# Nerissa Russell

**Source**: https://anthropology.cornell.edu/nerissa-russell
**Parent**: https://anthropology.cornell.edu/grad-field-faculty

## Professor

### Overview

I am a zooarchaeologist working primarily at Neolithic sites in southeast Europe and in Anatolia. I spent many years at Çatalhöyük in Turkey, as co-director of the zooarchaeology lab.

My CV and publications are available at https://cornell.academia.edu/NerissaRussell

### Research Focus

My work focuses on human-animal relations, primarily in Neolithic societies in eastern Europe and the Near East.  I am interested in the social and symbolic functions of animals and meat: as wealth, symbols, medicine, and food.  I examine the ways prehistoric people used animals and meat to construct social relations through feasting, meat sharing, exchanges, and other interactions.  I explore the intersections of human-animal relations with other dimensions of social life such as gender and inequality.

### Publications

Russell, Nerissa

2012    *Social Zooarchaeology: Humans and Animals in Prehistory*. New York: Cambridge University Press.

Russell, Nerissa, and Katheryn C. Twiss\
2017    Digesting the data: Dogs as taphonomic agents at Neolithic Çatalhöyük, Turkey. In *Archaeozoology of the Near East 9*. M. Mashkour and M. Beech, eds. Pp. 59-73. Vol. 1. Oxford: Oxbow.

Russell, Nerissa

2016 Neolithic human-animal relations. *Groniek* 206/207:21-32.

Russell, Nerissa

2015 Food and ritual. In *The Archaeology of Food: An Encyclopedia*. K. B. Metheny and M. C. Beaudry, eds. Pp. 197-199. Lanham, MD: AltaMira Press.

Russell, Nerissa

2015 Çatalhöyük. In *The Archaeology of Food: An Encyclopedia*. K. B. Metheny and M. C. Beaudry, eds. Pp. 91-93. Lanham, MD: AltaMira Press.

Carter, Tristan, Scott D. Haddow, Nerissa Russell, Amy Bogaard, and Christina Tsoraki

2015 Laying the foundations: Creating households at Neolithic Çatalhöyük. In *Assembling Çatalhöyük*. I. Hodder and A. Marciniak, eds. Pp. 97-110. EAA Themes in Contemporary Archaeology, No. 1. Leeds: Maney.

Russell, Nerissa, Katherine I. Wright, Tristan Carter, Sheena Ketchum, Philippa Ryan, E. Nurcan Yalman, Roddy Regan, Mirjana Stevanović, and Marina Milić

2014 Bringing down the house: House closing deposits at Çatalhöyük. In *Integrating Çatalhöyük: Themes from the 2000-2008 Seasons*. I. Hodder, ed. Pp. 109-121. 32. Los Angeles: Cotsen Institute of Archaeology, University of California, Los Angeles.

Russell, Nerissa, Katheryn C. Twiss, David C. Orton, and G. Arzu Demirergi

2014 Changing animal use at Neolithic Çatalhöyük, Turkey. In *Archaeozoology of the Near East X*. B. de Cupere, V. Linseele, and S. Hamilton-Dyer, eds. Pp. 45-68. Ancient Near Eastern Studies Supplement. Leuven: Peeters.

Russell, Nerissa, Katheryn C. Twiss, David C. Orton, and G. Arzu Demirergi

2013 More on the Çatalhöyük mammal remains. In *Humans and Landscapes of Çatalhöyük: Reports from the 2000-2008 Seasons*. I. Hodder, ed. Pp. 213-258. Monumenta Archaeologica. Los Angeles: Cotsen Institute of Archaeology, University of California, Los Angeles.

Russell, Nerissa, and Janet L. Griffitts

2013 Çatalhöyük worked bone: South and 4040 Areas. In *Substantive Technologies at Çatalhöyük: Reports from the 2000-2008 Seasons*. I. Hodder, ed. Pp. 277-306. Monumenta Archaeologica. Los Angeles: Cotsen Institute of Archaeology, University of California, Los Angeles.

