K Brunson
Biographic Data
| ID | 57586 |
|---|---|
| NAME | K Brunson |
| GIVEN NAMES | K |
| FAMILY NAME | Brunson |
| SIGNATURE | BRUNSON K |
| AFFILIATIONS | Wesleyan University |
| ORCID | 0000-0001-9793-291X |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 19 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 113 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 19 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2009 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2026 |
| H-INDEX | 6 |
Why Do Zooarchaeologists Study Domestic Taxa? An Exploration of Historical Trends in Chinese Zooarchaeology
Current research and publication trajectories in Chinese zooarchaeology suggest that there is a prevailing focus on topics and questions related to animal domestication. While the earliest published studies of archaeofaunal materials excavated from archaeological sites in China were done by palaeontologists and thus reflect a focus on wild taxa, taxonomic interests changed over the course of the 20th century when zooarchaeology (動物考古) emerged as …
Excavating Andersson
This project investigates archaeological material collected from north-west China in the 1920s and housed at the Museum of Far Eastern Antiquities, Stockholm. Finds and archival materials are examined and catalogued to learn about prehistoric cultural interactions and to reconnect discoveries with the original excavation contexts and excavators
Pyrotechnology and Gender in a Medieval China Borderland
During the 2016 and 2017 fieldwork seasons at the site of Qijiaping in Guanghe County, Gansu Province, China, the team of the Tao River Archaeology Project excavated a large intact kiln. The kiln is well preserved, and the first of its kind reported in an archaeological excavation in this region. Several lines of evidence demonstrate that this was a roof tile kiln used during the Song period ( ad 960–1279), possibly associated with the constructi…
Japanese Oracle Bone Divinations during the Yayoi to Heian Periods
Although often thought to be mostly relevant to Bronze Age China, oracle bone divination also has a rich history in Japan, primarily documented through literature and ethnographic records. In recent decades, the discovery of oracle bones spanning from the Early Yayoi (1000–400 b.c.) to Heian (a.d. 794–1185) periods has opened new avenues for research in pyro-osteomancy. These archaeological findings provide fresh perspectives on the social and cu…
Japanese Oracle Bone Divinations during the Yayoi to Heian Periods
Although often thought to be mostly relevant to Bronze Age China, oracle bone divination also has a rich history in Japan, primarily documented through literature and ethnographic records. In recent decades, the discovery of oracle bones spanning from the Early Yayoi (1000-400 B.C.) to Heian (A.D. 794-1185) periods has opened new avenues for research in pyro-osteomancy. These archaeological findings provide fresh perspectives on the social and cu…
Deer and Humans in the Early Farming Communities of the Yellow River Valley
Cattle and People
This volume originates in a conference session that took place at the 2018 International Council of Archaeozoology conference in Ankara, Turkey, entitled "Humans and Cattle: Interdisciplinary Perspectives to an Ancient Relationship." The aim of the session was to bring together zooarchaeologists and their colleagues from various other research fields working on human cattle interactions over time. The contributions in this volume reflect well the…
Direct dating of the earliest domesticated cattle and caprines in northwestern China reveals the history of pastoralism in the Gansu-Qinghai region
Complex Pathways Towards Emergent Pastoral Settlements
The Xindian culture of northwest China has been seen as a prototypical example of a transition toward pastoralism, resulting in part from environmental changes that started around 4000 years ago. To date, there has been little available residential data to document how and whether subsistence strategies and community organization in northwest China changed following or in association with documented environmental changes. The Tao River Archaeolog…
The Majiayao to Qijia transition
Human adaptation to Holocene environments
Zooarchaeology, ancient mtDNA, and radiocarbon dating provide new evidence for the emergence of domestic cattle and caprines in the Tao River Valley of Gansu Province, northwest China
A History of Pigs in China
Pigs have played a central role in the subsistence and culture of China for millennia. The close relationship between pigs and people began when humans gradually domesticated wild pigs over 8,000 years ago. While pigs initially foraged around settlements, population growth led people to pen their pigs, which made them household trash processors and fertilizer producers. Household pigs were in daily contact with people, who bred them to fatten qui…
Zooarchaeological and Genetic Evidence for the Origins of Domestic Cattle in Ancient China
This article reviews current evidence for the origins of domestic cattle in China. We describe two possible scenarios: 1) domestic cattle were domesticated indigenously in East Asia from the wild aurochs ( Bos primigenius), and 2) domestic cattle were domesticated elsewhere and then introduced to China. We conclude that the current zooarchaeological and genetic evidence does not support indigenous domestication within China, although it is possib…
