Data Quality in Zooarchaeological Faunal Identification

Wolverton, Steve

doi:10.1007/s10816-012-9161-4

Cited by 110 publications

(63 citation statements)

References 48 publications

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“…Lagomorphs and turkeys were important components of prehistoric diet and are abundant in archaeological faunas; sciurid remains are less common (Badenhorst and Driver 2009;Muir and Driver 2002). All bone specimens were identified on the basis of diagnostic morphological characteristics and through comparison to reference materials housed in the University of North Texas Laboratory of Zooarchaeology following standards published by Driver (1992Driver ( , 2011 and Wolverton (2013). All specimens exhibited good preservation (e.g., intact or semi-intact long bones with glossy surfaces, flexibility, and the absence of cracking or burn marks).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…As a result, protein residues from such artifacts occur in trace quantities if they preserve, and, relative to bone, are likely to be composed of taxonomically diverse and less predictable mixtures. By analyzing bone identifiable to particular taxonomic groups using traditional zooarchaeological analysis (Driver 1992(Driver , 2011Wolverton 2013), rather than residues from ceramics, we minimize these challenges such that we are able to efficiently validate our approach, which is ultimately tailored for the non-targeted analysis of taxonomically diverse mixtures. Second, we analyze proteins from zooarchaeological bone excavated from contexts similar in age and location to those from which we seek to identify protein residues from archaeological cooking pottery.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Validation of a Non-Targeted LC-MS Approach for Identifying Ancient Proteins: Method Development on Bone to Improve Artifact Residue Analysis

Barker

Dombrosky

Chaput

et al. 2015

EBL

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Identification of protein residues from prehistoric cooking pottery using mass spectrometry is challenging because proteins are removed from original tissues, are degraded from cooking, may be poorly preserved due to diagenesis, and occur in a palimpsest of exogenous soil proteins. In contrast, bone proteins are abundant and well preserved. This research is part of a larger method-development project for innovation and improvement of liquid chromatography – mass spectrometry analysis of protein residues from cooking pottery; here we validate the potential of our extraction and characterization approach via application to ancient bone proteins. Because of its preservation potential for proteins and given that our approach is destructive, ancient bone identified via skeletal morphology represents an appropriate verification target. Proteins were identified from zooarchaeological turkey (Meleagris gallopavo Linnaeus Phasianidae), rabbit (Lagomorpha), and squirrel (Sciuridae) remains excavated from ancient pueblo archaeological sites in southwestern Colorado using a non-targeted LC-MS/MS approach. The data have been deposited to the ProteomeXchange Consortium with the dataset identifier PXD002440. Improvement of highly sensitive targeted LC-MS/MS approaches is an avenue for future method development related to the study of protein residues from artifacts such as stone tools and pottery.

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Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Validation of a Non-Targeted LC-MS Approach for Identifying Ancient Proteins: Method Development on Bone to Improve Artifact Residue Analysis

Barker

Dombrosky

Chaput

et al. 2015

EBL

Self Cite

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“…This means that certain questions -about taxonomic representation in the last case, and changing relative abundance in the first twocannot be answered using collections with these issues, unless said issues are somehow addressed and resolved. Attention to the impacts of data errors is thus critical to zooarchaeological meta-analyses (for additional discussion see Peacock et al 2012;Wolverton 2013;Wolverton, Dombrosky and Lyman 2014). We will illustrate this problem of directional difference with a case study focused on the distribution of domestic fauna of Old World origin in 17 th century New Mexico.…”

Section: When Is There a Problem?mentioning

confidence: 99%

The Promise and Peril of Older Collections: Meta-Analyses and the Zooarchaeology of Late Prehistoric/Early Historic New Mexico

