Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item:
https://hdl.handle.net/1959.11/19098
Title: | Food for thought: using game cameras to better understand the movement of bones by scavenging in archaeological faunal assemblages | Contributor(s): | Fillios, Melanie (author) | Publication Date: | 2016 | DOI: | 10.1007/s12520-015-0274-z | Handle Link: | https://hdl.handle.net/1959.11/19098 | Abstract: | This paper questions our understanding of the movement of bones by animal scavengers in the archaeological record. Since assumptions regarding the effects of animal scavenging shape final interpretations of skeletal element frequencies in archaeological faunal assemblages, they are important for our understanding and reconstruction of ancient human behaviour. The results of a 4-year actualistic kangaroo scavenging study from Australia are used to question our understanding of the movement of the bone by contrasting visual data captured by motion-activated digital game cameras with traditional taphonomic studies using skeletal element frequencies. Game cameras are commonly used by ecologists to capture the behaviour of living species but have not yet been used in experimental archaeology where visually documenting animal scavenging behaviour can be used to understand the movement of carcasses and individual bones. Results suggest that traditional zooarchaeological analyses may not be accurate indicators of hunted versus scavenged prey in archaeological faunal assemblages. Moreover, they most certainly fail to document the entire suite of animals scavenging a carcass. These implications are discussed with particular reference to the ability to definitively ascertain the role of humans in the megafaunal extinction debate in Australia. | Publication Type: | Journal Article | Grant Details: | ARC/DP0985475 | Source of Publication: | Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences, 8(2), p. 317-328 | Publisher: | Springer | Place of Publication: | Germany | ISSN: | 1866-9565 1866-9557 |
Fields of Research (FoR) 2008: | 210199 Archaeology not elsewhere classified 210101 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Archaeology |
Fields of Research (FoR) 2020: | 430101 Archaeological science 450101 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander archaeology |
Socio-Economic Objective (SEO) 2008: | 950503 Understanding Australia's Past 969999 Environment not elsewhere classified |
Socio-Economic Objective (SEO) 2020: | 130703 Understanding Australia’s past | Peer Reviewed: | Yes | HERDC Category Description: | C1 Refereed Article in a Scholarly Journal |
---|---|
Appears in Collections: | Journal Article School of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences |
Files in This Item:
File | Description | Size | Format |
---|
SCOPUSTM
Citations
1
checked on Mar 23, 2024
Page view(s)
2,246
checked on Mar 3, 2024
Items in Research UNE are protected by copyright, with all rights reserved, unless otherwise indicated.