Thoughts on a method for zooarchaeological study of quotidian life

The emerging focus on the structures and practices everyday life in archaeology allows us to envision the full range of occupations, activities, and actors involved in social and ecological maintenance and reproduction. Despite this, archaeological interpretation still tends to be framed in terms of grand narratives, in which the "story" is about the agency of large-scale processes as they play out in human existence. This paper offers some comments on these problems from the perspective of a zooarchaeologist analysis, exploring more deeply the articulation of middle-range archaeological theory to practice theory.El creciente interés de la arqueología en las estructuras y prácticas cotidianas permite contemplar la amplia gama de ocupaciones, actividades y actores que participan del mantenimiento y reproducción social y ecológico. A pesar de ésto, las interpretaciones arqueológicas siguen tendiendo a estructurarse en términos de las grandes narrativas, en las cuales la narración prima los procesos a largo plazo sobre la existencia humana. En este artículo se comentan estos problemas desde una perspectiva zooarqueológica, explorando con mayor profundidad la articulación de la teoría arqueológica de rango medio con la teoría de la práctica y con otras aportaciones teóricas de orden general.L'interés creixent de l'arqueologia en les estructures i pràctiques quotidianes permet la contemplació de l'ampla varietat d'ocupacions, activitats i actors que participen en el manteniment i la reproducció social i ecològica. Maltrat això, les interpretacions arqueològiques tendeixen encara a estructurar-se en termes de processos a llarg termini sobre la existència humana. En aquest article es comenten aquests problemes des d'una perspectiva zooarqueològica de nivell mig amb la teoria de la pràctica i amb altres aportacions teòriques d'ordre general

An Introduction to Zooarchaeology

zooarchaeology is a self-reproducing field taught in many university departments of anthropology or archaeology. As archaeologists have literally taken faunal analysis into their own hands, they have debated how best to use animal remains to study everything from early hominin hunting or scavenging to animal production in ancient market economies. Animal remains from archaeological sites have been used to infer three kinds of information: the age of deposits (chronology); paleoenvironment and paleoecological relations among humans and other species; human choices and actions related to use of animals as food and raw materials. Methods for reconstructing human diet and behavior have undergone the greatest growth over the last four decades, and most of this book addresses the second and third areas. This book deals with what I know best: vertebrate zooarchaeology, and within that, analysis of mammalian bones and teeth

Coyote (Canis latrans) use of marine resources in coastal California: A new behavior relative to their recent ancestors

Coyotes ( Canis latrans) are known to consume marine foods, but the importance and persistence of marine subsidies to coyotes is unknown. Recent access to a marine subsidy, especially if gained following apex predator loss, may facilitate coyote expansion along coastal routes and amplify the effects of mesopredator release. Our goal was to quantify and contextualize past and present marine resource use by coyotes on the central coast of California via stable isotope analysis. We measured δ13C and δ15N values in coyotes, their competitors, and their food resources at two modern sites, seven archaeological sites spanning in age from ~3000 to 750 BP, and from historical (AD 1893–1992) coyote and grizzly bear hair and bone sourced from coastal counties. We found evidence for marine resource use by modern coastal California coyotes at one site, Año Nuevo, which hosts a mainland northern elephant seal ( Mirounga angustirostris) breeding colony. Seals and sea lions account for ~20% of Año Nuevo coyote diet throughout the year and this marine subsidy likely positively impacts coyote population size. Isotopic data suggest that neither historic nor prehistoric coyotes consumed marine-derived foods, even at sites near ancient mainland seal rookeries. Marine resource use by some contemporary California coyotes is a novel behavior relative to their recent ancestors. We hypothesize that human alteration of the environment through extirpation of the California grizzly bear and the more recent protection of marine mammals likely enabled this behavioral shift

Reductions in the dietary niche of southern sea otters (Enhydra lutris nereis) from the Holocene to the Anthropocene.

