Research & Databases

What is Zooarchaeology? 

Zooarchaeology: study of animal remains to elucidate past human life, in historic and prehistoric time (Diane Gifford-Gonzalez 2015). It is the “love child” of several disciplines and methods, including 

• Zoology: study of living animals, for their own sakes.
• Paleontology: study of past animals and their evolution, for their own sakes.
• Faunal analysis: any study of animal remains, to elucidate any topic. 

Zooarchaeology complements several sister disciplines, such as paleoethnobotany, paleoecology, and historical ecology. Multi-faceted studies combining these specializations help us understand how humans in the past navigated diet, interacted with (and manipulated) their environment, and exploited animal resources in early economies.