Where in the World? Part One: The Zooarchaeology of Europe - Ep 45

Welcome to episode one of a miniseries focusing on the zooarchaeology of various world regions. This episode is centred around European zooarchaeology, focusing on the natural history and anatomy of the most prominent wild and domesticated species. Tune in for curious animal introductions, waterfowl collections and musings on Pliny the Elder.

Interested in learning about how to use X-Rays and similar technology in archaeology? Check out the linked PaleoImaging course from James Elliot!

Connect with James on Twitter: @paleoimaging

Start your own podcast with Zencastr and get 30% off your first three months with code ANIMALS. Click this message for more information.

Transcripts

Links

  • Bartosiewicz, L. (2005). Worked elk (Alces alces L. 1758) antler from Central Europe. From Hooves to Horns, from Mollusc to Mammoth—Manufacture and Use of Bone Artefacts from Prehistoric Times to the Present. Tallin: Tallinn Book Printers Ltd, 339-50.

  • O'Regan, H.J. (2018), The presence of the brown bear Ursus arctos in Holocene Britain: a review of the evidence. Mam Rev, 48: 229-244. https://doi.org/10.1111/mam.12127

  • Pate, F., Henneberg, R., & Henneberg, M. (2016). Stable carbon and nitrogen isotope evidence for dietary variability at ancient Pompeii, Italy. Mediterranean Archaeology and Archaeometry, 16(1), 127-133.

    - Richter, J. (2005). Selective hunting of pine marten, Martes martes, in Late Mesolithic Denmark. Journal of archaeological science, 32(8), 1223-1231.

  • Robinson, M.A., Domestic burnt offerings and sacrifices at Roman and Pre-Roman Pompeii, Italy. Vegetation History and Archaeobotany 11, 93-9. (2002)

  • Wigh, B. (1998) Animal bones from the Viking town of Birka, Sweden. In E. Cameron (ed.) Leather and Fur: Aspects of Medieval Trade and Technology, 81–90. London, Archetype Publications Ltd

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Contemporary Zoorchaeology - What’s in your Rubbish Bin? - Ep 44

On this episode of ArchaeoAnimals, Alex and Simona delve into contemporary archaeology. What can our household rubbish tell us about our food consumption habits? How do today’s selection of species and butchering techniques compare to those of the past?

Interested in learning about how to use X-Rays and similar technology in archaeology? Check out the linked PaleoImaging course from James Elliot!

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The Zooarchaeology of Myth & Legends (Part Two) - Ep 43

This is part two of a miniseries on the zooarchaeology of mythological creatures. Learn more about the anatomy of creatures such as the Minotaur and Cerberus, but most importantly, how a centaur would wear trousers.

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Transcripts

Sources

  • Morford, M. and Lenardon, R. (2003). Classical Mythology (7 ed.). Oxford: Oxford University Press.

  • Hamilton, E. (2017) Mythology. New York: Hachette Book Group.

  • Stallings, A. E. (2018) Works and Days. London: Penguin Books.

ArchPodNet

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The Hitchhikers: the animals we didn’t really want to take with us but life, uh, finds a way (ARCHIVE) - Ep 42

What do the black rat and the grain weevil have in common? Learn more about the species mankind has ‘accidentally’ introduced, many now regarded as pests. Discover enchanting creatures such as the killer shrimp, and a beetle’s favourite past time.

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The Zooarchaeology of Myth & Legends (Part One) - Ep 41

Welcome to part 1 of our mini series covering the zooarchaeology of mythology and folklore. In this instalment, Alex and Simona discuss the weird and wonderful creatures of Norse mythology and what their skeletons may have looked like. Also Loki’s pranks, Jörmungandr rightfully getting irate at Thor picking him up and Grettir’s unpleasant encounter with a draugr.

Sleipnir


Sources

  • Lindow, J. (2001). Norse Mythology: A Guide to the Gods, Heroes, Rituals, and Beliefs. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

  • Sturluson, S. and Brodeur, A.G. (trans) (1916). The Prose Edda. New York: The American-Scandinavian Foundation

  • Byock, J. L. (1990). Saga of the Volsungs: The Norse Epic of Sigurd the Dragon Slayer. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press.

  • Larrington, C. (eds) (1996), The Poetic Edda, Oxford World's Classics. Oxford: Oxford University Press

  • Maldanis, L. et al (2016). Heart fossilization is possible and informs the evolution of cardiac outflow tract in vertebrates. Elife, 5, e14698.

