00:00.00 ALEX Hello everyone welcome to another episode of archaeo animals the podcast all about zooaraeology I'm your host Outstritz Patrick and with me as always and this episode. 00:11.35 S_ Granarius Simmona valanga. 00:14.36 ALEX Is the start of yet another miniseries. Although this one is not about video games. So don't worry. This one is very easy archeology focused. We're calling it where in the world because I'm very good at titles and. You know we we talk about this a lot on episodes. We always say oh well, don't forget, we're we're located in England so a lot of our stuff is very british centric but we decided to break out of our british shells and enter other parts of the world to take a look at the zuron. Ah, you there. 00:50.48 S_ Granarius Yeah, no, that's and we will be starting with Europe in this episode. However, but we will be branching out. Um. 00:57.13 ALEX Yeah, so we won't be going that far just yet we will be but we are starting a bit close to home and just for the sake of ease because we could easily you know if we wanted to do like country by Country. We would be here for. Ah, very long time and there's other topics. We want to Cover. So just for ease We've broken it up into continents So obvious disclaimours. We might not get everything we're picking and choosing a little bit but hey if you're interested in us talking a bit more about certain country or anything let us know. In the social media channels the various ones that we are part of. 01:40.70 S_ Granarius Of course I like this many series it is going to be fairly broad strokes because of course you know like continents are pretty big. Oh all the wisdom. So his fat continents are big. Um. 01:45.54 ALEX Yes, very big. 01:55.37 ALEX Hot take. 01:59.33 S_ Granarius So you know. 02:01.26 ALEX But we are going to be a bit structured so this first segment we will be looking at some of the wild species and again we could spend a whole episode just talking about wild species of different continents so we had to pick and choose a little bit and I'm very excited. About this one because we're going to talk about something that I've bothered. It's been bothering me for a very long time since I moved to the Uk from the us let's talk about the european boose slash elk. Okay, you know what. 02:31.24 S_ Granarius Ah, not gray squirrels. 02:37.26 ALEX There is going to be no squirrel material in this mini seriesies. Okay, it's over a bit but we need to talk. We'll do a whole upset about it if people are that fast but we need to talk about the European Moose Slash elk. 02:43.32 S_ Granarius Squirrel Hater picturing all the hate may why why did you not cover the humble gray squirrel. 02:57.80 ALEX Alies Alsies is very confusing so in North america this species is considered a moose but in Britain it's considered an elk. 03:06.77 S_ Granarius Yes, an also like the crack me fembronng like don't in North America don't you also refer to a red deer as an elk hop. 03:16.26 ALEX Yes I don't know what you're talking about. It makes perfect sense to me. 03:24.49 S_ Granarius I mean to be like weak in my native language we call it neither Moose or elk is alche from alchiz altus surprise. So. 03:34.99 ALEX Yeah I mean I just someone brought it up I remember when I first moved here and I was start just start doing zoo archeology someone brought it up. It blew my mind I couldn't believe it and we'll probably we'll come back and cover this once we cover the Americas but seriously what the heck anyway. It's mostly found in Northern Europe including scandinavian countries and countries like Poland although hunted for food. The antlers were a vital resource during prehistory as they have often been found in archaeological sites across central europe through the form of. Axes tools. Nice handles just really interesting. Kind of worked materials and it should be noted that it was often gathered as shed antler so you wouldn't necessarily see antler and immediately think oh they killed that Elk. Slash moose for their antler. It could have easily just been picked up. 04:34.99 S_ Granarius Yeah, and I find like a general like a lot of the the archaeological antler tends to be naturally shed but sometimes like you know it doesn't necessarily get worked. You just find some naturally shit antler because well again like humans being consistently the same throughout time you're out in a country walk. 04:46.00 ALEX And. 04:53.95 S_ Granarius This looks pretty I'll take her back to the settlement and then do nothing with it. 04:56.22 ALEX Yeah, and you know they they do look cool but you know anyone who's kind of held antler before which is you know you probably come across it either while you're walking the woods or just and it's a nice curiosity to have they're they're pretty. Sturdy so you can kind of see why you would pick it up and be like I'm going to use this to put a blade on it and make into a knife or something like that. Ah you you can kind of see the logic there. 05:24.50 S_ Granarius Also like they make for some very pretty sort of knife handles won't the ones they're all so nice and and polished. But I guess for everyone was listening is wondering like and how do you tell if the antler was naturally shed or whether the animal was hunted. Um. 05:29.10 ALEX Ah. 05:41.57 S_ Granarius Now usually with most fragments of antler. You can't really tell. Um, you're gonna look for the one have this ah sort of part the Bur which is the right of the base of the antler and to me it looks a bit like a sun because he's got like a circle and he's got sort of like some radiation sort around it did you know what? I mean. 05:59.28 ALEX No, that's exactly what I think. 