The sea otter (Enhydra lutris) is a marine mammal hunted to near extinction during the 1800s. Despite their well-known modern importance as a keystone species, we know little about historical sea otter ecology. Here, we characterize the ecological niche of ancient southern sea otters (E. lutris nereis) using δ13C analysis and δ15N analysis of bones recovered from archaeological sites spanning ~7,000 to 350 years before present (N = 112 individuals) at five regions along the coast of California. These data are compared with previously published data on modern animals (N = 165) and potential modern prey items. In addition, we analyze the δ15N of individual amino acids for 23 individuals to test for differences in sea otter trophic ecology through time. After correcting for tissue-specific and temporal isotopic effects, we employ nonparametric statistics and Bayesian niche models to quantify differences among ancient and modern animals. We find ancient otters occupied a larger isotopic niche than nearly all modern localities; likely reflecting broader habitat and prey use in prefur trade populations. In addition, ancient sea otters at the most southerly sites occupied an isotopic niche that was more than twice as large as ancient otters from northerly regions. This likely reflects greater invertebrate prey diversity in southern California relative to northern California. Thus, we suggest the potential dietary niche of sea otters in southern California could be larger than in central and northern California. At two sites, Año Nuevo and Monterey Bay, ancient otters had significantly higher δ15N values than modern populations. Amino acid δ15N data indicated this resulted from shifting baseline isotope values, rather than a change in sea otter trophic ecology. Our results help in better understanding the contemporary ecological role of sea otters and exemplify the strength of combing zooarchaeological and biological information to provide baseline data for conservation efforts

Finishing the euchromatic sequence of the human genome

The sequence of the human genome encodes the genetic instructions for human physiology, as well as rich information about human evolution. In 2001, the International Human Genome Sequencing Consortium reported a draft sequence of the euchromatic portion of the human genome. Since then, the international collaboration has worked to convert this draft into a genome sequence with high accuracy and nearly complete coverage. Here, we report the result of this finishing process. The current genome sequence (Build 35) contains 2.85 billion nucleotides interrupted by only 341 gaps. It covers ∼99% of the euchromatic genome and is accurate to an error rate of ∼1 event per 100,000 bases. Many of the remaining euchromatic gaps are associated with segmental duplications and will require focused work with new methods. The near-complete sequence, the first for a vertebrate, greatly improves the precision of biological analyses of the human genome including studies of gene number, birth and death. Notably, the human enome seems to encode only 20,000-25,000 protein-coding genes. The genome sequence reported here should serve as a firm foundation for biomedical research in the decades ahead

On beasts in breasts. Another reading of women, wildness and danger at Çatalhöyük

Abstract Since its discovery, Ç atalhöyük's iconography has provoked interpretative comment. In a series of writings, Hodder critiqued earlier interpretations of the Ç atalhöyük corpus, arguing for asymmetrical gender relations of an enduring and particular type in the European past. While recent research at Ç atalhöyük appears to have tempered some of Hodder's interpretative oppositions and scope, it is worthwhile to propose an alternate contextual approach to his original oppositions. This begins with the multiple examples of small carnivores' heads encysted in what may be clay effigies of human breasts and reads the same corpus as involving gender not solely with danger or death, but also with food and fleshly transformation. In this interpretation, the roles and essences of wild and domestic animals, women and men, food and death, are more complex, interpenetrating and mutable. Building on recent work at the site, it is possible to propose the existence of zones of transformation within households

Thoughts on a method for zooarchaeological study of quotidian life

The emerging focus on the structures and practices everyday life in archaeology allows us to envision the full range of occupations, activities, and actors involved in social and ecological maintenance and reproduction. Despite this, archaeological interpretation still tends to be framed in terms of grand narratives, in which the "story" is about the agency of large-scale processes as they play out in human existence. This paper offers some comments on these problems from the perspective of a zooarchaeologist analysis, exploring more deeply the articulation of middle-range archaeological theory to practice theory.El creciente interés de la arqueología en las estructuras y prácticas cotidianas permite contemplar la amplia gama de ocupaciones, actividades y actores que participan del mantenimiento y reproducción social y ecológico. A pesar de ésto, las interpretaciones arqueológicas siguen tendiendo a estructurarse en términos de las grandes narrativas, en las cuales la narración prima los procesos a largo plazo sobre la existencia humana. En este artículo se comentan estos problemas desde una perspectiva zooarqueológica, explorando con mayor profundidad la articulación de la teoría arqueológica de rango medio con la teoría de la práctica y con otras aportaciones teóricas de orden general.L'interés creixent de l'arqueologia en les estructures i pràctiques quotidianes permet la contemplació de l'ampla varietat d'ocupacions, activitats i actors que participen en el manteniment i la reproducció social i ecològica. Maltrat això, les interpretacions arqueològiques tendeixen encara a estructurar-se en termes de processos a llarg termini sobre la existència humana. En aquest article es comenten aquests problemes des d'una perspectiva zooarqueològica de nivell mig amb la teoria de la pràctica i amb altres aportacions teòriques d'ordre general