The Oxford Handbook of Zooarchaeology

1. Zooarchaeology in the twenty-fist century: where we come from, where we are now, and where we are going
2. Humans and mammals in the Upper Palaeolithic of Russia
3. The zooarchaeology of complexity and specialization during the Upper Palaeolithic in Western Europe: changing diversity and evenness
4. Mesolithic hunting and fihing in the coastal and terrestrial environments of the eastern Baltic
5. Archaeozoological techniques and protocols for elaborating scenarios of early colonization and Neolithization of Cyprus
6. Zooarchaeological results from Neolithic and Bronze Age wetland and dryland sites in the Central Alpine Foreland: economic, ecologic, and taphonomic relevance
7. Zooarchaeology in the Carpathian Basin and adjacent areas
8. Sheep, sacrifies, and symbols: animals in Later Bronze Age Greece
9. Changes in lifestyle in ancient Rome (Italy) across the Iron Age/Roman transition: the evidence from animal remains
10. Zooarchaeology of the Scandinavian settlements in Iceland and Greenland: diverging pathways
11. Fishing, wildfowling, and marine mammal exploitation in northern Scotland from prehistory to Early Modern times
12. Zooarchaeological evidence for Muslim improvement of sheep (Ovis aries) in Portugal
13. Th zooarchaeology of Medieval Ireland
14. Animals in urban life in Medieval to Early Modern England
15. From bovid to beaver: mammal exploitation in Medieval northwest Russia
16. Th emergence of livestock husbandry in Early Neolithic Anatolia
17. The emergence of livestock husbandry in Early Neolithic Anatolia
18. Patterns of animal exploitation in western Turkey: from Palaeolithic molluscs to Byzantine elephants
19. South Asian contributions to animal domestication and pastoralism: bones, genes, and archaeology
20. The zooarchaeology of Neolithic China
21. Subsistence economy, animal domestication, and herd management in prehistoric central Asia (Neolithic–​Iron Age)
22. Introduction of domestic animals to the Japanese archipelago
23. Farming, social change, and state formation in Southeast Asia
24. The zooarchaeology of early historic periods in the southern Levant
25. Middle and Later Stone Age hunters and their prey in southern Africa
26. Pastoralism in sub-​Saharan Africa: emergence and ramifications
27. Cattle, a major component of the Kerma culture (Sudan)
28. The zooarchaeology of Iron Age farmers from southern Africa
29. The exploitation of aquatic resources in Holocene West Africa
30. Animals in ancient Egyptian religion: belief, identity, power, and economy
31. Animals, acculturation, and colonization in ancient and Islamic North Africa
32. Historical zooarchaeology of colonialism, mercantilism, and indigenous dispossession: the Dutch East India Company’s meat industry at the Cape of Good Hope, South Africa
33. Zooarchaeology of the pre-​Contact Northwest coast of North America
34. Fauna and the emergence of intensive agricultural economies in the United States Southwest
35. 13,000 years of communal bison hunting in western North America
36. Advances in hunter-​gatherer research in Mexico: archaeozoological contrib

Animals have played a fundamental role in shaping human history, and the study of their remains from archaeological sites--zooarchaeology--has gradually been emerging as a powerful discipline and crucible for forging an understanding of our past. The Oxford Handbook of Zooarchaeology offers a cutting-edge compendium of zooarchaeology the world over that transcends environmental, economic, and social approaches, seeking instead to provide a holistic view of the roles played by animals in past human cultures. Incisive chapters written by leading scholars in the field incorporate case studies from across five continents, from Iceland to New Zealand and from Japan to Egypt and Ecuador, providing a sense of the dynamism of the discipline, the many approaches and methods adopted by different schools and traditions, and an idea of the huge range of interactions that have occurred between people and animals throughout the world and its history. Adaptations of human-animal relationships in environments as varied as the Arctic, temperate forests, deserts, the tropics, and the sea are discussed, while studies of hunter-gatherers, farmers, herders, fishermen, and even traders and urban dwellers highlight the importance that animals have had in all forms of human societies. With an introduction that clearly contextualizes the current practice of zooarchaeology in relation to both its history and the challenges and opportunities that can be expected for the future, and a methodological glossary illuminating the way in which zooarchaeologists approach the study of their material, this Handbook will be invaluable not only for specialists in the field, but for anybody who has an interest in our past and the role that animals have played in forging it.