Animal Bones in Archaeology
Discarded pig skull
Trench 3 2007
Animal bones are found in almost all archaeological excavations and the study of these can contribute enormously to our understanding of past communities.
This one-day course will introduce you to the methods of animal
bone analysis, including
the following topics:-
Why we study animal bones in archaeology.
How we use animal bones in the interpretation of human diet and
activities.
An introduction to identification of the main domestic species.
An introduction to ageing some domestic animals.
Hands on practice at sorting and recording animal bone.
The use of statistical analyses in interpretation of animal bone
assemblages.
Further hands on practical work with domestic species including
ageing.
An introduction to identification of non-domestic animal species.
Time permitting there may be an opportunity to undertake an exercise on identification and/or ageing of domestic species to test student’s knowledge of the day. Animal bone from the Sedgeford assemblage will be used for the practical work, if possible including material received directly from the site during the 2008 excavations.