Natalie Munro

Natalie Munro is an American anthropologist and professor, specializing in zooarchaeology, the study of animal remains found at archaeological sites. She is known for her research on the critical transition from hunter-gatherer to agrarian societies, which took place between 15,000 and 7,500 years ago. Munro's work primarily focuses on early human communities in southwest Asia, particularly in Israel, Turkey, and Greece.[1]

Natalie Munro
NationalityAmerican
Alma materSouthern Methodist University
Simon Fraser University
University of Arizona
Occupation(s)Anthropologist and professor

Education

Munro studied at the Southern Methodist University, where she initially majored in biology. During her junior year, she took her first anthropology courses, which prompted her to switch her major to anthropology, later specializing in zooarchaeology.[2] She graduated with an MA from Simon Fraser University and a PhD from University of Arizona.[3]

Career

Munro's research examines the time period when societies transitioned from hunter-gatherer to agrarian lifestyles, a shift that had significant impacts on human health, the environment, population size, private property, social stratification, inequality, and organized religion.[4] By analyzing animal remains, Munro can reconstruct human behavior, shedding light on the reasons behind the adoption of agriculture and animal domestication.[5]

Munro primarily works in southwest Asia, where agriculture first emerged approximately 10,000 years ago. Her work has contributed to understanding the early stirrings of animal management and the complex story of human history, challenging previous views that agriculture and animal husbandry arose exclusively in southeastern Anatolia.

Her research encompasses two main archaeological projects: one in Israel, focusing on the period just before agriculture began, and another in Turkey, examining early Neolithic communities that were settling down and domesticating animals more formally.[6][7]

Research contributions

Munro's work has provided evidence that contradicts an earlier view that agriculture and animal husbandry arose exclusively in an area of southeastern Anatolia and spread outward from there. Instead, her findings suggest that early experimentation with agricultural practices occurred in diverse geographic areas, contributing to a more complex understanding of human history.[1]

Through her research, Munro has studied early fishing techniques, community organization, sharing practices, hygiene, and rituals.[8] Her work in Turkey has revealed the contrast between neighboring communities at the same historical time, with one village showing evidence of a more settled-down society with early agricultural practices and the other resembling earlier hunter-gatherers.

References
  1. Hancock, Elaina (2015-10-21). "A Bare Bones Approach to Understanding Human Behavior". UConn Today. Retrieved 2023-04-10.
  2. Research, Anna Zarra Aldrich '20 (CLAS), Office of the Vice President (2021-05-20). "Meet the Researcher: Natalie Munro, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences". UConn Today. Retrieved 2023-04-10.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  3. "From Hunting to Herding: The Emergence of Animal Domestication in Southwest Asia, a talk by Natalie Munro (University of Connecticut)". anthropology.fas.harvard.edu. Retrieved 2023-04-10.
  4. Tuesday, 31 August 2010 AFP (2010-08-31). "Communal feasts date back 12,000 years". www.abc.net.au. Retrieved 2023-04-10.
  5. Hancock, Elaina (2018-08-31). "Snapshot: Natalie Munro in Israel". UConn Today. Retrieved 2023-04-10.
  6. "Party like it's 10000 BC: new archaeological find in Israel". Christian Science Monitor. ISSN 0882-7729. Retrieved 2023-04-10.
  7. Archaeology, Current World (2010-11-06). "Feasting marks the start of the Neolithic". World Archaeology. Retrieved 2023-04-10.
  8. Marshall, Michael. "Tortoise banquet: Remains of the oldest feast found". New Scientist. Retrieved 2023-04-10.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.