06:00.96 S_ Granarius So it's right at the base of the ant and um, so that is the part that attaches to the skull and when the deer naturally sheds its antler. It literally pops off clean if that makes sense. But normally if you do find this spur with some. 06:11.98 ALEX Yes. 06:18.90 S_ Granarius Bone sticking out of it. Especially if you got so some cut marks around it that means they were sawn off of the skull meaning that again that won't necessarily mean that they've hunted the animal they might as well have scaennged the antler of a deer that was already dead. So. 06:34.62 ALEX And. 06:38.41 S_ Granarius Ah, guess unless you find you know some of this like like that nice was it like dear ribs that's thrown an arrow head through it. So like yeah like normally as a rule of thumb So like the bow for sort of clean off the antler was naturally shed if it's attached to sort of any bone. 06:44.36 ALEX Yeah, that was a very cool fine. 06:58.10 S_ Granarius Then the animal was yet either hunted or it was taken off a dead deer go with that. 07:02.61 ALEX Yeah, moving on we have the eurasian links also known as links links some some real good latin names. We'll be hearing in this mini series. Anyway, it's widespread across parts of Europe as well as asia and. 07:13.73 S_ Granarius Um. 07:21.20 ALEX It's relatively threatened still by poaching and loss of habitat. But it's also been made completely extinct in many areas of western europe this is mostly due to hunting and people trying to protect their livestock. Some countries such as Norway actually had official bounties for them. However, many places like the Uk have had big movements calling for them to be reintroduced in more remote areas in Scotland as part of the kind of rewilding movement. 07:52.51 S_ Granarius Because I think also like I don't think like the links massively go for livestock. Do I mean they they do but not as much as you think. 08:00.99 ALEX Yeah I think it's a similar case to a species that we'll talk about in a later episode the thylacine where there were a lot of bounties and the idea of oh they're killing or sheep when realistically they probably weren't. Killing that much of your livestock. It was a bit of a scapegoat. 08:19.14 S_ Granarius No, they probably already like so probably already suffering enough from competition from dingoes anyway. So but that that's a different. 08:24.61 ALEX Yeah, so I we'll we'll cover that in a future episode. But I think it's probably a similar kind of sad story with the the links and ah, kind of. Um, similar. Well not really similar, not like a similar species but in my mind they're like smaller links is the european pie Martin Martas mar 08:47.63 S_ Granarius Oh I Just like picture them as a really big ferret. 08:53.25 ALEX Yeah I guess in my brain I've never really I've seen pine martins mostly like taxiderm made I've never seen like a alive Pine Martin So in my brain. They're kind of well in my brain. They look like this pokemon that is based off of a ferret. So. I'm a very good zoo archaeologist I have a Ph D Anyway, they are. 09:14.20 S_ Granarius But you said it It is a mustolid and he has sort of that ellong gateated shape like ah like a lot of those or the Ferrets ming Stos You know that that it's got that moreology you to it. 09:22.40 ALEX Yeah, there were them very similar, especially the skull morphology I think is is kind of similar but they're mostly found in Northern Europe and are mostly rare or potentially extinct. There's a. A fine line I guess between those 2 kind of designations in places such as england there's actually a fair amount of archaeological evidence that the Pye Martin was a source of fur for humans as early as the mesoliphic based on remains that they've found in places like Denmark where there's been very. Specific tough nominee tough taff a no me taano tough am I have someone to help me tophon me I don't know why I just struggled to say that word I again have a ph d and my ph d thesis was based on taphonomy. 10:05.72 S_ Granarius To follow me. 10:15.80 S_ Granarius There you go you said it then. 10:18.16 ALEX Yeah, there you go I'm back I'm back baby Anyway, the had these pie martinten remains with fun of me on it that was very indicative of fur or you know, um, cutting for fur skinning for fur. I Think we've we've talked about kind of those taphonomic features before in the previous episode. 10:43.67 S_ Granarius It's I think like on and off in most episodes in all fairness. But I mean of course there are strategic so like cut marks that you'd be making sort of in the jaw and at the foot bonenes that would indicate sort of skinning for prefer. Guess. 10:57.37 ALEX Yeah. 10:59.98 S_ Granarius 1 indicator as well because I'm not sure whether that applies to these particular remains of mink in Denmark because I'm mostly thinking of like cattle and sheep type stuff but the foot bonenes would tend to travel with the hide. So normally a high incidence of footbones would suggest use for fur. 11:09.45 ALEX Um, yeah. 11:15.50 ALEX I Believe yeah I believe that is the case for these pine Martin because that is very very indicative given that especially for a small animal a relatively small animal like a pie Martin Those small extremities would be. You know, very. 11:17.40 S_ Granarius All like to hide it's traveling. 