TY - JOUR
T1 - Zooarchaeology at the Niah Caves, Sarawak
T2 - Context and research issues
AU - Barker, G.
AU - Piper, Phil J.
AU - Rabett, R. J.
PY - 2009
Y1 - 2009
N2 - Extensive archaeological excavations in the Niah Caves (Sarawak, Malaysian Borneo) over the past 50 years have produced perhaps 750 000 fragments of vertebrate bone, one of the largest faunal assemblages in the region. This paper introduces a series of research studies examining different aspects of the Niah fauna, and discusses how they are contributing to, and shaping, regional research agendas relating to prehistoric environments and societies in Island Southeast Asia. Zooarchaeology has traditionally had a rather 'Cinderella' status here, but the ongoing programme of study of the Niah Caves fauna is demonstrating the remarkable potential of this material to address questions of Pleistocene and Holocene climate and environment, biodiversity, human activities within caves, people's engagement with the landscapes they inhabited as foragers and farmers, and the nature of the transition from foraging to farming.
AB - Extensive archaeological excavations in the Niah Caves (Sarawak, Malaysian Borneo) over the past 50 years have produced perhaps 750 000 fragments of vertebrate bone, one of the largest faunal assemblages in the region. This paper introduces a series of research studies examining different aspects of the Niah fauna, and discusses how they are contributing to, and shaping, regional research agendas relating to prehistoric environments and societies in Island Southeast Asia. Zooarchaeology has traditionally had a rather 'Cinderella' status here, but the ongoing programme of study of the Niah Caves fauna is demonstrating the remarkable potential of this material to address questions of Pleistocene and Holocene climate and environment, biodiversity, human activities within caves, people's engagement with the landscapes they inhabited as foragers and farmers, and the nature of the transition from foraging to farming.
KW - Borneo
KW - Hunting subsistence strategies
KW - Neolithic
KW - Niah Caves
KW - Palaeolithic
KW - Zooarchaeology
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=70349635521&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1002/oa.1100
DO - 10.1002/oa.1100
M3 - Editorial
SN - 1047-482X
VL - 19
SP - 447
EP - 463
JO - International Journal of Osteoarchaeology
JF - International Journal of Osteoarchaeology
IS - 4
ER -