Zooarchaeology in Context - ARC00117M
Module summary
In this module we explore and discuss the many archaeological questions to which animal remains can contribute, from Palaeolithic hunting to post-medieval trade, taking in topics such as domestication, environmental impact, and the cultural roles of animals along the way. Associated practical workshops provide a grounding in the zooarchaeologist's basic toolkit: age and sex determination, quantification, metrics, and butchery analysis. The module will be useful for anyone who needs to read and interpret zooarchaeological reports, as well as those planning to study animal bones directly.
Related modules
Pre-Requisite: Students must have taken Animal bones for Archaeologists in Semester 1 to be able to take this module in Semester 2.
Module will run
| Occurrence | Teaching period |
|---|---|
| A | Semester 2 2025-26 |
Module aims
This module aims:
- To demonstrate the contribution of zooarchaeology to understanding past human societies in a wide range of contexts, and to provide students with a broad knowledge base of such studies.
- To provide students with training and hands-on experience in the key methods of analysis of archaeological animal remains.
- To provide students with the necessary knowledge and confidence to recommend and apply appropriate analytical approaches to specific animal bone assemblages.
Module learning outcomes
By the end of the module, students should be able to:
- Demonstrate a comprehensive understanding of the contribution of animal remains to various key issues in archaeology and beyond.
- Demonstrate a practical understanding of standard techniques for quantification, age/sex determination, metrical and butchery analyses of animal remains, and interpret the results in a range of archaeological scenarios.
- Demonstrate critical engagement with the strengths and limitations of those approaches, and critically evaluate published zooarchaeological studies.
- Critically assess the potential of zooarchaeological assemblages or datasets for future research, and recommend appropriate approaches.
Module content
The module is built around a series of seminars taking students from evidence for past hunting strategies, through the study of domestication and herding practices, to the role of animal bones in complex societies, organised religion, and urban settlements. Along the way, sessions are dedicated to zooarchaeological contributions within exciting topics such as island archaeology, the archaeology of food, and contemporary biodiversity conservation. The seminars are supported by practical workshops covering age-at-death analysis, metrics, sex determination, zooarchaeological quantification, and butchery – ensuring that students understand how zooarchaeological data are generated, and the complexities and limitations of the techniques on which our interpretations are based.
The last few weeks are given over to the Yok Höyük research simulation workshop which allows students to recreate the entire zooarchaeological research process in the context of a fictional Neolithic excavation in Turkey: developing research questions, applying sampling strategies, and analysing and interpreting results.
Indicative assessment
| Task | % of module mark |
|---|---|
| Essay/coursework | 100 |
Special assessment rules
None
Indicative reassessment
| Task | % of module mark |
|---|---|
| Essay/coursework | 100 |
Module feedback
Formative: oral feedback from module leaders
Summative: written feedback within the University's turnaround policy
Indicative reading
Reitz, E. & E. Wing. 2008. Zooarchaeology. 2nd edn. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Steele, T. 2015. The contributions of animal bones from archaeological sites: the past and future of zooarchaeology. Journal of Archaeological Science 56: 168-176. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jas.2015.02.036
Sykes, N. 2014. Beastly Questions. London: Bloomsbury.