Early foraging settlement of the Tibetan Plateau highlands
New insights into the origins of oracle bone divination
Sheep, Cattle, and Specialization
In this paper, we present a zooarchaeological analysis of the Longshan period sites of Taosi and Zhoujiazhuang (ca. 2300-1900 cal. BC) in southern Shanxi Province, China. We compare the faunal record at both sites in terms of the proportions of wild and domestic taxa; the slaughter patterns for the main domesticates; the types of bones used to produce utilitarian and decorative bone artifacts; and the types of bones used for ritual oracle bone di…
The development of agriculture and its impact on cultural expansion during the late Neolithic in the Western Loess Plateau, China
Based on radiocarbon dating and our analysis of plant and animal remains from Buziping, a Majiayao (5300–4300 BP) and Qijia (4200–3800 BP) period site located in Dingxi, Gansu Province, China, and our review of archaeobotanical studies in the Western Loess Plateau and adjacent areas, we discuss subsistence strategies during the Majiayao and Qijia periods. We also discuss the development of agriculture in the Western Loess Plateau and its influenc…
Integrating taphonomy into the practice of zooarchaeology in China
The development of agriculture and its impact on cultural expansion during the late Neolithic in the Western Loess Plateau, China
Based on radiocarbon dating and our analysis of plant and animal remains from Buziping, a Majiayao (5300–4300 BP) and Qijia (4200–3800 BP) period site located in Dingxi, Gansu Province, China, and our review of archaeobotanical studies in the Western Loess Plateau and adjacent areas, we discuss subsistence strategies during the Majiayao and Qijia periods. We also discuss the development of agriculture in the Western Loess Plateau and its influenc…
Early foraging settlement of the Tibetan Plateau highlands
The Majiayao to Qijia transition
Sheep, Cattle, and Specialization
In this paper, we present a zooarchaeological analysis of the Longshan period sites of Taosi and Zhoujiazhuang (ca. 2300-1900 cal. BC) in southern Shanxi Province, China. We compare the faunal record at both sites in terms of the proportions of wild and domestic taxa; the slaughter patterns for the main domesticates; the types of bones used to produce utilitarian and decorative bone artifacts; and the types of bones used for ritual oracle bone di…
Direct dating of the earliest domesticated cattle and caprines in northwestern China reveals the history of pastoralism in the Gansu-Qinghai region
Integrating taphonomy into the practice of zooarchaeology in China
A History of Pigs in China
Pigs have played a central role in the subsistence and culture of China for millennia. The close relationship between pigs and people began when humans gradually domesticated wild pigs over 8,000 years ago. While pigs initially foraged around settlements, population growth led people to pen their pigs, which made them household trash processors and fertilizer producers. Household pigs were in daily contact with people, who bred them to fatten qui…
Complex Pathways Towards Emergent Pastoral Settlements
The Xindian culture of northwest China has been seen as a prototypical example of a transition toward pastoralism, resulting in part from environmental changes that started around 4000 years ago. To date, there has been little available residential data to document how and whether subsistence strategies and community organization in northwest China changed following or in association with documented environmental changes. The Tao River Archaeolog…
Human adaptation to Holocene environments
New insights into the origins of oracle bone divination
Zooarchaeology, ancient mtDNA, and radiocarbon dating provide new evidence for the emergence of domestic cattle and caprines in the Tao River Valley of Gansu Province, northwest China
Cattle and People
This volume originates in a conference session that took place at the 2018 International Council of Archaeozoology conference in Ankara, Turkey, entitled "Humans and Cattle: Interdisciplinary Perspectives to an Ancient Relationship." The aim of the session was to bring together zooarchaeologists and their colleagues from various other research fields working on human cattle interactions over time. The contributions in this volume reflect well the…
Integrating taphonomy into the practice of zooarchaeology in China
The development of agriculture and its impact on cultural expansion during the late Neolithic in the Western Loess Plateau, China
Based on radiocarbon dating and our analysis of plant and animal remains from Buziping, a Majiayao (5300–4300 BP) and Qijia (4200–3800 BP) period site located in Dingxi, Gansu Province, China, and our review of archaeobotanical studies in the Western Loess Plateau and adjacent areas, we discuss subsistence strategies during the Majiayao and Qijia periods. We also discuss the development of agriculture in the Western Loess Plateau and its influenc…
New insights into the origins of oracle bone divination
Sheep, Cattle, and Specialization
In this paper, we present a zooarchaeological analysis of the Longshan period sites of Taosi and Zhoujiazhuang (ca. 2300-1900 cal. BC) in southern Shanxi Province, China. We compare the faunal record at both sites in terms of the proportions of wild and domestic taxa; the slaughter patterns for the main domesticates; the types of bones used to produce utilitarian and decorative bone artifacts; and the types of bones used for ritual oracle bone di…
