Zooarchaeology Short Course

Understanding zooarchaeology: a short course for professionals, students and enthusiasts

When: 5-7^th September 2012
Where: University of Sheffield, Department of Archaeology
Cost : £165/£110 (student/unwaged)

Introduction

Sheffield has a long history of zooarchaeology teaching and research, and today it is home to one of the largest and most active zooarchaeology research teams in the UK. Our members work throughout the UK and Europe as well as contributing to projects in Asia and Africa, and have research interests that span the period from the Palaeolithic to the recent past. The course, which is now being run for the fifth time since January 2011, aims to provide an understanding of the basic theory and methods which zooarchaeologists use to understand animal bone evidence. The course will include lectures, discussion and hands on practical classes. Participants will begin to develop the skills necessary to:

• Recognise special/unusual faunal deposits and understand the principles of excavating animal bones.

• Care for and store bones after excavation.

• Identify different species from their bones and teeth.

• Age and sex bones.

• Recognize taphonomy, butchery and pathology.

• Understand how zooarchaeological material is analysed and quantified.

• Interpret site reports and zooarchaeological literature.

There will be ample opportunity during the course to ask questions and discuss the issues raised during each day. However, if you have a particular area of interest that you would like us to cover in more detail, please let us know when you register for the course.

Many people have enjoyed the Zooarchaeology Short Course, including Andrew Lawson who is a Trainee Biological Curator at Manchester Museum. Find out what he thought of the course by reading his blog.

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Day 1	Day 2	Day 3
Lectures • Introduction: What is zooarchaeology • Excavating animal bones • What can body parts tell us? • Identifying animal bones Practical sessions • Tour of the reference collection • Types of bone • Skeletal anatomy • Identifying animal bones	Lectures • Identifying animal bones • Ageing animals Practical sessions • Identifying animal bones • Bone fusion practical • Ageing by tooth eruption and wear	Lectures • Bone modification • Sexing and biometry • Counting bones • Understanding a bone report Practical sessions • Bone recording • Sheep/goat biometry • Quantification

Social activities

Course meal

On Wednesday 5th Spetember there will be an optional course meal for participants and tutors at a local restaurant. Further details will be available shortly but we anticipate that this will cost less than £20.

Registration!

Registration is now open! To book your place please visit our online shop.

Please do register as soon as possible as participation is capped. For any queries please contact us at

zooarch-shortcourse@sheffield.ac.uk

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Cancellations and refunds

Refund requests should be made by email to zooarch-shortcourse@sheffield.ac.uk, no less than 7 days before the start of the course. We will endeavour to fill the course place, and in the event that a replacement is found a full refund will be made. If a replacement cannot be found a refund of 50% of the course fee will be made for cancellations made more than 7 days before the start of the course. No refund will be made for cancellations made less than 7 days before the course start date. At the discretion of the course organisers, and in exceptional circumstances, participants that are unable to attend can defer their enrolment until the next Zooarchaeology short course.
If you are experiencing any difficulty please contact us as early as possible.