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"Player One Needs Food Badly" - The Zooarchaeology of Video Game Cuisine - Ep 40

On this episode of ArchaeoAnimals, Simona and Alex are heading back into the world of video games - this time all about the culinary archaeology of popular video games. Learn more about what the rubbish pits of games such as The Witcher and Dragon Age would look like; also endless Skyrim quotes and Alex trying to eat everything.

Links

Food Items from Gauntlet

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Time Warped! Part Five - The Zooarchaeology of the Medieval Period - Ep 39

On the last instalment of the ‘Time Warped’ miniseries, Alex and Simona discuss animal exploitation in the Medieval period. Also ineffective door-to-door Beaker salesmen, snail-riding cats and confusing cave site stratigraphy.

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Time Warped! Part Four: The Zooarchaeology of the Post Roman Period - Ep 38

In this episode of ArchaeoAnimals, Alex and Simona delve into the zooarchaeology of the post Roman period. Learn more about exquisitely carved combs, antler pottery stamps and very courageous sheep.

Links

  • JORVIK Viking Centre - a must see attraction in York

  • Stanley West, 1985. 'West Stow, the Anglo-Saxon Village, Suffolk', East Anglian Archaeology 24

  • Crabtree, P. J. And Campana, D. V., 2013: Wool Production, Wealth and Trade in Middle Saxon England In Arbuckle, B. S. and McCarty, S., eds. Animals and Inequality in the Ancient World. Boulder: University Press of Colorado, in press

  • Pam Crabtree, 1989. 'West Stow, Suffolk: Anglo-Saxon Animal Husbandry', East Anglian Archaeology 47

Walrus Ivory Gaming Board from Coppergate

Walrus Ivory Gaming Board from Coppergate

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Time Warped! Part Three: The Zooarchaeology of Roman Britain - Ep 37

In this third instalment of the ‘Time Warped’ miniseries, Alex and Simona discuss all things Roman: follow us on a journey into the highly varied Romano-British period.

Bibliography

Figure 1: Fallow deer mandible from Fishbourne.

Figure 1: Fallow deer mandible from Fishbourne.

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Time Warped! Part Two: The Zooarchaeology of the Later Prehistoric - Episode 36

This is episode part 2 of our ‘Time Warped’ miniseries, covering the zooarchaeology of Britain across time. The instalment covers what is known as the Later Prehistoric Period, which spans from the Late Bronze Age to the Roman conquest. This episode’s case studies are Flag Fen and Carn Euny.

Links

  • Must Farm

  • Carn Euny Ancient Village

  • Iron Age to Roman settlement with incorporated fogou and adjacent post-medieval cottage at Carn Euny

  • Albarella, U. (2007) ‘The End of the Sheep Age: People and Animals in the Late Iron Age’, in Haselgrove, C. and Moore, T. (eds) The Later Iron Age in Britain and Beyond. Oxford: Oxbow Books, pp. 389–402.

  • Dobney, K. and Ervynyck, A. (2007) ‘To Fish or Not to Fish? Evidence for the Possible Avoidance of Fish Consumption During the Iron Age Around the North Sea’, in Moore, C. H. and Tom (eds) The Later Iron Age in Britain and Beyond.

  • Grant, A. (1989) ‘Economic or Symbolic? Animals and Ritual Behaviour’, in Garwood, P. et al. (eds) Sacred and Profane: Proceedings of a Conference on Archaeology, Ritual and Religion. Oxford: Oxford University Committee for Archaeology.

  • Maltby, M. et al. (2018) ‘Counting Roman Chickens: Multidisciplinary Approaches to Human-Chicken Interactions in Roman Britain’, Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports, 19, pp. 1003–1015.

  • Serjeantson, D. (2007) ‘Intensification of Animal Husbandry in the Late Iron Age? The Contribution of Sheep and Pigs’, in Haselgrove, C. and Pope, R. (eds) The Earlier Iron Age in Britain and the Near Continent. Oxford: Oxbow Books, pp. 80–93.

Carn Euny

Carn Euny

Fogou

Fogou

Calf Skeleton from Must Farm

Calf Skeleton from Must Farm

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Time Warped! Part One: The Zooarchaeology of the Early Prehistoric - Ep 35

This month we start a new 5 part mini series covering zooarchaeoogy through time. This episode focuses on the early prehistoric period (Palaeolithic - Early Bronze Age), where we’ll se the shift from hunting to farming and domestication. This episode’s case studies are Covesea Caves and Star Carr.

