page_title: Archaeobiology
section_title: Animals in Archaeology
hierarchical_section_title: Archaeobiology / Animals in Archaeology
caption_attribution_description: עברית: ארכאוזואולוגיה: השוואת עצם ארכאולוגית לעצם מודרנית באוסף השוואתי English: Zooarchaeology: comparing an archaeological bone to a modern bone in a comparative collection
context_page_description: Archaeobiology, the study of the biology of ancient times through archaeological materials, is a subspecialty of archaeology. It can be seen as a blanket term for paleobotany, animal osteology, zooarchaeology, microbiology, and many other sub-disciplines. Specifically, plant and animal remains are also called ecofacts. Sometimes these ecofacts can be left by humans and sometimes they can be naturally occurring. Archaeobiology tends to focus on more recent finds, so the difference between archaeobiology and palaeontology is mainly one of date: archaeobiologists typically work with more recent, non-fossilised material found at archaeological sites. Only very rarely are archaeobiological excavations performed at sites with no sign of human presence.
context_section_description: The study of animal remains in archaeology teaches how humans and animals interacted with one another in prehistoric times. This gives an insight on how humans began domesticating animals. In zooarchaeology, studies will show the animal and human husbandry, as well as the process of cultures adding animals into their diets. Studying animals in archaeology requires the help from different fields such as zoology, anthropology, paleontology, osteology, and anatomy. Zooarchaeologists gather and observe the fragments of the bones from reptiles, mammals, amphibians, and birds around an archaeological site. Thus, they will gather context clues on how humans and animals subsided together within their environment. Through the years, humans have learned the basics of how to domesticate, breed, hunt and consume animals. This area in archaeology informs others on how humans have evolved into manipulating animals throughout prehistory and beyond.
caption: Zooarchaeology: comparing an archaeological bone to a modern bone in a comparative collection
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