From 1974 to the present, the Institute of Classical Archaeology at the University of Texas at Austin has carried out archaeological excavations in the ancient territory (chora) of Metaponto, now located in the modern province of Basilicata on the southern coast of Italy. This wide-ranging investigation, which covers a number of sites and a time period ranging from prehistory to the Roman Empire, has unearthed a wealth of new information about the ancient rural economy in southern Italy. T...

Animals have always been integral to culture. Their interaction with humans has intensified since the onset of domestication resulting in higher incidences of animal disease due to human intervention. At the same time, human care has counterbalanced pressures of natural selection, reducing morbidity among wild animals. Prior to the emergence of a veterinary record, animal disease can only be traced by analyzing pathological symptoms on excavated animal remains. This volume presents a colle...

This book investigates relations between humans and animals over several centuries with a focus on the Middle Ages, since important features of our perceptions regarding animals have been rooted in that period. Elucidating various aspects of medieval human-animal relationships requires transdisciplinary discourse, and so this book aims to reconcile the materiality of animals with complex cultural systems illustrating their subtle transitions 'between body and mind'.

This book presents new research into social networks and the various networking modes that formed during the history of archaeology in distinct geographical settings in Europe, North America, and South Asia in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. The diverse range of international experts in this edited collection demonstrate that networks can be found everywhere in archaeology, making it a highly interconnected research field.Using a wide array of examples from diverse geopolit...

The most authoritative illustrated book on flying reptiles availableFor 150 million years, the skies didn't belong to birds—they belonged to the pterosaurs. These flying reptiles, which include the pterodactyls, shared the world with the nonavian dinosaurs until their extinction 65 million years ago. Some pterosaurs, such as the giant azhdarchids, were the largest flying animals of all time, with wingspans exceeding thirty feet and standing heights comparable to mo...

The analysis of animal bone assemblages from archaeological sites provides much valuable data concerning economic and husbandry practices in the past, as well as insights into cultural and symbolic or ritual activity. Animal palaeopathology can identify diseases in archaeozoological assemblages but little interest has been expressed in investigating and understanding the cultural aspects of the diseases identified. Such assemblages represent the cumulative effects of human attitudes, decis...

Ever since the discovery of fossil remains of extinct animals associated with flint implements, bones and other animal remains have been providing invaluable information to the archaeologist. In the last 20 years many archaeologists and zoologists have taken to studying such "archaeofaunal" remains, and the science of "zoo-archaeology" has come into being. What was the nature of the environment in which our ancestors lived? In which season were sites occupied? When did our earliest ancesto...

The killing and burial of animals in ritualistic contexts is encountered across Europe from Prehistory through to the historical period. This volume presents the state of research across Europe to illustrate how comparable interpretative frameworks are used by archaeologists working with both prehistoric and historical societies. Key questions include: How easy is it to identify ritually killed animals in the archaeological record? Can we tell if an animal has been killed specifically for ...

Building on the success of their previous book, White and Folkens' The Human Bone Manual is intended for use outisde the laboratory and classroom, by professional forensic scientists, anthropologists and researchers. The compact volume includes all the key information needed for identification purposes, including hundreds of photographs designed to show a maximum amount of anatomical information.* Features more than 500 color photographs and illustrations in a port...

A photographic guide to Oklahomas Devonian trilobites. The geological history of Coal County, Oklahoma. Descriptions of rock formations where trilobites are found. Excavation and restoration of trilobites. A photographic atlas of the Lower Devonian trilobites of Oklahoma, with helpful information to aid in their identification.Trilobites are a well-known fossil group, possibly second most famous only to dinosaurs. With their easily fossilized exoskeleton, they left an extensive and...

Sanitation and intestinal health is something we often take for granted today. However, people living in many regions of the developing world still suffer with debilitating diseases due to the lack of sanitation. Despite its clear impact upon health in modern times, sanitation in past populations is a topic that has received surprisingly little attention. This book brings together key experts from around the world to explore fascinating aspects of life in the past relevant to sanitation, a...

Endemic and enzootic zoonoses cause about a billion cases of illness in people and millions of deaths every year, and emerging zoonoses are a rising threat to global health. Zoonoses – pathogenic organisms such as bacteria or viruses which we share with animals – cause more than 60% of human infectious diseases, and have been responsible for some of the most devastating disease outbreaks in recent years, including HIV, Ebola, and SARS. However, despite their huge, and rising, impact on hum...