WORKSHOPS

The international council of archaeozoology (ICAZ) was established in 1971 in Budapest, and has since grown to a membership of over 200 across 60 countries. ICAZ goal then and now is to promote communication among archaeozoologists through sponsoring an international conference every four years and liaising with working groups (WG). Given the importance of Indo-Pacific region in human (pre)history, it has been underrepresented within ICAZ framework.

Faunal analysis has evolved in the region beyond the early descriptive ‘faunal lists’ to more quantitative approaches. This has also seen a rise in local experts leading research agendas, and the growth of future faunal specialists. Geographically, the Indo-pacific region is vast dominated by marine environments, it also contains a high diversity of terrestrial species and ecozones. The region has been central in the story of human evolution to emergence of complex societies. In more recent periods, it has witnessed the rise and fall of great empires, playing a key role in emergence of modern global. Animal species have fed this evolution and development and form an important part of archaeological collections providing us with evidence of subsistence patterns related to interglacial climate change, the emergence/arrival of food producers and the movement and trade of commodities over land and sea to feed and sustain empires.

This workshop is to establish an ICAZ Indo-Pacific WG. It would provide researchers within the region a platform to present and discuss ongoing research, particularly early career scientists. It would also support the growth of the discipline within the region. While ICAZ has a reduced membership it is not obligatory to join a working group