Russell, Nerissa

2012 Mammals from the BACH Area. In *Last House on the Hill: BACH Area Reports from Çatalhöyük, Turkey*. R. E. Tringham and M. Stevanović, eds. Pp. 225-242. Monumenta Archaeologica. Los Angeles: Cotsen Institute of Archaeology Press.

Russell, Nerissa, and Kevin J. McGowan

2012 Bird remains from the BACH Area. In *Last House on the Hill: BACH Area Reports from Çatalhöyük, Turkey*. R. E. Tringham and M. Stevanović, eds. Pp. 243-252. Monumenta Archaeologica. Los Angeles: Cotsen Institute of Archaeology Press.

Russell, Nerissa

2012 Worked bone from the BACH area. In *Last House on the Hill: BACH Area Reports from Çatalhöyük, Turkey*. R. E. Tringham and M. Stevanović, eds. Pp. 347-359. Monumenta Archaeologica. Los Angeles: Cotsen Institute of Archaeology Press.

Russell, Nerissa

2012    Hunting sacrifice at Neolithic Çatalhöyük. In *Sacred Killing: The Archaeology of Sacrifice in the Ancient Near East*. A. Porter and G. M. Schwartz, eds. Pp. 79-95. Warsaw, IN: Eisenbrauns.

Russell, Nerissa, and Amy Bogaard

2010    Subsistence actions at Çatalhöyük. In *Agency and Identity in the Ancient Near East: New Paths Forward*. S. R. Steadman and J. C. Ross, eds. Pp. 63-79. London: Equinox.

Russell, Nerissa, Louise Martin, and Katheryn C. Twiss

2009    Building memories: Commemorative deposits at Çatalhöyük. In *Zooarchaeology and the Reconstruction of Cultural Systems: Case Studies from the Old World*. B. S. Arbuckle, C. A. Makarewicz, and A. L. Atici, eds. Pp. 103-125. Anthropozoologica. Paris: L'Homme et l'Animal, Société de Recherche Interdisciplinaire.

Twiss, Katheryn C., and Nerissa Russell

2009    Taking the bull by the horns: Ideology, masculinity, and cattle horns at Çatalhöyük (Turkey). *Paléorient* 35(2):19-32.

Bogaard, Amy et al.

2009    Private pantries and celebrated surplus: Saving and sharing food at Neolithic Çatalhöyük, Central Anatolia. *Antiquity* 83(321):649-668.

Russell, Nerissa

2007    The domestication of anthropology. In *Where the Wild Things Are Now: Domestication Reconsidered*. R. Cassidy and M. H. Mullin, eds. Pp. 27-48. Oxford: Berg.

Dewbury, Adam G., and Nerissa Russell

2007    Relative frequency of butchering cutmarks produced by obsidian and flint: An experimental approach. *Journal of Archaeological Science* 34(3):354-357.

Russell, Nerissa, and Bleda S. Düring

2006    Worthy is the lamb: A double burial at Neolithic Çatalhöyük (Turkey). *Paléorient* 32(1):73-84.

Russell, Nerissa, and Stephanie Meece

2006    Animal representations and animal remains at Çatalhöyük. In *Çatalhöyük Perspectives: Reports from the 1995-99 Seasons*. I. Hodder, ed. Pp. 209-230. McDonald Institute Monographs. Cambridge: McDonald Institute for Archaeological Research.

Russell, Nerissa, and Louise Martin

2005    The Çatalhöyük mammal remains. In *Inhabiting Çatalhöyük: Reports from the 1995-1999 Seasons*. I. Hodder, ed. Pp. 33-98. McDonald Institute Monographs. Cambridge: McDonald Institute for Archaeological Research.

