Animals as Neighbors: The Past and Present of Commensal Species

Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

In this fascinating book, Terry O'Connor explores a distinction that is deeply ingrained in much of the language that we use in zoology, human-animal studies, and archaeology--the difference between wild and domestic. For thousands of years, humans have categorized animals in simple terms, often according to the degree of control that we have over them, and have tended to see the long story of human-animal relations as one of increasing control and management for human benefit. And yet, around the world, species have adapted to our homes, our towns, and our artificial landscapes, finding ways to gain benefit from our activities and so becoming an important part of our everyday lives. These commensal animals remind us that other species are not passive elements in the world around us but intelligent and adaptable creatures. Animals as Neighbors shows how a blend of adaptation and opportunism has enabled many species to benefit from our often destructive footprint on the world. O'Connor investigates the history of this relationship, working back through archaeological records. By requiring us to take a multifaceted view of human-animal relations, commensal animals encourage a more nuanced understanding of those relations, both today and throughout the prehistory of our species.

Table of contents provided by Syndetics

• Preface (p. ix)
• Introduction (p. 1)
• 1 The Human Environment (p. 13)
• 2 Sources of Evidence (p. 25)
• 3 The Archaeology of Commensalism (p. 37)
• 4 Mesomammals (p. 57)
• 5 Rats, Mice, and Other Rodents (p. 81)
• 6 Birds (p. 101)
• 7 Commensalism, Coevolution, and Culture (p. 117)
• 8 Planning for the Future (p. 129)
• Notes (p. 135)
• Bibliography (p. 149)
• Index (p. 171)

Reviews provided by Syndetics

CHOICE Review

Brief yet profound, this monograph examines cultural relationships with animal populations that adapt to human landscapes to advantage their nutritional needs. Commensal species evolve to occupy niches in built environments that provide regular, dependable food supplies. O'Connor (archaeology, Univ. of York, UK) explores the state of scientific understanding of the places of commensal species throughout human history, and assesses biological, zoological, archaeological, anthropological, and ethnographic research to develop an ethnozoological, social history. Although he interprets evidence and often speculates on its meanings, O'Connor carefully reasons many fascinating insights. The argument he promulgates is that awareness, analysis, attention, and management need to be more sensitive to the synanthropic vertebrates that have coevolved with humans in ancient and modern urban landscapes. Beyond introducing the problem sphere, the eight chapters discuss the prospects and limits of archaeological evidence; the range of species to which people have become "tied" over the course of human evolution; the mesomammal, rodent, and avian consumers that are found in constructed spaces; and the trajectory of the coevolution of commensal species with local and global cultures. The result is a fresh view of the human-nature relationship conundrum. Summing Up: Highly recommended. Upper-division undergraduates and above. J. P. Tiefenbacher Texas State University