Papers by Terry O'Connor
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 2015
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Peters, J., Lebrasseur, O., Best, J., Miller, H., Fothergill, B. T., Dobney, K., Thomas, R.M., Maltby, M., Sykes, N., O’Connor, T., Collins, M., Larson, G. 2015. Early Holocene chicken domestication in northern China: a response to Xiang et al. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
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Journal of Quaternary Science, 2007
Biostratinomic analysis (processes acting between death and burial) of Lateglacial mammal bone as... more Biostratinomic analysis (processes acting between death and burial) of Lateglacial mammal bone assemblages from three caves in northern England demonstrates the value of re-examining archived assemblages. With AMS radiocarbon dating of key specimens, these assemblages shed light on the ecology of a region at the northern limit of Lateglacial human activity in Britain. During the Lateglacial Interstadial bears, wolves and humans expanded into the region, bears by around 12 500 14C yr BP, and the earliest evidence for human presence is around 12 300 14C yr BP. At Victoria Cave, wolf activity included predation and scavenging of large ungulates and scavenging bear carcasses apparently resulting from hibernation deaths. The scavenging of bear carcasses is possibly confined to the first part of the Lateglacial Interstadial, whereas evidence for wolf scavenging large ungulates increases later in the Interstadial, after about 11 800 14C yr BP, perhaps reflecting changes in the productivity of the Lateglacial ecosystem, and in human subsistence patterns. The assemblage from Sewell's Cave is wolf den debris from the very end of the Lateglacial Interstadial around 10 800 14C yr BP, whilst that from Kinsey Cave is dominated by large-bodied carnivores, and is argued to have a quite different taphonomic history.
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Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 2015
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Archaeological work in advance of construction at a site on the edge of York, UK, yielded human r... more Archaeological work in advance of construction at a site on the edge of York, UK, yielded human remains of prehistoric to Romano-British date. Amongst these was a mandible and cranium, the intra-cranial space of which contained shrunken but macroscopically recognizable remains of a brain. Although the distinctive surface morphology of the organ is preserved, little recognizable brain histology survives.
Though rare, the survival of brain tissue in otherwise skeletalised human remains from wet burial environments is not unique. A survey of the literature shows that similar brain masses have been previously reported in diverse circumstances. We argue for a greater awareness of these brain masses and for more attention to be paid to their detection and identification in order to improve the reporting rate and to allow a more comprehensive study of this rare archaeological survival.
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Archaeologists often argue whether Paleolithic works of art, cave paintings in particular, consti... more Archaeologists often argue whether Paleolithic works of art, cave paintings in particular, constitute reflections of the natural environment of humans at the time. They also debate the extent to which these paintings actually contain creative artistic expression, reflect the phenotypic variation of the surrounding environment, or focus on rare phenotypes. The famous paintings “The Dappled Horses of Pech-Merle,” depicting spotted horses on the walls of a cave in Pech-Merle, France, date back ∼25,000 y, but the coat pattern portrayed in these paintings is remarkably similar to a pattern known as “leopard” in modern horses. We have genotyped nine coat-color loci in 31 predomestic horses from Siberia, Eastern and Western Europe, and the Iberian Peninsula. Eighteen horses had bay coat color, seven were black, and six shared an allele associated with the leopard complex spotting (LP), representing the only spotted phenotype that has been discovered in wild, predomestic horses thus far. LP was detected in four Pleistocene and two Copper Age samples from Western and Eastern Europe, respectively. In contrast, this phenotype was absent from predomestic Siberian horses. Thus, all horse color phenotypes that seem to be distinguishable in cave paintings have now been found to exist in prehistoric horse populations, suggesting that cave paintings of this species represent remarkably realistic depictions of the animals shown. This finding lends support to hypotheses arguing that cave paintings might have contained less of a symbolic or transcendental connotation than
often assumed.
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The relative abundance and mortality profiles of cattle, sheep and pigs from a series of 8th- to ... more The relative abundance and mortality profiles of cattle, sheep and pigs from a series of 8th- to 11th-century sites across northern Europe are reviewed with the aim of identifying broad regional trends in livestock husbandry and redistribution. Although based on published NISP data derived from hand-collected material, the broad scale and coarse precision of the survey mitigates the worst effects of differential recovery. Marked local variation in the relative abundance of cattle and
of pigs is noted in certain regions. In the latter case, the association of pigs with more easterly sites is tested and discussed. Evidence from York and its region are discussed in more detail, including an association between chalk uplands and sheep husbandry in the Middle Saxon period.
