Archaeologists who study ancient subsistence are interested in how people went about acquiring food and other resources from the surrounding environment. Subsistence activities include not only food but any other materials collected for purposes of survival, such as acquiring stone to make tools, and clay to make pots. This description will concentrate on food remains. Archaeologists who deal the most with food remains are archaeobotanists and zooarchaeologists.

Archaeobotanists are involved in the identification and interpretation of all kinds of plant remains found on archaeological sites. Remains range from tiny microscopic pollen to larger fragments of charcoal, seeds, fruits and nuts.

Most archaeobotanists study seeds, nuts and wood charcoal. The identification of these materials can provide a general picture of the role of plants in ancient diets as well as environmental information. Wood charcoal studies can indicate which species of woods were present in the region and were burned as fuel.

We can use seed remains to estimate when sites were occupied. For example, if acorns are preserved on a site, this may indicate that the site was occupied in the autumn because acorns ripen at that time. Also, strawberries ripen around June, corn ripens in September and there are many other examples.

Pollen is produced by many plants, and these tiny grains can survive for thousands of years in the right soil conditions. By studying ancient pollens, we can reconstruct the vegetation that once surrounded an archaeological site. This will tell us something about climate, and about the ecological effects of human activities, such as burning to clear fields for planting.

Archaeobotanical studies then, can tell us not only what plants people were eating, but they can indicate the season of site occupation, what kinds of habitats people were exploiting, and the impact ancient humans had on the environment.

Zooarchaeologists study different types of animal remains recovered on archaeological sites. This can include animal teeth and bones, insects and shell. Zooarchaeologists often deal with small, fragmentary pieces of bone that could have come from many different animals.

We can learn much about ancient diets from animal remains. For example, we can estimate the number of individuals of one species represented at a site. This can give a rough idea of how much food is represented by the remains.

We also can learn something of the nature of site occupations. For example on archaeological sites in British Columbia, the presence of male mule deer skulls with antlers naturally shed indicates the animal was killed in the late winter or spring. This may be evidence that the site was occupied at the time.

The placement of cut marks on animal bones can be used in the reconstruction of ancient butchering practices. For example, the presence of cut marks made by knives and stone tools at bone joints can indicate that the animal was butchered as a source of meat. However, if a skeleton of a deer or wolf, for example, seems to have cut marks only at the ends of extremities (toes and fingers) and in the neck area, the animal may have been skinned only and used as a source of fur.

Zooarchaeological studies then, can indicate what animal foods were eaten by ancient populations, as well as the season of site occupation, and the uses of different animals hunted.