Archaeology has long congratulated itself on the success it has achieved in exploring the domestication of animals. This work was largely undertaken by examining animal bone remains from archaeological sites, studies that encourage a focus on meat consumption. The emphasis on domestication and on direct exploitation leads to the prioritisation of the earlier occurrences of livestock. Thereafter livestock are not regarded as having been significant to human societies. Such perspectives encourage the idea that livestock lack agency. This paper explores three rich examples, each demonstrating the active role that livestock play in creating complex social relationships, in particular emphasising the importance of living animals. Maasai herding systems show that living animals reveal important information about their owners. In nineteenth century London, livestock, for transport as well as consumption, permeated all aspects of life within the city. Finally, the colonisation of Australia was hugely dependent on livestock and they continue to have a great impact on the physical environment and on human social relationships. Collectively, these examples indicate that livestock remain agents into the present day. Archaeology’s inability to consider such dynamics is a failing that needs to be rectified and some suggestions are provided on how this might be achieved.

中文翻译：

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将生命放回考古中的畜牧业

考古学长期以来对自己在探索动物驯化方面所取得的成功表示祝贺。这项工作主要是通过检查考古遗址的动物遗骸进行的，这项研究鼓励人们关注肉食。对驯化和直接剥削的强调导致优先考虑较早出现的牲畜。此后，牲畜就不被认为对人类社会具有重要意义。这种观点鼓舞了牲畜缺乏代理的想法。本文探讨了三个丰富的示例，每个示例都展示了牲畜在建立复杂的社会关系中所发挥的积极作用，尤其强调了活体动物的重要性。Maasai放牧系统显示，活着的动物揭示了有关其主人的重要信息。在19世纪的伦敦，牲畜（用于运输和消费）渗透到城市的生活的各个方面。最后，澳大利亚的殖民化在很大程度上取决于牲畜，它们继续对自然环境和人类社会关系产生重大影响。总的来说，这些例子表明，牲畜仍然是当今的媒介。考古学无法考虑这种动力学是一个失败，需要纠正，并就如何实现这一目标提供了一些建议。这些例子表明，牲畜仍是当今的媒介。考古学无法考虑这种动力学是一个失败，需要纠正，并就如何实现这一目标提供了一些建议。这些例子表明，牲畜仍是当今的媒介。考古学无法考虑这种动力学是一个失败，需要纠正，并就如何实现这一目标提供了一些建议。