Actualistic butchery studies in zooarchaeology: Where we’ve been, where we are now, and where we want to go

Abstract

Carcass butchery is a culturally mediated behavior that reflects the technological, social, economic, and ecological factors that influence human diet and foodways. Butchery behavior can thus reveal a great deal about the lives of past peoples. Actualism provides a critical link between the dynamics of carcass butchery and the static remains of the archaeological record. This study provides an overview of actualistic butchery studies in zooarchaeology over the past century and a half. A systematic search through the English literature identified a total of 236 such studies published between 1860 and 2021. Thematic analysis revealed several trends. The most common themes have been the identification of signature criteria for different taphonomic effectors, the use of butchery traces to characterize the nature of human intervention with carcasses, and the documentation of butchery in an ethnoarchaeological context. Methodologically, the bulk of this research has focused on the butchery of large bovids with lithic implements, largely as a means to explore Paleolithic subsistence. Actualistic approaches will benefit from (1) additional work with non-bovid taxa and with other tool raw materials, (2) applications to broader anthropological issues, and (3) a concerted effort to replicate existing studies and design future studies with replication in mind.