thumb|Illustration of an Egyptian mummy of a dog

Zooarchaeology or archaeozoology merges the disciplines of zoology and archaeology, focusing on the analysis of animal remains within archaeological sites. This field, managed by specialists known as zooarchaeologists or faunal analysts, examines remnants such as bones, shells, hair, chitin, scales, hides, proteins, and DNA, to derive insights into historical human-animal interactions and environmental conditions. While bones and shells tend to be relatively more preserved in archaeological contexts, the survival of faunal remains is generally infrequent. The degradation or fragmentation of faunal remains presents challenges in the accurate analysis and interpretation of data. Practitioners, from various scientific backgrounds including anthropology, paleontology, and ecology, aim primarily to identify and understand human interactions with animals and their environments. Through the analysis of faunal remains, zooarchaeologists can gain insight into past diets, domestication practices, tool usage, and ritualistic behaviors, thus contributing to a comprehensive view of human-environment interactions and the sub-field of environmental archaeology.

Development

The development of zooarchaeology in eastern North America can be broken up into three different periods. The first being the Formative period starting around the 1860s, the second being the Systematization period beginning in the early 1950s, and lastly the Integration period which began about 1969. This approach puts more emphasis on explaining why things happened, not just what happened. These questions include:

  1. What was the diet like, and in what ways were the animals used for food?
  2. What purposes, other than food, were animals used for? Zooarcheologists can find out information like the species the animal is, the age the animal was when it died, and what its sex was. The types of fauna that leave behind these remains will depend on where the archaeological site is located. These animals can be domesticated or wild, and sometimes they find both types of remains at sites. Studying how people dealt with animals, and their effects can help avoid many potential ecological problems. One source of damage to animal bones is humans. Fractures, such as by percussion impact and spiral fracture on a bone can suggest that it was processed by humans for its marrow, minerals, and nutrients. It can also give context to how animals may or may not have been domesticated over time by a group of people. The paper :Ancient DNA Analysis of the Oldest Canid Species from the Siberian Arctic and Genetic Contribution to the Domestic Dog" by Lee et al. gives a description of claws and teeth were sampled for ancient DNA. In a facility specially designed for ancient DNA extraction, with the use of personal protective equipment and regular bleaching of surfaces and tools, the claws and teeth were wiped with bleach to destroy all modern DNA on the surface, and were then drilled into a powder. The DNA fragments were extracted from the bone powder using an ancient DNA extraction protocol. After using several processes to replicate the DNA fragments and verify the results (PCR and gel electrophoresis), the ancient DNA from the bone powder was sequenced and then analyzed. It is defined as a simple count that shows taxonomic abundance. It is favored for being standardized and easily replicable. However, NISP can run into issues with differential preservation and identifiability of some animals. For example, bones more prone to fragmentation will be overrepresented in an assemblage counted with NISP. Some studies will use MNI (Minimum Number of Individuals) or MNE (Minimum Number of Elements) to mitigate these issues.

Examples from prehistory

alt=This picture is of a Pazyryk man riding a red horse shown in profile view. The man has black hair and is wearing a flowing red and blue polka dotted cape.|thumb|upright|Carpet exemplifying the image of a Pazyryk horseman in 300 B.C. The Pazyryk were known as superb horsemen please see [[Pazyryk culture, other findings alongside the horses can be explored in Pazyryk burials.]]

Human-animal relationships and interactions were diverse during prehistory from being a food source to playing a more intimate role in society. Animals have been used in non-economical ways such as being part of a human burial. However, the majority of zooarchaeology has focused on who was eating what by looking at various remains such as bones, teeth, and fish scales. Sometimes these analyses can be difficult due to decomposition and weathering, which can cause damage to the remains. Not only do faunal remains help reconstruct environments from the past they can show other cultural practices as well. These remains are not always from food, but can be found in jewelry, tools, spiritual practices, and more. Buried together with, but slightly beneath the wolf was a male human skull.