Guilt, gender play roles in human-animal relations
Tuesday, January 17, 2012 - 04:00
in Biology & Nature
Until recently, most archaeologists viewed human-animal relationships primarily in terms of their dietary role. But the social and symbolic functions of animals and meat may often be of equal or even greater importance, writes Nerissa Russell in her newly released book "Social Zooarchaeology: Humans and Animals in Prehistory" (Cambridge University Press). Russell, a Cornell associate professor and chair of anthropology, cautions that ignoring the importance of these factors results in interpretations of data "that are just plain wrong."