The Arizona State Museum at the University of Arizona holds two important comparative faunal collections. One, assembled over many years by Dr. Stanley Olsen was obtained through many government and government-regulates sources and include, for example, road killed animals and donations by zoos of deceased animals. A second collection was assembled from similar sources by the National Park Service. Thus species identities are known. Together the materials include not only a wide range of mammals but also fish, birds and reptiles. Currently the materials are poorly stored and catalogued and therefore it is difficult for researchers to use them. The Arizona State Museum has renovated laboratory space for the collections and with National Science Foundation support Drs. Beck and Stiner will: purchase new storage cabinets to facilitate access to the materials; complete anatomical and taxonomic inventorying and labeling; clean the many skeletons which have adhering grease, dust and other organic matter; and finally create a user-friendly computerized cataloging system which will both help researchers and also ensure that the collections are protected from improper handling. Non-human faunal remains are common in many archaeological sites and this is particularly true in the US Southwest where dry conditions lead, in many sites, to excellent bone preservation. Such materials are extremely important to archaeologists because they serve as indicators which allow the reconstruction of past environments. Most bones recovered in archaeological contexts are food remains and result from hunting and herding activities. Through their analysis it is possible to reconstruct the diets and subsistence practices of past groups and, in many instances, gain insight into their economic and social systems as well. To conduct such analyses comparative skeletal material of known species is essential and the Arizona State Museum faunal collections are scientifically important in this context. They contain a wide range of species from North and Middle America and, although difficult to access at the present time, they have still seen extensive archaeological use. This grant will improve their availability significantly.
