Archaeobiology, the study of the biology of ancient times through archaeological materials, is a subspecialty of

archaeology Archaeology or archeology is the scientific study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of artifacts, architecture, biofacts or ecofacts, sites, and cultural landsca ...

. It can be seen as a blanket term for paleobotany, animal osteology,

zooarchaeology Zooarchaeology (sometimes called archaeozoology), also known as faunal analysis, is a branch of archaeology that studies remains of animals from archaeological sites. Faunal remains are the items left behind when an animal dies. These include bon ...

, microbiology, and many other sub-disciplines. Specifically, plant and animal remains are also called

ecofacts In archaeology, a biofact (more commonly known as an ecofact) is any organic material including flora or fauna material found at an archaeological site that has not been technologically altered by humans yet still has cultural relevance. Biofact ...

. Sometimes these ecofacts can be left by humans and sometimes they can be naturally occurring. Archaeobiology tends to focus on more recent finds, so the difference between archaeobiology and palaeontology is mainly one of date: archaeobiologists typically work with more recent, non-

fossil A fossil (from Classical Latin , ) is any preserved remains, impression, or trace of any once-living thing from a past geological age. Examples include bones, shells, exoskeletons, stone imprints of animals or microbes, objects preserved ...

ised material found at archaeological sites. Only very rarely are archaeobiological excavations performed at sites with no sign of human presence.

Flora and Fauna in Archaeology

The prime interest of paleobotany is to reconstruct the vegetation that people in the past would have encountered in a particular place and time. Plant studies have always been overshadowed by faunal studies because bones are more conspicuous than plant remains when excavating. Collection of plant remains could everything including pollen, soil, diatoms, wood, plant remains and

phytoliths Phytoliths (from Greek, "plant stone") are rigid, microscopic structures made of silica, found in some plant tissues and persisting after the decay of the plant. These plants take up silica from the soil, whereupon it is deposited within different ...

. Phytoliths are sediments and diatoms are water deposits. Each plant remain can tell the archaeologist different things about the environment during a certain time period. Animal remains were the first evidence used by 19th century archaeologists. Today, archaeologists use faunal remains as a guide to the environment. It helps archaeologists understand whether the fauna were present naturally or through activities of carnivores or people. Archaeologists deal with

macrofauna Fauna is all of the animal life present in a particular region or time. The corresponding term for plants is ''flora'', and for fungi, it is '' funga''. Flora, fauna, funga and other forms of life are collectively referred to as '' biota''. Zoo ...

and

microfauna Microfauna (Ancient Greek ''mikros'' "small" + New Latin ''fauna'' "animal") refers to microscopic animals and organisms that exhibit animal-like qualities. Microfauna are represented in the animal kingdom (e.g., nematodes, small arthropods) and t ...

. Microfauna are better indicators of climate and environmental change than larger species. These can be as small as a bug or as big as a fish or bird. Macrofauna helps archaeologists build a picture of past human diet.

Bacteria and Protists in Archaeology

Bacteria Bacteria (; singular: bacterium) are ubiquitous, mostly free-living organisms often consisting of one Cell (biology), biological cell. They constitute a large domain (biology), domain of prokaryotic microorganisms. Typically a few micrometr ...

and Protists form two separate kingdoms, but both are fairly similar when compared. Bacteria are

prokaryotic A prokaryote () is a single-celled organism that lacks a nucleus and other membrane-bound organelles. The word ''prokaryote'' comes from the Greek πρό (, 'before') and κάρυον (, 'nut' or 'kernel').Campbell, N. "Biology:Concepts & Connec ...

microorganisms, while protists are a group of

eukaryotic Eukaryotes () are organisms whose Cell (biology), cells have a cell nucleus, nucleus. All animals, plants, fungi, and many unicellular organisms, are Eukaryotes. They belong to the group of organisms Eukaryota or Eukarya, which is one of the ...

organisms. Because both are microorganisms, both fall under the study of microbiology and special techniques are required for archaeologists to even see them. Archaeologists, in order to find these microorganisms in a site, have to first take samples from the site and bring them in for lab analysis. Once in the lab, they can use equipment such as

optical microscope The optical microscope, also referred to as a light microscope, is a type of microscope that commonly uses visible light and a system of lenses to generate magnified images of small objects. Optical microscopes are the oldest design of microsc ...

s, in order to actually see evidence of micro organic remains. Archaeologists that look at these microorganisms do not actually find the living bacteria or protist, but instead find indentations left behind in material from where they had been. Depending on where the indentations were in the strata, archaeologists can determine the age of the microorganisms.

Paleomycology

Paleomycology is the study of

fungi A fungus ( : fungi or funguses) is any member of the group of eukaryotic organisms that includes microorganisms such as yeasts and molds, as well as the more familiar mushrooms. These organisms are classified as a kingdom, separately from ...

in the fossil record. The study of past fungi can lead to the evolutionary past. Much of fungi are made up of parasites of animals, plants or insects. Most of the contemporary fungi resemble its ancestors, dating back over a million years ago. For example, “In the Dominican amber, a mosquito was found with several types of parasitic fungi growing on its outside cuticle. What is interesting is that the fungi resemble modern day fungi in class Trichomycetes, which are common gut-inhabiting zygomycetes of insects, but they differ from Trichomycetes in that the fungi are on the outside of the insect rather than the inside.” The study of ancient fungi can be used to track the evolution of fungi through millions of years.

Osteology in Archaeology

The study of osteology is a study of bones and can be a subdiscipline in archeology. Osteologists in archeology reconstruct bones of humans or animals from the past to find more about the past civilizations. Osteology is used in archaeology to determine the age, gender, and ethnicity of the remains. It is also helpful to rebuild past societies’ cultural background. Osteology shares past activities pursued by the ancient cultures including human and animal migrations as well as warfare. Using the remains from the past can help modern archaeologist uncover the past from what they ate to their daily activities. This can help uncover the mysteries of past histories.

Animals in Archaeology

The study of animal remains in archaeology teaches how humans and animals interacted with one another in prehistoric times. This gives an insight on how humans began domesticating animals. In

, studies will show the animal and human husbandry, as well as the process of cultures adding animals into their diets. Studying animals in archaeology requires the help from different fields such as

zoology Zoology ()The pronunciation of zoology as is usually regarded as nonstandard, though it is not uncommon. is the branch of biology that studies the animal kingdom, including the structure, embryology, evolution, classification, habits, and ...

anthropology Anthropology is the scientific study of humanity, concerned with human behavior, human biology, cultures, societies, and linguistics, in both the present and past, including past human species. Social anthropology studies patterns of be ...

paleontology Paleontology (), also spelled palaeontology or palæontology, is the scientific study of life that existed prior to, and sometimes including, the start of the Holocene epoch (roughly 11,700 years before present). It includes the study of fossi ...

, osteology, and

anatomy Anatomy () is the branch of biology concerned with the study of the structure of organisms and their parts. Anatomy is a branch of natural science that deals with the structural organization of living things. It is an old science, having it ...

. Zooarchaeologists gather and observe the fragments of the bones from reptiles, mammals, amphibians, and birds around an archaeological site. Thus, they will gather context clues on how humans and animals subsided together within their environment. Through the years, humans have learned the basics of how to domesticate, breed, hunt and consume animals. This area in archaeology informs others on how humans have evolved into manipulating animals throughout prehistory and beyond.

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