Zooarchaeological and Genetic Evidence for the Origins of Domestic Cattle in Ancient China
This article reviews current evidence for the origins of domestic cattle in China. We describe two possible scenarios: 1) domestic cattle were domesticated indigenously in East Asia from the wild aurochs ( Bos primigenius), and 2) domestic cattle were domesticated elsewhere and then introduced to China. We conclude that the current zooarchaeological and genetic evidence does not support indigenous domestication within China, although it is possib…
Early foraging settlement of the Tibetan Plateau highlands
Zooarchaeology, ancient mtDNA, and radiocarbon dating provide new evidence for the emergence of domestic cattle and caprines in the Tao River Valley of Gansu Province, northwest China
A History of Pigs in China
Pigs have played a central role in the subsistence and culture of China for millennia. The close relationship between pigs and people began when humans gradually domesticated wild pigs over 8,000 years ago. While pigs initially foraged around settlements, population growth led people to pen their pigs, which made them household trash processors and fertilizer producers. Household pigs were in daily contact with people, who bred them to fatten qui…
Complex Pathways Towards Emergent Pastoral Settlements
The Xindian culture of northwest China has been seen as a prototypical example of a transition toward pastoralism, resulting in part from environmental changes that started around 4000 years ago. To date, there has been little available residential data to document how and whether subsistence strategies and community organization in northwest China changed following or in association with documented environmental changes. The Tao River Archaeolog…
The Majiayao to Qijia transition
Human adaptation to Holocene environments
Cattle and People
This volume originates in a conference session that took place at the 2018 International Council of Archaeozoology conference in Ankara, Turkey, entitled "Humans and Cattle: Interdisciplinary Perspectives to an Ancient Relationship." The aim of the session was to bring together zooarchaeologists and their colleagues from various other research fields working on human cattle interactions over time. The contributions in this volume reflect well the…
Direct dating of the earliest domesticated cattle and caprines in northwestern China reveals the history of pastoralism in the Gansu-Qinghai region
Deer and Humans in the Early Farming Communities of the Yellow River Valley
Japanese Oracle Bone Divinations during the Yayoi to Heian Periods
Although often thought to be mostly relevant to Bronze Age China, oracle bone divination also has a rich history in Japan, primarily documented through literature and ethnographic records. In recent decades, the discovery of oracle bones spanning from the Early Yayoi (1000–400 b.c.) to Heian (a.d. 794–1185) periods has opened new avenues for research in pyro-osteomancy. These archaeological findings provide fresh perspectives on the social and cu…
Japanese Oracle Bone Divinations during the Yayoi to Heian Periods
Although often thought to be mostly relevant to Bronze Age China, oracle bone divination also has a rich history in Japan, primarily documented through literature and ethnographic records. In recent decades, the discovery of oracle bones spanning from the Early Yayoi (1000-400 B.C.) to Heian (A.D. 794-1185) periods has opened new avenues for research in pyro-osteomancy. These archaeological findings provide fresh perspectives on the social and cu…
Pyrotechnology and Gender in a Medieval China Borderland
During the 2016 and 2017 fieldwork seasons at the site of Qijiaping in Guanghe County, Gansu Province, China, the team of the Tao River Archaeology Project excavated a large intact kiln. The kiln is well preserved, and the first of its kind reported in an archaeological excavation in this region. Several lines of evidence demonstrate that this was a roof tile kiln used during the Song period ( ad 960–1279), possibly associated with the constructi…
Why Do Zooarchaeologists Study Domestic Taxa? An Exploration of Historical Trends in Chinese Zooarchaeology
Current research and publication trajectories in Chinese zooarchaeology suggest that there is a prevailing focus on topics and questions related to animal domestication. While the earliest published studies of archaeofaunal materials excavated from archaeological sites in China were done by palaeontologists and thus reflect a focus on wild taxa, taxonomic interests changed over the course of the 20th century when zooarchaeology (動物考古) emerged as …
Excavating Andersson
This project investigates archaeological material collected from north-west China in the 1920s and housed at the Museum of Far Eastern Antiquities, Stockholm. Finds and archival materials are examined and catalogued to learn about prehistoric cultural interactions and to reconnect discoveries with the original excavation contexts and excavators
Archaeology (16 works) · Geography (16 works) · Archaeology and ancient environmental studies (15 works) · China (15 works) · Biology (13 works) · Ecology (11 works) · Pleistocene-Era Hominins and Archaeology (9 works) · History (7 works) · Domestication (6 works) · Pacific and Southeast Asian Studies (6 works)