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Re: [dinosaur] Paleontology v. archaeology



Additionally, there is a false assumption about the existence of a strict boundary between disciplines.

Many fields have overlap at the boundariesÂwhere there is subject matters, methods, etc., of interest to both.

The study of Cambrian trilobites and of Cretaceous theropods are examples of paleontology and not archaeology.

The study of JÅmÅm culture and of colonial American sites are examples of archaeology and not paleontology.

The study ofÂHomo erectusÂartifacts or of a Clovis kill site are both. (And, as noted above, are paleoanthropology as well.)

On Mon, Dec 14, 2020 at 10:47 AM David Marjanovic <david.marjanovic@gmx.at> wrote:
> So where is the strict boudary between the two?

Arch(a)eology is cultural anthropology in four dimensions. (That includes one paper about chimpanzees: the practice of using hammer and anvil stones to crack nuts goes back at least 4000 years in some place in western Africa.)

Pal(a)eontology is biology in four dimensions (and geological context).

Arch(a)eozoology is about domestic animals from arch(a)eological sites. I guess wild animals from arch(a)eological sites form the overlap with pal(a)eontology.


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