Key research themes
1. How can butchery traditions be identified and differentiated in ancient populations through bone breakage and cut mark patterns?
This theme focuses on the methodological approaches to discern culturally transmitted butchery traditions in ancient human groups by analyzing bone breakage patterns, cut marks, and percussion marks on faunal remains. This is significant for understanding social learning, group identity, subsistence strategies, and cognitive abilities in prehistoric populations, particularly Neandertals and early Homo sapiens.
2. What technological and tool-use innovations influenced butchery practices and how do these changes inform our understanding of human evolution and prehistoric subsistence?
This theme investigates the role of lithic and metal tools in the evolution and diversification of butchery practices from the Lower Paleolithic through the Middle Paleolithic and into historic periods. Innovations in tool hafting, small flake usage, and the shift from stone to metal tools have implications for cognitive flexibility, subsistence strategies, and the scale of meat processing in archaeo-anthropological contexts.
3. How do cultural, symbolic, and regulatory frameworks influence butchery practices and meat consumption from ancient to historic societies?
This theme explores the socio-cultural dimensions of butchery encompassing ancient religious laws, symbolic meanings of meat, ritualistic practices, and institutional regulations shaping butchery and consumption behaviors. Understanding these frameworks sheds light on the interplay between authority, identity, tradition, and expertise within meat-related practices from antiquity through historic periods.