Beast and Human

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. The present book is to be understood as a small contribution to Human-Animal Studies in archaeo(zoo)logy and also as a first step towards a multispecies archaeology, being a broader look on different species, including non-human and human actors but, for the time being, excluding plants. With some alterations, the present publication goes 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’. As it has turned out, the given lectures and papers can be arranged in a manner that they constitute a narrative which ranges, geographically, from the United Kingdom to Russia and, chronologically, from the late hunter and gatherers to early modern times.