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Gotta Dig 'Em All! The Zooarchaeology of Pokemon - Ep 34

Following a listener’s request, this month’s episode is all about the skeletal morphology of Pokemon. Learn more about oviparous ghosts, witness Simona’s confusion at the concept, and entertain the idea that Gyrados is actually Jörmungandr.

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The Ancient Mew Hieroglyph

The Ancient Mew Hieroglyph

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Eagle Eyed Zooarchaeology - Looking at the Digital Animals in Assassin's Creed - Ep 33

This month’s episode focuses on the creatures of the Assassins’ Creed franchise. Unlike our previous video game episodes, where we reconstruct the morphology of fantasy creatures, we will explore the depiction of extant and extinct fauna in the historical reconstructions which form the basis of this video game franchise.

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assassins-creed-origins-latest-patch-remembers-your-bayek-hair-preferences.jpg

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A Little Bit of Zooarch, a Little Bit of Palaeontology...Let's Talk Megafauna and Extinct Species - Ep 32

Picture a world where dormice are the size of cats and hyenas roamed around Europe: welcome to the Pleistocene! Upon suggestion from one of our listeners, we explore the time period where zooarchaeology and palaeontology overlap.

Bibliography

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Swooping is Bad, Bones are Better: The Zooarchaeology of Dragon Age - Ep 31

Join us on the latest part of our imagined videogame zooarchaeology series! Following popular demand, this episode is all about Bioware’s Dragon Age and its weird and wonderful creatures. Learn more about battle nugs, gibbering horrors and the Dragon Age version of ‘ritual’: it’s magic!!

Sources

  • Galinas, B. et al. (2015) Dragon Age: The World of Thedas - Volume 2

    Dark Horse Comics

  • Dragon Age Fandom

A Dragon Skull from Dragon Age: Inquisition

A Dragon Skull from Dragon Age: Inquisition

The Hitchhikers: the animals we didn’t really want to take with us but life, uh, finds a way - Ep 30

What do the black rat and the grain weevil have in common? Learn more about the species mankind has ‘accidentally’ introduced, many now regarded as pests. Discover enchanting creatures such as the killer shrimp, and a beetle’s favourite past time.

Links and References

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Find this show on the educational podcast app, Lyceum.fm!

I'm Commander Shephard and This Is My Favourite Bone on the Citadel: The Zooarchaeology of Mass Effect - Ep 29

Space hamsters and shifty looking cows: Tristan joins Alex and Simona to discuss the zooarchaeology of Mass Effect creatures.

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Find this show on the educational podcast app, Lyceum.fm!

So You Want to be a Zooarchaeologist? - Ep 28

Interested in becoming a zooarchaeologist? Alex and Simona discuss how to get into zooarchaeology and their personal experiences within the discipline.

Links

  • New Evidence of Early Horse Domestication

  • Albarella, U., Rizzetto, M., and Russ. H. (2017) The Oxford Handbook of Zooarchaeology. Oxford University Press.

  • Gifford-Gonzalez, D. (2018) An Introduction to Zooarchaeology. Springer.

  • O'Conner, T. (2000) The Archaeology of Animal Bones. Texas A&M University Press.

  • Reitz, E.J. and Wing, E.S. (1999) Zooarchaeology. Cambridge University Press.

  • Sykes, N. (2014) Beastly Questions: Animal Answers to Archaeological Issues. Bloomsbury Academic.

Looking at animal bones at the National Museum of Scotland.

Looking at animal bones at the National Museum of Scotland.

You’re not supposed to be here! ‘Exotic’ species in the archaeological record - Episode 27

On this month’s episode, Alex and Simona were meant to discuss non-native species in the archaeological record. What actually happened is a mix of exotic pets, headphone-wearing animals and helpful ancient Roman advice.

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Baboon skeleton buried in Hierakonpolis (Photo Credit: Renee Friedman)

Baboon skeleton buried in Hierakonpolis (Photo Credit: Renee Friedman)

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Find this show on the educational podcast app, Lyceum.fm!

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Find this show on the educational podcast app, Lyceum.fm!

Bioarchaeology in the Witcher - Ep 26

Alex and Simona go back into archaeogaming with a new episode focusing on bioarchaeology in the popular video game franchise The Witcher (originally a book series and now also a tv show). They will follow the story’s protagonist, Geralt of Rivia, and his ability to carry out osteological analyses of skeletal remains in his monster hunting quests.

Sources

If you want to hear more on the skeletal anatomy of video game creatures, why not head over to Episode 13, which presents an overview of the morphology of creatures from several famous video game franchises (among which Skyrim)

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Find this show on the educational podcast app, Lyceum.fm!