ARH312Y1 Lecture Notes - Periosteum, Femur, Tarsometatarsus
Document Summary
Types of faunal remains frequently found at archaeological sites = bones, teeth, fish, otoliths, ivory, eggshell, mollusk shell. Types of faunal remains not commonly found = keratin-based materials (horn sheath, claw and hoof sheath, hair, fur), cartilaginous parts, insects. The faunal assemblage that we study in the present represents only a fraction of the animals that lived in the past. Taxonomy: linnaean taxonomy classifies hierarchically, based on evolutionary relationships. Kingdom, phylum, class, order, family, genus, species: animals that are closely related tend to share more osteological characteristics with each other than with more distantly related animals. In-depth knowledge of comparative anatomy and basic understanding of evolutionary biomechanics: access to reference skeletons of known provenance, age, sex, etc. to which we compare archaeological specimens. Diaphysis shaft >> cortical bone (dense, compact) Mammalian anatomy: dorsal = back, ventral = stomach, proximal = close to body, distal = away from the body, caudal = tail, cranial = head.
