Dogs - by Brandi Bethke & Amanda Burtt (Paperback)

About the Book

While previous studies of dogs in human history have focused on how people have changed the species through domestication, this volume offers a rich archaeological portrait of the human-canine bond. Contributors investigate the ways people have viewed and valued dogs in different cultures around the world and across the ages.

Book Synopsis

Exploring the bond between dogs and humans in case studies from across thousands of years

This volume offers a rich archaeological portrait of the human-canine connection. Contributors investigate the ways people have viewed and valued dogs in different cultures around the world and across the ages.

Case studies from North and South America, the Arctic, Australia, and Eurasia present evidence for dogs in roles including pets, guards, hunters, and herders. In these chapters, faunal analysis from the Ancient Near East suggests that dogs contributed to public health by scavenging garbage, and remains from a Roman temple indicate that dogs were offered as sacrifices in purification rites. Essays also chronicle the complex partnership between Aboriginal peoples and the dingo and describe how the hunting abilities of dogs made them valuable assets for Indigenous groups in the Amazon rainforest. The volume draws on multidisciplinary methods that include zooarchaeological analysis; scientific techniques such as dental microwear, isotopic, and DNA analyses; and the integration of history, ethnography, multispecies scholarship, and traditional cultural knowledge to provide an in-depth account of dogs' lives.

Showing that dogs have been a critical ally for humankind through cooperation and companionship over thousands of years, this volume broadens discussions about how relationships between people and animals have shaped our world.

Contributors: Brandi Bethke Kate Britton Amanda Burtt Larisa R.G. DeSantis Melanie Fillios Emily Lena Jones Loukas Koungoulos Robert Losey Edouard Masson-Maclean Ellen McManus-Fry Victoria Monagle Victoria Moses Angela R. Perri Nerissa Russell Peter W. Stahl

Review Quotes

"A
cutting-edge collection. . . . Embraces the intersecting interests of
archaeology, animal studies, ethnography, and posthumanism."--Choice

"Both
a useful guide to the techniques and inferences that archaeologists use to
piece together the economic value and cultural importance of animals in past
societies and a striking illustration of the qualitative and functional
diversity of the dog-human partnership across cultures and over time. . . . A valuable
resource for anyone interested in dogs and their past relations with humans."--Journal
of Anthropological Research

About the Author

Brandi Bethke is laboratory director and research faculty at the Oklahoma Archeological Survey at the University of Oklahoma. Amanda Burtt is associate curator with the Glenn A. Black Laboratory of Archaeology at Indiana University, Bloomington.