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ABSTRACT
In recent years much ink has been spilled debating the role, nature, and legitimacy of island archaeology as a subdiscipline within archaeology. No matter how islands and their archaeology are viewed, however, there can be no doubt that zooarchaeological studies of islands have gained increasing prominence in our efforts to understand human lifeways in these settings. Here we discuss current trends in island zooarchaeology and examine some of the diverse research agendas, novel developments, and approaches pursued in the archaeological analysis of insular faunas. These are considered with reference to the topically and geographically diverse research contributions comprising this special issue. We suggest that cross-regional collaborations such as this special issue are fundamental to advancing research and investigative goals of island- and coastal-based zooarchaeology.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
We thank the editors of the Journal of Island and Coastal Archaeology, Scott Fitzpatrick and Jon Erlandson, for their valuable feedback and support in the publication of this collection of papers, as well as Christine Armstrong for her editorial assistance. This paper benefited from comments provided by L. Antonio Curet and an anonymous reviewer. We thank all issue contributors as well as SAA symposium participants for their willingness to share both their research and perspectives on island zooarchaeology. Don Grayson and Susan deFrance provided a wealth of support and guidance throughout this project for which we are very grateful.