Archaeozoology ... of people and animals

Archaeology and other historical sciences deal with the history of man in many aspects. Historical writings and illustrations, as well as excavations and cultural artefacts are the main sources for scientists. In the research of time periods without written records, archaeological excavations are the most important source of information, recently expanded and complemented by various archaeometric sciences.

Excavations do not only yield relics of human life and activities, but also huge amounts of fragmented bones that belong to animals people lived with, ate or used otherwise. The study and analysis of these animal bone assemblages, with the aim of deciphering the relationship between man and animal, is the main focus of archaeozoological research.






The bone fragments found on an archaeological site enable the specialist to determine species, sex, age, size, butchering marks and in some cases diseases of the animals that were kept or hunted. Taking all these results and other existing historical sources into account, it is possible to reconstruct the development of domestication and husbandry. In societies that depend mainly on hunting for their subsistence, certain species of wild animals are of paramount importance. A profound change, affecting both humans and animals, is brought along by Neolithization and the domestication of the most important domestic animal species. All through history, the knowledge and efforts of husbandry, as well as several environmental factors, have influenced the size and appearance of our domestic animals. Some aspects of the varied relationship between people and animals are treated to a closer look below.

... useful in life ...

All through their lifetime domestic animals offer a wide variety of possible uses: cattle serve as draft animals for plough and cart, horse and horsemen act as a joint and effective force in war, donkeys, mules, camels and elephants carry people and heavy loads over long distances. Dogs guard house and farmstead, keep watch over the livestock and help in hunting. Cats keep harmful rodents in check. Sheep and goats provide wool and milk, and cattle yields milk too. Chicken, ducks and geese lay eggs and are also used for their meat..


Introductory literature to archaeozoology


... useful in death ...




After being killed in the process of hunting or butchering, animals do not only supply meat for nutritional purposes; their bodies supply a lot of raw materials for other products too. The brain is used in tanning, tallow serves as fuel or grease, the bladder can be made into a container, the lower intestines are used as sausage skins, the sinews enable bows to be strung. Wool, hair, fur and skin can be made into various fabrics and leather, feathers are used to fill cushions and pillows and serve as quills for writing. Horn, antler and bone are precious raw materials for a variety of products. The use of these raw materials clearly shows a selection process concerning specific body parts of certain species, as well as the standardized way of processing them.

Introductory literature to bone and antlers as raw materials


... revered and deified ...

Besides their practical uses in life and death, certain animal species were also worshipped as representations of the gods. A good example is the religion of ancient Egypt. The goddess Hathor was shown to wear the horns and ears of a cow, Bastet had the head of a cat. Anubis was portrayed with the head of a jackal, Horus appeared as a falcon and Sobek as a crocodile. Thot, the god of wisdom, could be represented as an ibis or a baboon. In Memphis, the Apis bulls were worshipped, mummified after death and buried in enormous sarcophagi. These animal cults and mummifications reached their widest distribution during the Late Dynastic and Ptolemaic periods of Egypt. The religious practice of enbalming and mummification was most commonly practiced on ibises, falcons, cats and crocodiles. In Mesopotamia, a cemetery of 33 dog burials was found near the temple of the goddess Gula in Isin (1050-900 BC).
A well-known modern example are the sacred cows of India. It has to be noted, though, that worship is restricted to the female zebus; incidentally, India posesses a busy beef and milk industry.





Introductory literature to the fauna of Ancient Egypt

Introductory literature to the fauna of the Ancient Near East


... united in death ...











The close relationship that can develop between people and animals through life and work, as well as the social status that is connected to the ownership of certain animals, finds its reflection in the burial of animals alone or as a companion to humans in the afterlife. Some very early examples are the skeletons of dogs associated with male burials in the Natufian period in Israel (12,000-10,000 BC). A similar situation of a human accompanied by a cat was found in a neolithic grave in Cyprus (9th-8th millenium BC). In Ubaid-period Eridu (Mesopotamia), the burial of a 15 to 16 year old boy and his dog was excavated. Dogs as companions in human graves are also known from Tepe Gawra and Khafajah. The cattle buried in association with carts in the tombs of the Royal Cemetery in Ur were intended as draft animals.

The camel burials in Yemen, Oman and the United Arab Emirates testify to their importance as riding animals. A similar status can be assumed for the horses found in german alamannic warrior graves (5th-7th cent. AD). The sporadic burials of dogs from medieval Germany, for example in Halberstadt (13th/14th cent. AD) and Siegburg (ca. 1600 AD), should rather be attributed to sentimental reasons.

How close the emotional connection between people and animals can become is nowadays mirrored in pet cemeteries, like for example in Clichy (Paris, France) or Dortmund-Kley (Germany).

Introductory literature to animal burials


... despised and rejected ...

Finds of complete animal skeletons do not always imply burial or veneration. Excavations have revealed some examples of knacker's yards from medieval times, where domestic animals that were not deemed suitable for human consumption anymore were disposed of. Other examples of rather callous disposal are solitary animal skeletons in the backfill of basements or amidst the refuse found in moats outside the settlements.


Literature about the knacker's yard of Emmenbrücke/Luzern (Switzerland)

Introductory literature to archaeozoology:

Benecke, N.: Der Mensch und seine Haustiere. Die Geschichte einer jahrtausendealten Beziehung. Stuttgart 1994.

