This volume is a synthesis of zooarchaeology's history in the southeast, exploring the role of animals in social and economic development and examining the current trends and methodologies used.

"This is the first book to provide an overview and systematic examination of social zooarchaeology, a new approach that takes a holistic veiw of human-animal relations in the past. Until very recently, zooarchaeology was heavily focused on diet and subsistence economy, especially for prehistoric periods. This book argues that animals have always played much broader roles in human societies: as wealth, companions, spirit helpers, socrificial victims,...

Flakes, and small flakes in particular, are usually seen as by-products or debris of the knapping process, rather than as desired end-products with a specific potential use. In recent years, this particular category of small tools has attracted increasing interest among researchers, especially when focusing on technological aspects in Lower Palaeolithic contexts, while the functional role of these tools is still poorly investigated. 'Understanding...