Animal Bones : Problems for the Archaeologist together with some possible solutions

A principal goal of the quantitative study of animal bones from archaeological sites of any period is the elucidation of past cultural practices and patterns. In order to investigate these phenomena, however, it is necessary to evaluate the effects of biases introduced by non-controllable factors including differential disposal, deposition, and preservation and by controllable factors such as excavation, recovery, and handling procedures. By adopting special sampling, recovery, and handling techniques while in the field, the archaeologist can assist the faunal analyst in evaluating the effects of the various biasing factors. Some of these procedures are discussed in this essay together with some of the problems relating to the analysis and publication of faunal data.