Unravelling Faunal Traces: A Zooarchaeology Practical Session at the Archaeology Laboratory

The Archaeology Study Programme at the Faculty of Cultural Sciences, Hasanuddin University, conducted a practical session for the Zooarchaeology course in the Archaeology Laboratory, led by lecturers Dr Muhammad Nur, S.S., M.A. and A. Muh. Saiful, S.S., M.A.. The activity was attended by 44 students from Class A and 34 students from Class B, and was carried out in shifts with direct supervision from lecturers and laboratory assistants.

Zooarchaeology serves as an interdisciplinary approach that links paleoenvironmental studies and archaeology to understand the relationship between humans and their environment through faunal remains. This practical session not only focused on identification and classification but also emphasised the interpretation of human behaviour and adaptation strategies to past ecological conditions. As emphasised by Reitz and Wing (2008), zooarchaeology enables the reconstruction of dietary patterns as a reflection of how humans met their basic needs based on the availability of natural resources.

Through this practical experience, students are encouraged to hone their laboratory analysis skills whilst gaining an understanding of the philosophy of field education, which forms the basis of learning within the Archaeology Undergraduate Programme at the Faculty of Humanities, University of Hasanuddin. Consequently, this activity not only develops technical skills but also broadens students’ understanding of the dynamics of the relationship between humans and the environment from an archaeological perspective.