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Many modern ecological problems such as rain forest destruction, decreasing marine harvests, and fire suppression are directly or indirectly anthropogenic. Zooarchaeology and Conservation Biology presents an argument that conservation biology and wildlife management cannot afford to ignore zooarchaeological research—the identification and analysis of faunal remains recovered from archaeological deposits. The editors contend that we can learn important lessons by studying long-term human and nonhuman influences on biota and ecosystems. From this perspective we can begin to understand biogeographic dynamics and behavioral patterns that are invisible to researchers who study living organisms over just a small span of years.

The focus of this volume is on the North American faunal record. Contributors identify a specific management or conservation issue, describe and analyze relevant zooarchaeological data, and offer recommendations or at least establish a baseline for possible resolution. The volume brings together both case studies and research about past ecosystems, and examines how such knowledge can be of current utility and relevance.

A Choice Outstanding Academic Title

The Zuni are a Southwestern people whose origins have long intrigued anthropologists. This volume presents fresh approaches to that question from both anthropological and traditional perspectives, exploring the origins of the tribe and the influences that have affected their way of life. Utilizing macro-regional approaches, it brings together many decades of research in the Zuni and Mogollon areas, incorporating archaeological evidence, environmental data, and linguistic analyses to propose new links among early Southwestern peoples.

The findings reported here postulate the differentiation of the Zuni language at least 7,000 to 8,000 years ago, following the initial peopling of the hemisphere, and both formulate and test the hypothesis that many Mogollon populations were Zunian speakers. Some of the contributions situate Zuni within the developmental context of Southwestern societies from Paleoindian to Mogollon. Others test the Mogollon-Zuni hypothesis by searching for contrasts between these and neighboring peoples and tracing these contrasts through macro-regional analyses of environments, sites, pottery, basketry, and rock art. Several studies of late prehistoric and protohistoric settlement systems in the Zuni area then express more cautious views on the Mogollon connection and present insights from Zuni traditional history and cultural geography. Two internationally known scholars then critique the essays, and the editors present a new research design for pursuing the question of Zuni origins.

By taking stock and synthesizing what is currently known about the origins of the Zuni language and the development of modern Zuni culture, Zuni Origins is the only volume to address this subject with such a breadth of data and interpretations. It will prove invaluable to archaeologists working throughout the North American Southwest as well as to others struggling with issues of ethnicity, migration, incipient agriculture, and linguistic origins.