Jones¹,

Gabe²

2015

Open Quaternary

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Zooarchaeological meta-analyses hold promise in answering the "big questions" of archaeology, but they are also fraught with methodological peril. In regions with a long history of archaeological research, like the American Southwest, such meta-analyses will invariably involve the use of older collections. These assemblages can pose a challenge for zooarchaeologists: the faunas were often haphazardly and/or inconsistently collected, and documentation of collection methods can be difficult to find (if available at all). In this paper, we illustrate several problems common to older collections using examples from Tijeras Pueblo (LA 581) and Comanche Springs (LA 14904), and explore these issues further through a meta-analysis of the distribution of Old World domestic animal taxa in 17 th century New Mexico. We find that while the inclusion of older collections in zooarchaeological meta-analyses poses challenges, if the problems in these data are addressed, such collections can provide useful information.Keywords: Early colonial period; New Mexico; Old World domestic fauna; Tijeras Pueblo; Comanche Springs; museum collections * University of New Mexico, United States elj@unm.edu, cgabe@unm.edu Jones and Gabe: The Promise and Peril of Older Collections Art. 6, page 2 of 13 and curation rather than differences in the behavior of the humans who initially deposited the fauna. In this paper, we use examples from our research on late prehistoric and early historic faunas of New Mexico and a case study on the distribution of Old World domestic fauna in 17 th century New Mexico to explore issues raised by the inclusion of older collections in archaeozoological meta-analyses. Older collections: issues and impactsWhile every archaeozoological collection's life history is, of course, unique, there are several factors commonly encountered when working with older collections. Here we discuss three of them -variability in screen size, contextual biases, and documentation (or lack thereof) -and then explore when these factors will likely impact results in meta-analyses. Screening (or lack thereof)As has been widely demonstrated, screening protocol during excavation has a profound impact on the composition of zooarchaeological assemblages (Cannon 1999;Nagaoka 2005;Schaffer 1992;Schaffer and Sanchez 1994;Stahl 1996). If not taken into account, variability in screening can easily cause patterns that appear to represent changes in human subsistence behavior, but in fact reflect changes in archaeological practice (Grayson and Cannon 1999; Jones 2013b).Understanding what type of screening was used in excavation is thus critical for any analysis involving older collections. Screening was rare in excavations prior to the late 1960s (see discussion in James 1997). In the American Southwest, the use of quarter-inch mesh became widespread (although not ubiquitous) in the 1970s, and as the influence of screen size on recovery became more wellknown, eighth-inch screens were increasingly used in some (but usually not all) contexts from the lat...

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“…Care was taken to avoid the over-identification of specimens. If a fragment only retained diagnostic features or characteristics to family or genus level it was not assumed that that it was part of a dominant group already identified to species level (Driver 1992;Szabó 2009;Wolverton 2013).…”

Section: Marine Molluscsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Taxonomic units were grouped in the highest common level so that, while the level of taxonomic identification varies, none of the taxa overlapped within the analyses of richness and diversity (Driver 1992: Szabó 2009Wolverton 2013). The characteristics and performance of these diversity statistics vary in terms of their discriminant ability, sensitivity to sample size, and focus on richness or evenness/dominance.…”

Section: Marine Molluscsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Archaeological expressions of Holocene cultural and environmental change in coastal Southeast Queensland

Smith¹

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This thesis is concerned with the relationship between Holocene environmental changes and human behaviour in coastal southeast Queensland. The study region covers an area stretching from Fraser Island in the north to the border of northern New South Wales in the south, and possesses the best documented and intensively scrutinised coastal archaeological record in Australia. The archaeology of the area was a major focus from the late 1970s when the Moreton Regional Archaeological Project, a long-term multi-stage regional project, was established to coordinate archaeological investigations in southeast Queensland. The Cooloola Region Archaeological Project was established in the mid-1980s to explore the archaeology north of the Noosa River. These initial studies provided the basis for a regional chronology, as well as models of settlement and subsistence based on the exploitation of the area's rich marine resources.In the time since the original work was conducted the research foci for coastal archaeology, both in Australia and internationally, have moved toward more complex issues such as assessing the impact of humans on marine ecosystems, the identification of patterns in resource exploitation strategies, and the use of molluscs as proxy evidence in local and regional environmental reconstructions.Additionally, regionally-specific models of Holocene environmental change have been developed, in line with greater emphasis being placed on the ecology and biology of the constituent species in middens in addressing questions of spatial and chronological variations in site patterning.In view of these developments, midden deposits from five sites from differing locations in southeast Queensland were re-analysed, and a literature review of two further sites was also undertaken, with the aim of assessing human behavioural variability during the mid to late Holocene through the Publications during candidature No publications Publications included in this thesis No publications included. vi Contributions by others to the thesisNo contributions by others. Statement of parts of the thesis submitted to qualify for the award of another degreeNone.vii Acknowledgements Researching and writing a PhD thesis is never a straightforward endeavour, although it seems to be a good idea at the time. The project has taken a long time to come to fruition, delayed by a combination of protracted and ultimately fruitless negotiations with stakeholders, illness, and bereavement. There are many people to thank for helping me to eventually get over the line. Chris was an undergraduate student in one of the University of Queensland Field Archaeology viii classes on Bribie Island in the early 1990s. Even then his knowledge of lithics was scary. Chris kindly stepped in as my principal advisor when Pat moved to Sydney. I must confess some disappointment that the artefact assemblages in my study were not more exciting for him but, as he does most things, he has calmly taken it in his stride.

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Data Quality in Zooarchaeological Faunal Identification

Cited by 110 publications

References 48 publications

Validation of a Non-Targeted LC-MS Approach for Identifying Ancient Proteins: Method Development on Bone to Improve Artifact Residue Analysis

Validation of a Non-Targeted LC-MS Approach for Identifying Ancient Proteins: Method Development on Bone to Improve Artifact Residue Analysis

The Promise and Peril of Older Collections: Meta-Analyses and the Zooarchaeology of Late Prehistoric/Early Historic New Mexico

Archaeological expressions of Holocene cultural and environmental change in coastal Southeast Queensland

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