Dear Colleagues,

We are very excited to announce the session "Macrofauna vs.  
Microfauna: Investigating the same questions at different scales"  
hosted by the Microvertebrate working group has been accepted for the  
upcoming ICAZ meeting in Ankara, Turkey! The session abstract is  
attached below.

This session is designed to be an inclusive and collaborative  
exploration of the various ways that macrofaunal and microfaunal  
records can inform and augment each other. The goal of this session is  
to bring together macrofauna and microfauna experts to discuss how the  
two zooarchaeological records can be best integrated into our  
large-scale interpretations of the past. As such, we are looking for  
podium and poster contributions from both large and small vertebrate  
researchers who have or are currently utilizing analytical methods  
applicable to both scales of material, producing meta-analyses at  
either the site or regional scale, or exploring research questions  
which bridge these two broad material types. Papers from teams which  
routinely work and publish together on both macro and microfaunal  
material are welcome, as are individual studies from either field  
which have the potential to broadly inform future work at another scale.

Instructions on how to submit a paper can be found at  
http://www.icaz2018ankara.com/instructions.html.  Submissions are due  
March 30th 2018.

We are also very happy to announce that Dr. Lior Weissbrod of The  
Zinman Institute of Archaeology at the University of Haifa will be  
giving the keynote talk for this session. Please do not hesitate to  
get in touch with us with any questions about the session or abstract  
submission procedures, and feel free to forward this message to any  
potentially interested colleagues.

Looking forward to seeing you all in Ankara,

Sara E. Rhodes (Universität Tübingen)
Àngel Blanco-Lapaz (Senckenberg Center for Human Evolution and  
Paleoenvironment)


Macrofauna vs. Microfauna: Investigating the same questions at  
different scales

Zooarchaeological studies using both macro- and microvertebrate  
remains often strive to answer similar research questions using  
similar, if not the same, analytical methods. This half-day session  
will highlight both the similarities and differences between these  
approaches through the presentation of recent or on-going research  
utilizing methods applicable to large mammal, bird, fish, amphibian,  
reptile and rodent archaeological material.  Additionally, talks  
focused on the ways in which studies of one particular scale of faunal  
material (macro- or microvertebrate) inform our interpretations of  
patterns in other faunal material records will also be considered.  
Research questions which bridge these two material scales include (but  
are not limited to) those addressing the pathways of commensalism and  
domestication, studies of paleoclimate and paleoecology, biogeographic  
reconstructions, and investigations into various site formation  
processes active at archaeological sites.  Analytical methods which  
are utilized to address these research questions using both large and  
small faunal include (but are not limited to) nuclear and  
mitochondrial DNA studies, stable isotopic analysis, quantitative  
climatic reconstruction methods (i.e. the bioclimatic, co-existence,  
and Eco-geographic range methods), predictive computer modeling, and  
taphonomic studies.

The goal of this session is to identify existing ways in which both  
macro- and microfaunal studies inform each other and identify new  
analytical pathways to collaboration between these two scales of  
zooarchaeological investigation. This session is hosted by the  
Microvertebrate Working Group (MVWG) and participation by both  
existing MVWG members and interested non-members, as either podium or  
poster presentations, is encouraged.

-- 
Sara E. Rhodes
Doktorandin
Eberhard-Karls Universität Tübingen
Mathematisch-Naturwissenschaftliche Fakultät - Archäozoologie