In the world of fly fishing, trout dominate the headlines, but in the past grayling were considered to be the equal of trout for sporting appeal – hence Izaac Walton’s The Compleat Angler (1653) describes them alongside each other in…
This small-format book is basically a guide is to the wild animals of ancient Egypt. The brief introduction to ancient Egypt’s geography and climate is beautifully written – very concise but almost poetic, a harbinger of what follows. The format…
Throughout Egyptian history, pastoralists have played a vital role in food production, and the importance of domesticated animals is reflected in their abundant depictions in texts, tomb reliefs, and 3D art. Richard Redding highlights how critical animal-rearing was to all…
This volume examines the later phases of the Early Bronze Age and the Middle Bronze Age in the central Balkans, offering a comprehensive review of the archaeological evidence from the region. The book is organised into five chapters: an introductory…
Dogs are man’s best (and oldest – see CA 352 and 401) friends, but how they came to be that way is still a bit of a mystery. Based on morphological changes and genetic estimations, they are believed to have…
Food plays an important role in cultural identity, and can be used in archaeology to identify patterns of migration and assimilation. The early medieval inhabitants of Scandinavia are known to have had a marine-focused diet, but the extent to which…
Today, 17 million UK households have at least one pet. Carly Hilts visited a new exhibition in Oxford exploring humans’ long and varied relationships with animals.
Why do so many of us choose to share our lives – and our homes – with at least one animal? Pets & their People (published to accompany an exhibition of the same name – see here – and written…
The extraordinary diversity of modern dog types is often attributed to Victorian breeding practices, which led to a major increase in the number of dog breeds. A recent study looking into canine skull forms, however, has found that there was…
REVIEW BY KK This volume brings together the current evidence of dogs in the past: from their evolution from wild animals to domesticated pets, to their presence in the archaeological record, through to their importance in myths and legends. Combining…
Recent research at two mustatils (prehistoric rectangular open-air structures found across northern Arabia) is uncovering new information about the ritual practices that may have been taking place in the region in the late 6th millennium BC. First identified in the…
Recent research on an intriguing assemblage of artefacts excavated from a Classic Maya sweat bath in Guatemala is revealing new details about ritual activity at the unusual structure. This sweat bath at Xultun, named Los Sapos (‘the toads’), was explored…