Archaeozoology
The centre of archaeozoology, affiliated to the laboratory of prehistoric archaeology and anthropology has been founded in 1979 and it is a department of the Museum of Natural History of Geneva since 1982. It is currently directed by Jacqueline Studer.
The animal remains found in archaeological sites, mainly bones, but equally shells, coproliths, hair and even insects are identified in order to quantify the species and to estimate their relative importance. The approached issues are stock breeding, hunting and fishing activities of the human groups, the stages and modalities of animal domestication, the evolution of wild and domestic species, the use of animals by men and their role in ceremonies and finally the analysis of bone remains mirroring the archaeological space. Centre of archaeozoology – Museum of Natural History