Small Game and Micro-Fauna: From Background Noise to Key Archaeological Proxies

Small game and micro-faunal remains are widely recovered from archaeological contexts across diverse regions and time periods. However, compared to large mammals, their analytical potential has historically been underdeveloped. This is partly due to difficulties in taxonomic identification, recovery biases and the complex formation processes that shape small vertebrate assemblages. In recent years, important developments have significantly advanced the field, including improved taxonomic resolution through approaches such as geometric morphometrics (GMM) and biomolecular techniques (e.g., ZooMS), the increasing application of stable isotope analysis and the expansion of taphonomic and neo-taphonomic frameworks. These advances have increased the reliability of small fauna as sources of information, supporting their growing use in studies of subsistence, paleoenvironmental reconstruction, and human–animal interactions.This Research topic aims to address the long-standing marginalization of small game and micro-faunal remains in archaeological interpretation and to highlight their potential as key analytical proxies. Despite their abundance, these materials have often been underutilized due to challenges in taxonomic identification, complex formation processes and limitations in analytical approaches. Recent advances in methodological and analytical frameworks, including improved taxonomic resolution, biomolecular and quantitative techniques, stable isotope analysis and refined taphonomic and neo-taphonomic approaches, now allow for more robust and nuanced use of these datasets. The goal of this collection is to bring together current research that demonstrates how small vertebrate remains can contribute meaningfully to questions of human behavior, site formation processes and environmental reconstruction. By integrating methodological innovation with interpretive applications, this Research Topic seeks to strengthen the role of small fauna in archaeological inference.This Research topic focuses on the role of small game and micro-fauna in archaeology through a combination of methodological innovation and interpretive application. It emphasizes advances in taxonomic identification (including quantitative and biomolecular approaches), stable isotope analysis and taphonomic and neo-taphonomic frameworks. The scope includes developments in identification methods, formation processes of small vertebrate assemblages, paleoenvironmental reconstruction and the role of small game within subsistence systems and broader human-animal interactions. It also encompasses studies addressing recovery strategies, sampling biases, and quantitative approaches. The collection is intended to include original research articles, methodological papers and perspectives from a wide range of geographic and chronological contexts. Topic editors: Maʿayan Lev, Antonio Rodríguez-Hidalgo, Dylan Gaffney, Mica Jones Source: https://www.frontiersin.org/research-topics/84697/small-game-and-micro-fauna-from-background-noise-to-key-archaeological-proxies