Keywords: zooarchaeology, northern Europe, medieval, NISP, mortality profiles
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Freshwater mollusc and plant macrofossil evidence from a small mire at Quoyloo Meadow, Orkney, is... more Freshwater mollusc and plant macrofossil evidence from a small mire at Quoyloo Meadow, Orkney, is compared with previously reported pollen evidence from the same core to give a multi-proxy assessment of environmental change through the early to mid-Holocene. The core is dated by the Saksunarvatn tephra and a possible Ulmus decline. Lymnaea peregra and Pisidum casertanum dominate the Mollusca, indicating the water body to have been small, temporary and liable to intermittent desiccation. A peak in L. peregra high in the core coincides with a sharp decline in Chara oospores. There is a change in mollusc faunas and sedimentation, and a spike in magnetic susceptibility at a point consistent with the onset of Neolithic activity.
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The paper reviews the aetiology and diagnosis of joint pathologies in cattle and caprines. Key pa... more The paper reviews the aetiology and diagnosis of joint pathologies in cattle and caprines. Key papers in the animal
palaeopathology literature are briefl y reviewed, and the potential and limitations of the veterinary literature are discussed. The aetiology and pathognomic clinical criteria of common arthropathies are described, with particular concentration on osteoarthrosis and osteochondrosis. The term osteochondrosis (or osteochondritis) dissecans is not appropriate for zooarchaeological material and should be discontinued. The application of clinical criteria to dry bone specimens is demonstrated for series of zooarchaeological specimens that illustrate the common arthropathies and some more unusual cases. The need for greater diagnostic consistency and ready access to comparative specimens is identifi ed and a provisional scheme for classifi cation and differential diagnosis of arthropathies in bovid bones proposed.
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Book Chapter by Terry O'Connor
Terra Australis 40, 2013
This chapter describes the analysis and interpretation of the terrestrial vertebrate remains from... more This chapter describes the analysis and interpretation of the terrestrial vertebrate remains from the islands of Itbayat and Sabtang. The results indicate that pigs were present in the islands from the earliest recognized phases of colonization and were the only large mammal resource during the prehistoric period from at least 1200 BC until after AD 1000, when the goat was introduced into the islands. Dogs appear to be present by at least 500 BC, as well as a species of civet cat from a similar or slightly earlier date on Itbayat, that has now been extirpated from the island.
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Papers by Terry O'Connor
Though rare, the survival of brain tissue in otherwise skeletalised human remains from wet burial environments is not unique. A survey of the literature shows that similar brain masses have been previously reported in diverse circumstances. We argue for a greater awareness of these brain masses and for more attention to be paid to their detection and identification in order to improve the reporting rate and to allow a more comprehensive study of this rare archaeological survival.
often assumed.
of pigs is noted in certain regions. In the latter case, the association of pigs with more easterly sites is tested and discussed. Evidence from York and its region are discussed in more detail, including an association between chalk uplands and sheep husbandry in the Middle Saxon period.
Keywords: zooarchaeology, northern Europe, medieval, NISP, mortality profiles
palaeopathology literature are briefl y reviewed, and the potential and limitations of the veterinary literature are discussed. The aetiology and pathognomic clinical criteria of common arthropathies are described, with particular concentration on osteoarthrosis and osteochondrosis. The term osteochondrosis (or osteochondritis) dissecans is not appropriate for zooarchaeological material and should be discontinued. The application of clinical criteria to dry bone specimens is demonstrated for series of zooarchaeological specimens that illustrate the common arthropathies and some more unusual cases. The need for greater diagnostic consistency and ready access to comparative specimens is identifi ed and a provisional scheme for classifi cation and differential diagnosis of arthropathies in bovid bones proposed.
Book Chapter by Terry O'Connor
Though rare, the survival of brain tissue in otherwise skeletalised human remains from wet burial environments is not unique. A survey of the literature shows that similar brain masses have been previously reported in diverse circumstances. We argue for a greater awareness of these brain masses and for more attention to be paid to their detection and identification in order to improve the reporting rate and to allow a more comprehensive study of this rare archaeological survival.
often assumed.
of pigs is noted in certain regions. In the latter case, the association of pigs with more easterly sites is tested and discussed. Evidence from York and its region are discussed in more detail, including an association between chalk uplands and sheep husbandry in the Middle Saxon period.
Keywords: zooarchaeology, northern Europe, medieval, NISP, mortality profiles
palaeopathology literature are briefl y reviewed, and the potential and limitations of the veterinary literature are discussed. The aetiology and pathognomic clinical criteria of common arthropathies are described, with particular concentration on osteoarthrosis and osteochondrosis. The term osteochondrosis (or osteochondritis) dissecans is not appropriate for zooarchaeological material and should be discontinued. The application of clinical criteria to dry bone specimens is demonstrated for series of zooarchaeological specimens that illustrate the common arthropathies and some more unusual cases. The need for greater diagnostic consistency and ready access to comparative specimens is identifi ed and a provisional scheme for classifi cation and differential diagnosis of arthropathies in bovid bones proposed.