Russell, Nerissa, Louise Martin, and Hijlke Buitenhuis

2005    Cattle domestication at Çatalhöyük revisited. *Current Anthropology* 46(5):S101-S108.

Russell, Nerissa, and Kevin J. McGowan

2003    Dance of the cranes: Crane symbolism at Çatalhöyük and beyond. *Antiquity* 77(297):445-455.

Russell, Nerissa

2002    The wild side of animal domestication. *Society and Animals* 10(3):285-302.

Russell, Nerissa

1998    Cattle as wealth in Neolithic Europe: Where's the beef? In *The Archaeology of Value: Essays on Prestige and the Processes of Valuation*. D. W. Bailey, ed. Pp. 42-54. British Archaeological Reports, International Series. Oxford: British Archaeological Reports.

## In the news

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- [Cornell wins its first Ethics Bowl](/news/cornell-wins-its-first-ethics-bowl)

## Courses - Fall 2025

- [ANTHR 4910 : Independent Study: Undergrad I](https://classes.cornell.edu/browse/roster/FA25/class/ANTHR/4910)
- [ANTHR 4920 : Independent Study: Undergrad II](https://classes.cornell.edu/browse/roster/FA25/class/ANTHR/4920)
- [ANTHR 4983 : Honors Thesis Research](https://classes.cornell.edu/browse/roster/FA25/class/ANTHR/4983)
- [ANTHR 7910 : Independent Study: Grad I](https://classes.cornell.edu/browse/roster/FA25/class/ANTHR/7910)
- [ANTHR 7920 : Independent Study: Grad II](https://classes.cornell.edu/browse/roster/FA25/class/ANTHR/7920)
- [ANTHR 7930 : Independent Study: Grad III](https://classes.cornell.edu/browse/roster/FA25/class/ANTHR/7930)
- [ARKEO 3000 : Undergraduate Independent Study in Archaeology and Related Fields](https://classes.cornell.edu/browse/roster/FA25/class/ARKEO/3000)
- [ARKEO 4981 : Honors Thesis Research](https://classes.cornell.edu/browse/roster/FA25/class/ARKEO/4981)
- [ARKEO 4982 : Honors Thesis Write-Up](https://classes.cornell.edu/browse/roster/FA25/class/ARKEO/4982)
- [ARKEO 6000 : Graduate Independent Study in Archaeology](https://classes.cornell.edu/browse/roster/FA25/class/ARKEO/6000)
- [ARKEO 8901 : Master's Thesis](https://classes.cornell.edu/browse/roster/FA25/class/ARKEO/8901)

## Courses - Spring 2026

- [ANTHR 4910 : Independent Study: Undergrad I](https://classes.cornell.edu/browse/roster/SP26/class/ANTHR/4910)
- [ANTHR 4920 : Independent Study: Undergrad II](https://classes.cornell.edu/browse/roster/SP26/class/ANTHR/4920)
- [ANTHR 4984 : Honors Thesis Write-Up](https://classes.cornell.edu/browse/roster/SP26/class/ANTHR/4984)
- [ANTHR 7910 : Independent Study: Grad I](https://classes.cornell.edu/browse/roster/SP26/class/ANTHR/7910)
- [ANTHR 7920 : Independent Study: Grad II](https://classes.cornell.edu/browse/roster/SP26/class/ANTHR/7920)
- [ANTHR 7930 : Independent Study: Grad III](https://classes.cornell.edu/browse/roster/SP26/class/ANTHR/7930)
- [ARKEO 3000 : Undergraduate Independent Study in Archaeology and Related Fields](https://classes.cornell.edu/browse/roster/SP26/class/ARKEO/3000)
- [ARKEO 4981 : Honors Thesis Research](https://classes.cornell.edu/browse/roster/SP26/class/ARKEO/4981)
- [ARKEO 4982 : Honors Thesis Write-Up](https://classes.cornell.edu/browse/roster/SP26/class/ARKEO/4982)
- [ARKEO 6000 : Graduate Independent Study in Archaeology](https://classes.cornell.edu/browse/roster/SP26/class/ARKEO/6000)
- [ARKEO 8902 : Master's Thesis](https://classes.cornell.edu/browse/roster/SP26/class/ARKEO/8902)