LEARNING OUTCOMES

The Archaeozoology course aims to give the fundamental indications to be able to recognise and contextualise osseous finds with particular attention to animal bones.

AIMS AND LEARNING OUTCOMES

At the end of the course the student must be able to:

• Recognize the bones that make up the skeleton of vertebrates, distinguishing between bones of carnivores and herbivores and knowing the specific terminology for the description of bones
• Know the basics of taxonomic determination of vertebrates and the main animal finds from archaeological excavations
• Know the basics of determining the age of death and sex of selected mammals
• Identify and interpret traces found on the bone surface, whether natural or man-made
• Correctly interpret the data derived from archeozoological analysis

TEACHING METHODS

The lessons will be held in person

SYLLABUS/CONTENT

The course includes the following topics:

• Archaeozoology: definition and applications; the main materials; excavation, documentation and recovery of fossil remains in the archaeological excavation.
• Fossils and fossilization: definitions and usefulness; palaeontology and archaeozoology; zoological nomenclature and the concept of species.
• The skeleton of vertebrates: histology and anatomy; terminology; anatomical and taxonomic determination; osteometry; estimation of the age of death and recognition of sex.
• Quantification of bone remains: Minimum Number of Individuals (NMI) and Number of Identifiable Remains (NISP).
• Taphonomy: biostratinomy and fossildiagenesis; the main natural modifications of bones (weathering, predation, pitting, trampling, transport, abrasion, fracturing, oxidation); changes induced by anthropogenic activity (combustion, cutmarks, breakage, traces of use and processing).
• Taphonomy of karst contexts.
• Other animal materials from archaeological excavations: recognition and determination.
• Human-animal relationship: hunting, domestication, breeding.
• 
  How to study a collection: from excavation to publication of data

RECOMMENDED READING/BIBLIOGRAPHY

• Course notes and related ppt
• DE GROSSI MAZZORIN J. (2008) - Archeozoologia. Lo studio dei resti animali in archeologia. Manuali Laterza. Editori
• CHIAX L.& MENIEL P. (2001) - L'archeozoologie. Ed. Errance , Paris
• RAFFI & SERPAGLI () – Introduzione alla paleontologia. UTET, cap. 2
• CILLI C., MALERBA G., GIACOBINI G. 2000 -.Le modificazioni di superficie dei reperti in materia dura animale. Bollettino del Museo Civico di Storia Naturale di Verona, 24, pp. 73-98.