Clutton-Brock, J.: A Natural History of Domesticated Mammals. British Museum of Natural History 1987.

Davis, S. J. M.: The Archaeology of Animals. London 1987.

Dinzelbacher, P.: Mensch und Tier in der Geschichte Europas. Stuttgart 2000.

Herre, W./Röhrs, M.: Haustiere - zoologisch gesehen. Stuttgart, New York 1990.

Rackham, J.: Animal Bones. Interpreting the Past. British Museum Press, 1994.

Reitz, E. J./Wing, E. S.: Zooarchaeology, Cambridge Manuals in Archaeology. Cambridge 1999.

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Introductory literature to bone and antlers as raw materials:

Archäologie in Deutschland, Heft 1, 1995, Schwerpunktthema Knochenartefakte.

Dijkman, W./Ervynck, A.: Antler, Bone, Horn, Ivoy and Teeth. The Use of Animal Skeletal Materials in Roman and Early Medieval Maastricht. Archaeologica Mosana I, Maastricht 1998.

Kokabi, M./Schlenker, B./Wahl, J.: Knochenarbeit. Artefakte aus tierischen Rohstoffen im Wandel der Zeit. Landesdenkmalamt Baden-Württemberg, Stuttgart 1994.

McGregor, A.: Bone, Antler, Ivory & Horn. The Technology of Skeletal Materials since the Roman Period. London, Sydney, Totowa 1985.

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Introductory literature to the fauna of Ancient Egypt:

Houlihan, P. F.: The Animal World of the Pharaos. London 1996.

Osborn, D. J./Osbornová: The Mammals of Ancient Egypt. Warminster 1998.

Sarhage, D.: Fischfang und Fischkult im alten Ägypten. Mainz 1998.

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Introductory literature to the fauna of the Ancient Near East:

Archaeozoology of the Near East. Several Conference Volumes of the ICAZ (International Council of Archaeozoology)

Postgate, J. N./Powell, M. A.: Domestic Animals of Mesopotamia. Oxford 1990.

Collins, B. J.: A History of the Animal world in the Ancient Near East. Leiden, Boston, Cologne 2002.

Van Buren, E. D.: The Fauna of Ancient Mesopotamia as Represented in Art. Analecta Orientalia 18, Rom 1939.

Vila, E. de: L'exploitation des animaux en Mésopotamie aux IVe et IIIe millénaires avant J.-C. Monographie du CRA 21. Paris 1998.

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Introductory literature to animal burials:

Amberger, G./Kokabi, M.: Pferdeskelette aus den Alamannischen Gräberfeldern Aldingen, Giengen an der Brenz und Kösingen. Fundberichte aus Baden-Württemberg 10. 1985, 257-280.

Behrens, H.: Die neolithisch-frühmetallzeitlichen Tierskelettfunde der Alten Welt. Veröffentlichungen des Landesmuseums für Vorgeschichte in Halle, 19, 1964.

Boessneck, J./von den Driesch, A.: Die zoologische Dokumentation von drei Pferdeskeletten und anderen Tierknochenfunden aus einem Kammergrab auf dem Norsun-Tepe (Ostanatolien), Istanbuler Mitteilungen 27/28, 1977/78, 73-91.

Göhde, H.: Vom Hirtenhund zum Göttersymbol. Die Bedeutung des Hundes im Alten Mesopotamien vom Beginn bis zum Untergang. Dissertation Münster 1998.

Maise, Chr.: Eine Pferdebestattung der Frühlatènezeit und hallstattzeitliche Siedlungsreste in Forchheim, Kreis Emmendingen. Archäologische Ausgrabungen in Baden-Württemberg 1995, 110-112.

Müller, H.-H./Ambros, C.: Neue frühgeschichtliche Pferdeskelettfunde aus dem Gebiet der Slowakei. Studijne Zvesti Archeologickeho Ustavu Sav 30, 1994, 117-173.

Müller-Wille, M.: Pferdegrab und Pferdeopfer im frühen Mittelalter. Berichten van de Rijksdienst voor het Oudheidkundig Bodemonderzoek. 20-21, 1970-1971, 119-248.

Prilloff, R.-J./Prilloff, S.: Eine mittelalterliche Hundebestattung aus Halberstadt. Jahresschrift für mitteldeutsche Vorgeschichte 80, 1998, 165-176.

Ruppel, T.: Eine Hundebestattung der Zeit um 1600. Eine Siegburger Töpferwerkstatt der Familie Knütgen. Kunst und Altertum am Rhein. Führer des Rheinischen Landesmuseums Bonn und des Rheinischen Amtes für Bodendenkmalpflege, Nr. 133, Köln-Bonn, 1991, 93-101.

Schäfer, M.: Von Pferdegräbern und Reiterheroen. Mitteilungen des Deutschen Archäologischen Institutes Kairo 114, 1999, 49-60.

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Literature about the knacker's yard of Emmenbrücke/Luzern (Switzerland):

Stampfli, H.R.: Die Tierreste von Wasenplatz und Richtstätte. In: Manser, J.: Richtstätte und Wasenplatz in Emmenbrücke (16./19. Jahrhundert), Schweizer Beiträge zur Kulturgeschichte und Archäologie des Mittelalters 19, 2, 1992, 157-285.

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