Beast and Human : Case Studies for Northern Europe from Prehistoric to Early Modern Times

This book is a contribution to Human-Animal studies in archaeo(zoo)logy and also a first step towards a multispecies archaeology, being a broader look at different species, including non-human and human actors. It ranges geographically from the United Kingdom to Russia and, chronologically from the late hunter and gatherers to early modern times.

Human-Animal studies are gaining more and more momentum in archaeo(zoo)logy, for good reasons. It is time to have yet another look at animal-human relations that is less anthropocentric than it was before. Such an approach could come in different forms: from the study of single species and their relation to humans to a so-called multispecies archaeology. However, it could also include imaginary animals, such as dragons and unicorns, or half-animal, half-human beings. This book is intended as a contribution to Human-Animal studies in archaeo(zoo)logy and also as a first step towards a multispecies archaeology, being a broader look at different species, including non-human and human actors but, for the time being, excluding plants. With some alterations, the studies in this volume go back to a session at the Annual Meeting of the European Association of Archaeologists (EAA) in Kiel (Germany) in September 2021 entitled ‘Beast and Human’. The lectures and papers presented here are arranged as a narrative which ranges, geographically, from the United Kingdom to Russia and, chronologically, from the late hunter and gatherers to early modern times.