International Council for Archaeozoology

International Council for Archaeozoology
Name	International Council for Archaeozoology
Abbreviation	ICAZ
Formation	1967
Type	Learned society
Headquarters	Rotating
Region served	Worldwide
Membership	Researchers, institutions
Leader title	President

International Council for Archaeozoology. The International Council for Archaeozoology is an international learned society bringing together zooarchaeologists, paleozoologists, museum curators, and field archaeologists to study past human–animal interactions; it connects practitioners from institutions such as the British Museum, Smithsonian Institution, Musée de l'Homme, and University of Cambridge while liaising with organizations like the International Union for Quaternary Research, World Archaeological Congress, Society for American Archaeology, and European Association of Archaeologists. The Council fosters collaboration across research centres including the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, CNRS, University of Oxford, University of Copenhagen, and Australian National University, and contributes to heritage initiatives linked to UNESCO, ICOM, and national agencies such as English Heritage and Historic Environment Scotland.

History

Founded in 1967 during meetings that involved scholars from the Natural History Museum, Harvard University, University of Pennsylvania, and University of Michigan, the Council emerged from earlier gatherings of specialists in faunal analysis and paleozoology affiliated with institutions like the British School at Athens and the Deutsches Archäologisches Institut. Early figures associated with the field included staff from the Royal Ontario Museum, University College London, University of Barcelona, and University of Leiden, and the organization later engaged with networks stemming from the International Congress of Prehistoric and Protohistoric Sciences and the International Union of Anthropological and Ethnological Sciences. Over subsequent decades the Council expanded its international reach through collaborations with the Australian Archaeological Association, American Anthropological Association, Canadian Archaeological Association, and Japanese Archaeological Association, adapting to methodological innovations introduced at centres such as the Max Planck Institute, Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, and Scripps Institution of Oceanography.

Organization and Membership

The Council operates through an elected board of officers drawn from universities and museums including the University of Freiburg, University of Torino, University of Zürich, and University of Buenos Aires, and liaises with regional nodes such as the African Archaeological Network, Latin American Association of Archaeologists, and Asia-Pacific archaeological forums. Membership comprises individuals and institutional affiliates from the British Archaeological Association, German Archaeological Institute, French National Centre for Scientific Research, and National Museum of Anthropology (Mexico), with voting structures influenced by precedents set by bodies like the International Council on Monuments and Sites and the International Federation of Library Associations. Administrative decisions have been informed by partnerships with funding agencies such as the European Research Council, National Science Foundation, Australian Research Council, and Humanities and Social Sciences Research Council of Canada.

Activities and Conferences

The Council convenes biennial and regional conferences hosted at venues associated with institutions such as the University of Leiden, University of Vienna, University of Tokyo, and University of Cape Town, and collaborates on sessions with the European Association of Archaeologists, Society for Historical Archaeology, and American School of Classical Studies at Athens. Conferences feature keynote speakers from the University of Cambridge, Columbia University, University of California Berkeley, and University of São Paulo, and workshops held in partnership with laboratories like the Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History, Oxford Radiocarbon Accelerator Unit, and Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. The Council’s meetings often coincide with thematic symposia linked to the International Quaternary Association, Palaeontological Association, Royal Society, and Linnean Society.

Publications and Resources

The Council supports publication outlets and resources disseminated through collaborations with publishers and presses associated with Cambridge University Press, Oxford University Press, Routledge, and Elsevier, and with journals such as Journal of Archaeological Science, Antiquity, Quaternary International, and Archaeozoology-focused monographs produced in partnership with the British Academy and National Geographic Society. It curates databases and reference collections housed at partner institutions including the Natural History Museum, Smithsonian Institution, Musée de l'Homme, and regional repositories supported by UNESCO and the World Heritage Centre. Educational resources and methodological guides have been developed with contributions from researchers at the University of Helsinki, University of Texas at Austin, University of Alberta, and University of Sydney.

Working Groups and Special Interest Networks

The Council maintains working groups and special interest networks focusing on zooarchaeological subfields aligned with research programmes at institutions such as the Max Planck Institute, CNRS, University of Oslo, and University of Barcelona; these include networks addressing taphonomy, isotopic analysis, ancient DNA, and urban archaeozoology. Collaborations extend to specialist committees linked to the International Union for Conservation of Nature, European Association of Vertebrate Palaeontologists, Paleontological Society, and International Society for Archaeology, History and Anthropology, and they coordinate projects with museum collections teams from the Natural History Museum, Field Museum, Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences, and Australian Museum.

Awards and Grants

The Council administers awards, travel grants, and bursaries modeled after funding schemes by the British Academy, Royal Society, European Research Council, and National Endowment for the Humanities, enabling early-career researchers from institutions like the University of Nairobi, University of Stellenbosch, University of Ghana, and Pontificia Universidad Católica to attend conferences and access collections. Named prizes and recognitions have honored contributions comparable to awards conferred by the Archaeological Institute of America, Society for American Archaeology, Wenner-Gren Foundation, and Leverhulme Trust, and the Council collaborates with philanthropic funders and national research councils to support fieldwork, laboratory analyses, and capacity-building initiatives in partnership with museums and universities worldwide.

Category:Archaeological organizations Category:Zooarchaeology