from archaeological sites.

• A zooarchaeologist specializes in this field.

• Key analyses: Faunal analysis involving identification and interpretation of animal remains.

Bone Identification Steps

• Identification based on:

  • Element: Specific skeletal parts (e.g., cranium, femur).

  • Taxon: Taxonomic classification (kingdom, phylum, etc.).

  • Size: Categorization based on animal size (5 size classes identified).

Understanding from Animal Remains

• Insights into:

  • Human diet (hunting vs. domestication).

  • Domestication history of animals.

  • Understanding past environments.

  • Evolutionary histories of animal species.

Archaeobotany

• Definition: Study of plant remains from archaeological sites.

• A paleoethnobotanist analyzes interactions between humans and plants.

Plant Remains Analysis

• Types of remains:

  • Macrobotanical: Non-microscopic remains (seeds, charcoal).

  • Microbotanical: Microscopic remains (pollen, phytoliths).

• Other sources include ancient stomachs and coprolites (desiccated feces).

Key Terms in Paleoethnobotany

• Coprolite analysis, palynology, phytolith, anthracology.

Benefits of Plant Studies

• Understanding ancient diets and agriculture origins.

• Reconstructing past environments and climate changes.

• Studying vegetation distribution and crop evolution.