Chogha Mish Fauna

We are proud to announce the arrival of a new, exciting project in the Open Context database, co-authored by Levent Atici (University of Nevada Las Vegas), Justin S.E. Lev-Tov (Statistical Research, Inc.) and our own Sarah Whitcher Kansa.

Chogha Mish Fauna

This project uses the publicly available dataset of over 30,000 animal bone specimens from excavations at Chogha Mish, Iran during the 1960s and 1970s.The specimens were identified by Jane Wheeler Pires-Ferreira in the 1960s and though she never analyzed the data or produced a report, her identifications were saved and later transferred to punch cards and then to Excel. This ‘orphan’ dataset was made available on the web in 2008 by Abbas Alizadeh (University of Chicago) at the time of his publication of Chogha Mish, Volume II.

The site of Chogha Mish spans the time period from Archaic through Elamite periods, with also later Achaemenid occupation.  These phases subdived further into several subphases, and some of those chronological divisions are also represented in this dataset. Thus the timespan present begins at the mid-seventh millennium and continues into the third millennium B.C.E. In terms of cultural development in the region, these periods are key, spanning the later Neolithc (after the period of caprid and cattle domestication, but possibly during the eras in which pigs and horses were domesticated) through the development of truly settled life, cities, supra-regional trade and even the early empires or state societies of Mesopotamia and Iran. Therefore potential questions of relevance to address with this data collection are as follows:

  1. The extent to which domesticated animals were utilized, and how/whether this changed over time
  2. The development of centralized places
  3. Increasing economic specialization
  4. General changes in subsistence economy
  5. The development of social complexity/stratification.

Publication of this dataset accompanied a study of data-sharing needs in zooarchaeology. Preliminary results of this study were presented as a poster titled: “Other People’s Data: Blind Analysis and Report Writing as a Demonstration of the Imperative of Data Publication”. The poster was presented at the 11th ICAZ International Conference of ICAZ (International Council for Archaeozoology), in Paris (August 2010), in Session 2-4, “Archaeozoology in a Digital World : New Approaches to Communication and Collaboration”. The poster presented at this conference accompanies this project.

Note: there are now 17 projects represented in Open Context:

ProjectDescriptionPrimary PeopleKeywords
Chogha Mish FaunaZooarchaeological observations from Prehistoric and Achaemenid levels at Chogha Mish, Iran.Levent Atici, Justin S.E. Lev-Tov, Sarah Whitcher KansaZooarchaeology, subsistence, economy, Early Bronze Age, Iranian Plateau, Elamite
Khirbat al-Mudayna al-AliyaInvestigations of an Early Iron Age site in a semi-arid zone in west-central JordanBruce Routledge, Benjamin Porterpastoralism, economy, agriculture, Southern Levant, Semi-Arid, Kerak Plateau, Jordan, Iron I, Early Iron Age, subsistence
Dove Mountain GroundstoneAnalysis of groundstone finds from the Dove Mountain Project in the Tucson BasinJenny AdamsSouthwest, Pioneer Period, Sedentary Period, Hohokam, Early Agricultural, Groundstone, Arizona, Archaeology
Bade MuseumTell en-Nasbeh Collection at the Badè Museum of Biblical ArchaeologyAaron BrodyIsrael, Palestine, Southern Levant, Judah, Near East, Biblical Archaeology, Archaeology, Iron Age, 1st Millennium, 4th Millennium, Early Bronze, Town, Tomb, Babylonian, Persian, Hellenistic, Roman, Byzantine
San Diego Archaeological CenterCollections maintained by the San Diego Archaeological CenterSan Diego Archaeological Centerhistorical archaeology, San Diego, California, Spanish colonial, Mexican, finds catalog, education, cultural resource management, archaeological collections
Presidio of San FranciscoOngoing investigations of El Presidio de San Francisco and other archaeological resources at the Presidio of San FranciscoPresidio Archaeology Lab (Presidio Trust)historical archaeology, presidio, San Francisco, California, Spanish colonial, Mexican, US Army, education
Aegean ArchaeomalacologyMollusk Shells in Troia, Yenibademli, and Ulucak: An Archaeomalacological Approach to Environment and Economy in the AegeanCanan ÇakırlarAnatolia, Aegean, bronze age, chalcolithic, mollusks, Archaeomalacology, subsistence, economy, environment
Petra Great Temple ExcavationsBrown University Excavations at the Great Temple of Petra, JordanMartha Sharp JoukowskyReligion, Hellenistic, Jordan, Roman, Roman Empire, Archaeology, Architecture, Nabateans, Nabatean, Petra
Iraq Heritage ProgramOverview of the Global Heritage Fund’s conservation work in IraqGlobal Heritage Fund, Alexandria Archive InstituteMeopotamia, Cultural Heritage, Conservation, Assyria, Sumer, Babylonia, Documentation, Sumer, Archaeology, Iron Age, Early Bronze Age, Early Dynastic, World Heritage
Lake Carlos Beach Site, 1992 and 1996Descriptions and provenience information for 7837 artifactsState of Minnesota, Department of Natural Resources, Division of Parks and Recreation, Minnesota State Parks Cultural Resource Management Program staff, State of Minnesota, Department of Natural Resources, Division of Parks and Recreation
Corneal Ulceration in South East AsiaEpidemiology and Etiology of Corneal Ulcers in South IndiaMathuiah Srinivasan, John P. Whitcherophthalmology, India, public health, infections disease, eye, public health, developing world
Harvard Peabody Mus. ZooarchaeologyHarvard Peabody Museum Zooarchaeology Laboratory Reference CollectionRichard Meadow, Levent Aticiarchaeology, reference collection, zoology, zooarchaeology, archaeology, specimen, bone
Hazor: ZooarchaeologyZooarchaeological observations for Late Bronze Age and Iron Age Hazor, IsraelJustin Lev-Tovarchaeology, Iron Age, Late Bronze Age, Near East, Excavations, Hazor, Biblical archaeology, subsistence
Hayonim: Micromorphology
Paul Goldbergarchaeology, Mousterian, geology, Middle Paleolithic, Kebaran, Epi-Paleolithic, Israel, Levant, Micromorphology, Geology, Cave, Deposition
Geissenklosterle: Micromorphology
Paul Goldbergarchaeology, Aurignation, geology, Upper Paleolithic, Europe, Germany
Pınarbaşı 1994: Animal BonesAnalysis of faunal remains from prehistoric contexts at Pınarbaşı in central TurkeyDenise Carruthersarchaeology, Epi-Paleolithic, Neolithic, Near East, Anatolia, Turkey, zooarchaeology, Pinarbasi, 9th millennium, agriculture, foraging, hunting
Domuztepe ExcavationsExcavations of a Late Neolithic site in south-central TurkeyStuart Campbell, Elizabeth CarterArchaeology, Halaf, Neolithic, Near East, Excavations, Domuztepe, 7th millennium, Village

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