Zooarcheology

NPS Photo

Zooarcheology is the study of animal remains from archeological sites. Zooarcheologists study animal bones, teeth, shells, horn, and other animal parts to learn how people used animal products in the past.

Dr. Alexandra Parsons of the National Park Service and Dr. Rochelle Marrinan of Florida State University studied the bone tools and determined what animals the tools were made from. Most of the socketed points were made from the lower leg bone (tibia) of raccoons (Procyon lotor). Many of the bone bipoints and points in the collection were made from the cannon bone (carpometacarpus and tarsometatarsus) of white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus). Other animals used for bone tools include bobcat, possum, otter, bird, sawfish, shark, stingray, and turtle.

Knowing which bone of an animal was used to make a tool allows archeologists to know how much modification was required to make the tool. This also helps archeologists understand if tool types were made the same way each time or if people made them in different ways.

Archeology at Anhinga Trail

Studying the Archeological Site

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  Vibracoring

  SEAC archeologist, Dr. Margo Schwadron conducted a survey of a large area around the site.

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  Reflectance Transformation Imaging

  Reflectance transformation imaging is a way of photographing an object under different angles and then manipulating the images.

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  Computed Tomography

  Computed Tomography (CT) scans are used to help archeologists to examine the bone tools.

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  Archaeobotany

  Archaeobotany is the study of plant remains from archeological sites.