11:34.62 ALEX Ah, significant in a lot of ways to find an archeological context. But. 11:38.57 S_ Granarius Imagine you got a pit pit a pit of Martin Feet that's strange them. 11:44.73 ALEX But hey they are potentially making a comeback. So. 11:48.80 S_ Granarius Yes, because I think that they have been retroduced to Britain since plus I believe there are some studies. Um that infer that ah they may actually contribute to the decline of Gray Squirrels 11:54.46 ALEX Is. 12:05.92 ALEX Well then I think I am team Tie martin. 12:11.41 S_ Granarius Think it's got something to do that. The native squirrels recognize the martinous predators. Well the great squirrel was more like what's this thing or on um think there's something along those lines. But also I guess the. 12:18.64 ALEX Oh. 12:29.73 S_ Granarius The ability of being able to evade the Pine Martin which sort of the native squirrels seem to be just better at in general. 12:35.24 ALEX Um, that is really strange but also go pie martins. 12:43.20 S_ Granarius I'll trying to find the the article and pop in the show notes if I can um, but yes and then um, yeah, we have the the Eurasian brown bear. So Ursos Arcos Actos because we we're repeating sorry. 12:46.18 ALEX Arches. 12:53.12 ALEX So why wasn't it. Oh they say why wasn't I making you do all of the scientific names to begin with I forget that you just have such a way with it probably because you know you're italian. 13:06.98 S_ Granarius Of just reading it in a native accent. So sounds t. 13:11.90 ALEX Yeah, but it but it sounds so much better than me trying to say it in my American accent. 13:18.15 S_ Granarius Yeah, but it's just again that that there's also there's a trend. There's multiple trends this evening but 1 is a species names sort of twice. Yeah, what we call link this animal links links. Oh Uus Ato Actus yes 13:24.78 ALEX Um, yep. 13:30.86 ALEX Real real Alex e energy with these names because believe me that would be me oh no, we'll just name it twice same thing right. 13:39.32 S_ Granarius Yeah, um, but ah, again, the trend number 2 once widespread widespread across Europe the Brown Bear is now extinct in ah, many places including the Uk trend number 3 every single species we've named has been extinct in the yeah Uk but still exists elsewhere in Northern Europe um I mean we're still trying to figure out. Um, exactly when the brown beart Brown Bear went extinct in the U K and Hannah O'regan is doing some research on the subject because right now we sort of our 2 options. 14:10.56 ALEX Yeah. 14:14.68 S_ Granarius So either we have a late neolithic early bronze age date or the early medieval period just quite a gap. Um, but I guess because you in spite of them potentially having gone extinct in Prehistory you do still find brown bear remains. 14:20.35 ALEX Yeah. 14:34.80 S_ Granarius So like throughout antiquity ah likely because of continuous imports of species were into the wealth of go say into the Uk but into Europe um, specifically I guess from the romans so they did love bringing animals over some because they just look. 14:34.96 ALEX Yeah. 14:53.49 S_ Granarius Pretty some because you know we could hunt this native species but you know I ah hunt this back in Italy which is much better. Um, or just know thinking of all them big scariest while animals that you could bring to then fight in arenas. Um, so yeah, but. Ah, mind you like that wasn't just the Romans You see that like throughout in the medieval period as well because the birdss were used. You know with a useful bearbaiting other forms of sport. Um, so again, like you do see like bear remains popping up like not not very commonly but they do pop up here and there. 15:16.26 ALEX Yes. 15:32.97 S_ Granarius But then I guess it it'll be about it be about establishing whether these populations a little pockets have been introduced and did not cons Considertu a viable population or whether. 15:41.71 ALEX In. 15:46.65 S_ Granarius Bears were around all along but just their numbers were slowly dwindling up until so the medieval period when you kind of stop finding them for a while until I believe they pop again in the Victorian period for again very much like all the wrong reasons of like oh let's bring this bear over because I collect wild animals. 16:05.15 ALEX Yeah, some things never really change. Do they but ah, this is all be kind of exciting to see nottingham I believe University Nottingham is doing a lot of research looking at bare bathing and also kind of. 16:05.68 S_ Granarius So have I'll have the spare now. But. 16:23.61 ALEX Further exploring the brown bear in history in the u k so it'll be very exciting to see that research kind of get published and disseminated but just to wrap up this segment. We have 1 final wild species I like to talk about. The barbary but macaque mccock. Yeah, do you want to read the ah the latin name. yeah so yeah I actually did not know this. 16:43.83 S_ Granarius Ah, yeah. 16:50.76 S_ Granarius Um, makaca sylvanus which I guess is off the forest faus. 17:00.29 ALEX The only wild monkeys of Europe. 17:02.59 S_ Granarius Ah, up until today. So the the evening of this recording I have no idea we had sort of native monkeys in Europe. 17:10.67 ALEX Yeah, it was kind of surprising but I guess we're very you know ukcentric here. But yeah, they were once widespread across the continent again a bit of a theme here. But are now only found at least in Europe in Gibraltar that said fossils of this monkey were actually found as north as norfolk england they're in a pleistocene. So I guess they probably were in the u k. For a bit. So. 17:45.83 S_ Granarius Um, they yeah now I guess that to wrap this up the zoo killed you of Europe we have obliterated all of the species. 17:54.50 ALEX But so yeah, we will see you after the break and we will move on to domestic kids.