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How Can Bones Tell Us About the Past?
September, 2020
The study of animal bodies in the past, including parts such as teeth, bones, and skin (archaeozoology), is an important area in archaeology. Archaeozoologists are interested in studying the relationship between society and animals in the past. They analyze the climate, seasonality, and habits of the humans through body tissues of the animals. Price and Knudson (2018) explain that people in the past have a type of rubbish dump where they will throw their waste (middens or pits). Some people just threw the bones on the surface. Therefore, archaeozoologists can find different parts of bones from different animals in middens or pits (Price and Knudson 2018). Archaeozoologists use different measurements, for example, the number of identified specimens (NISP), the total number of bones, and the minimum number of individuals (MNI, the number of a unique skeletal part), which can help to identify the dead animals (faunal remains), although only around half of faunal remains can be identified in general (Price and Knudson 2018).
Price and Knudson (2018) also explained that body tissues can provide a lot of information, which helps us have a better understanding about the history and the environment of the past. One of the important messages embedded in the bones is seasonality and Price and Knudson (2018) describe how archaeologists can examine seasonal changes by analyzing the remains. Archaeozoology also allows us to understand why animals disappear. Hunting and the special weather conditions can be some reasons for their disappearance. The process of domestication can also be one of the reasons affecting the number of animals. The amount of meat which contributes to the human diet can also be estimated after the observation of the number of bones. Teeth help us to understand the age and sex of the animals, so that we can know the history of the domesticated animals (Price and Knudson 2018). Domesticated animals usually die earlier in life than wild animals, which is, in some cases, different from the present. However, this may be difficult to calculate since most of the species had a shorter life than humans. So, apart from identifying the bones and teeth, there are still many challenges faced by the archaeozoologist. Both teeth and bones can provide a lot of specific information, which help us to answer the questions in the unknown past.
The Vedi fortress has already given forth significant faunal evidence, particularly from trench N.38.478200.4419510. The first two figures above (1.1 and 1.2) show two samples. Even though these are broken, I believe that they are likely bones from a dead cow due to their size and similar shapes with the modern examples in figure 1.3 (“Cow Leg Bone”). Cows have no animal behavior regarding seasons, which means information about seasonality cannot be determined. Both bones illustrated in figures 1.1 and 1.2 are over 5 cm long and around 2cm wide. They are broken but still large, compared with other bone samples. Since they are broken, it is hard to observe cutmarks. Therefore, until further study, we lack information about butchering techniques. They have a white and smooth surface, but there are holes in the middle of the bones, which seems to indicate they are not mineralized. Figure 1.2 could be the top part of the bone since the top is blunt but the other end is sharp. They may be from a domestic cow, supplying meat to the people as part of the diet of that period. Domestic animals can provide products, including food, non-food material, and energy. Although we cannot find some secondary products at the site nowadays, the process of domestication did help people to earn a living at that time. The bones do not appear to be tools (worked bones) as there is no evidence, such as sharping by a human.
image source: reference 2 below
Archaeozoology is a challenging sub-domain in archaeology. Different shape, types of bones and teeth found at archaeology sites are part of history, recording unwritten activities. The history of both humans and their world can be recorded by bones. The archaeological record has left the remains of many animals that interacted with humans in the past. Their bones and teeth can provide us with a lot of useful information, such as about local habitat, climate, and the seasonality of a site.
References
1. Price, T. D. and K. Knudson (2018). Principles of Archaeology. New York: Thames & Hudson.
2. Cow Leg Bone. (n.d.).Retrieved August 10,2020, from Natural Exotics website, https://www.naturalexotics.com/store/p/5756-Cow-Leg-Bone.aspx
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