Thread by @WLCrittersClass

Welcome back to the #zooarchaeology subtweets from #WLCrittersClass, (Critters, Monsters, & Vermin: Human-Animal Relationships & Social Zooarchaeology, SOAN 291F)! Tonight we'll be bringing you the zooarch of Striped Hyena and the Greater Rhea! #2023MMM

2/x Our first #zooarchaeology thread of the night comes from Manuela Z. and focuses on the Striped Hyena! Narration by Manuela.
#2023MMM #WLCrittersClass
(This gif may not be the right hyena, sorry.)

3/x The striped hyena (Hyaena hyaena) is a mammal that is part of the Hyaenidae family, [which is part of the Carnivora suborder Feliformia!!]. They are native to Northern and Eastern Africa, the Middle East, India, & Asia (the Caucasus & S Siberia).
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4/x Commonly referenced in the mythology of SW Asia and north Africa, striped hyenas are often used a symbols of deception, trickery and jinns (creatures of pre-Islamic Arabian religions). (“Striped Hyena” 2021, Abi-Said, Mounir R. 2021)

6/x 4,847 bones, bone fragments, and isolated teeth/tooth fragments were recovered from an inactive striped hyena den in Jordan.(Smithsonian Institution)
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7/x [Prof's note: This is part of what we call taphonomy, which can be confusing for archaeologists. Did a human or hyena process those bone fragments? Taphonomy is what happens to a body after it's been deposited, like animal gnawing or flood movement.] #2023MMM #WLCrittersClass

8x [So when a zooarchaeologist looks at a collection of bone like this in an archaeological context--meaning near a human habitation or point of action-- they have to find ways to be sure a critter did it and not a human.]
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9/x In ancient Egypt striped hyenas were hunted for sport and amusement. Often they posed a threat to livestock.
[Here, a reproduction of a fresco from the 18th Dynasty of New Kingdom Egypt 1479–1400 B.C.E Thebes depicts a man confronting a hyena.]

#2023MMM #WLCrittersClassMan

10/x In both ancient & modern cultures, the consumption of striped hyena was not uncommon as medicine, especially in Saudi Arabia. However, in areas of Africa it was seen as taboo. #WLCrittersClass #2023MMM (“The Magicality of the Hyena: Beliefs & Practices in W & S Asia” n.d.)

11/x Tweet 9/x also cited Osborn and Helmy 1980, my error.
A complete Works Cited will follow; there's a technical glitch!
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12/x Update! Here are the references for our striped hyena thread!
Tweet #3/x: “Striped Hyena.” 2021. Animals. October 11, 2021. nationalgeographic.com/animals/mammal….

13/x Tweet 4/x: Abi-Said, Mounir R. 2021. “Reviled as a Grave-Robber : The Ecology and Conservation of Striped Hyaenas in the Human-Dominated Landscapes of Lebanon.” doi.org/10.22024/UNIKE….

14/x Tweet 5/x
Tweet 6/x: Smithsonian Institution. n.d. “Breathing Life into Fossils : Taphonomic Studies in Honor of C.K. (Bob) Brain / Editors, Travis Rayne Pickering, Kathy Schick, Nicholas Toth.” Smithsonian Institution. Accessed March 23, 2023. si.edu/object/siris_s….

15/x
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Tweet 9/x: Osborn, Dale J., and Ibrahim Helmy. 1980. The Contemporary Land Mammals of Egypt (Including Sinai). [Chicago] : Field Museum of Natural History. archive.org/details/contem…

16/x And finally Tweet 10/x: “The Magicality of the Hyena: Beliefs and Practices in West and South Asia on JSTOR.” n.d. Accessed March 23, 2023. jstor.org/stable/1178757
#WLCrittersClass #2023MMM
Thread courtesy Manuela Z!

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