Zooarchaelogy

Jennifer A. Waters has conducted analyses of faunal materials from sites throughout Arizona since 1996. The study of animal bone is essential for reconstructing the diet of past human populations from both prehistoric and historic times, and also answers questions about how people acquired and shared food and the ways they used their environment.

Analyzing the vertebrate faunal material from sites in southern Arizona has given Ms. Waters a broad perspective on both prehistoric and historic food preferences. Trends through prehistory in faunal assemblage characteristics such as taxonomic diversity, ratios of small to large animals, and ubiquities of small animal taxa show changes in diet breadth, hunting logistics, and prey and pest relationships. Shifts in hunting strategies provide answers to questions about settlement size and duration, land-use patterns, and economic organization. For historic assemblages, faunal analysis allows people’s diets and economic practices related to meat preparation to be reconstructed. Their ethnicities may also be identified through the study of butchering marks, element representation, and taxonomic composition.

Ms. Waters is available to conduct species identification and full assemblage analysis on a contract basis. Email us for availability, scheduling, and current rates.