Cahiers Du Centre De Recherches Anthropologiques, Jan 14, 2023
des vestiges anthropologiques, fauniques et archéologiques découverts dans la Grotte des Enfants ... more des vestiges anthropologiques, fauniques et archéologiques découverts dans la Grotte des Enfants à Freyr, Belgique (Néolithique récent) », Bulletins et
An unusual concentration of tens of thousands small fish remains discovered during rescue excavat... more An unusual concentration of tens of thousands small fish remains discovered during rescue excavations in the town of Antwerp, Belgium, is described. The material was found in a small depression with no associated archeological material but could be dated to the first half of the 16th century based on its stratigraphic position. About 3500 freshwater fish were found in articulating position and it is shown that they died naturally during a single depositional event after an exceptional flood. The species spectrum and the reconstructed fish lengths make it possible to document the season when the catastrophic mortality occurred. This assemblage differs from the few assemblages of natural mortality reported in the literature, which are all of the attritional type.
Esser E., Van Neer W., Wouters W., ten Anscher T.J., Zeiler J.T., Kootker L.M., van Hees L. 2023.... more Esser E., Van Neer W., Wouters W., ten Anscher T.J., Zeiler J.T., Kootker L.M., van Hees L. 2023. Dierlijke resten uit de Hazendonkperiode. In: T.J. ten Anscher, S. Knippenberg, C.M. van der Linde, W. Roessingh & N.W. Willemse (red.), Doorbraken aan de Rijn. Een Swifterbant-gehucht, een Hazendonk-nederzetting en erven en graven uit de bronstijd in Medel-De Roeskamp, pp. 1087-1164. RAAP-rapport 6519, Weesp.
The production and maritime trade of salted-fish products are well documented in the western Medi... more The production and maritime trade of salted-fish products are well documented in the western Mediterranean during the Classical and Roman periods. Ichthyological remains found within amphorae in shipwrecks and other archaeological contexts provide evidence for long-distance exchange based on the biogeographical distributions of fish species. The Ma‘agan Mikhael B shipwreck (mid-seventh to mid-eighth century ad) found on the Carmel coast of Israel held three Late Roman amphorae which contained the remains of small fish. The identified species suggest a previously unknown fish-salting operation at the Sea of Galilee during the early Islamic period. The evidence also points to a distribution or trade centre for salted fish at Caesarea-Maritima after the transition to Islamic rule in the eastern Mediterranean. The results of this study demonstrate the value of archaeozoological methods applied to maritime archaeological contexts, attesting to production and trade activities that left fe...
Pike (Esox lucius) is a large freshwater species with a wide distribution in Eurasia and North Am... more Pike (Esox lucius) is a large freshwater species with a wide distribution in Eurasia and North America that has been exploited since prehistoric times as is shown by the skeletal remains found on numerous archaeological sites. The role the species played in the subsistence of inland human settlements can be documented by its proportion within the spectrum of exploited fish and by reconstructing the body lengths of the pike and the amount of meat they represent. Osteometrical data in the literature allow size and, sometimes, meat weight reconstructions on the basis of the measurements of isolated cranial bones, but little attention has been paid thus far to the use of vertebrae for such reconstructions. Using a series of 27 dry skeletons of modern pike, here, we provide regression equations that allow an accurate estimation of the body length and weight of the fish on the basis of each of the first five vertebrae. Analysis of the size variation of the height, width and length of all the vertebral centra along the vertebral column, through the construction of the so-called Global Rachidian Profile, showed that only the length measurements can be of potential use for a rather crude estimation of body length. Finally, a case study is provided, using a large assemblage of Early Neolithic pike vertebrae, to show the potential of the new osteometrical data.
Abstract The spread of the Neolithic way of life from its centers of origins remains one of the c... more Abstract The spread of the Neolithic way of life from its centers of origins remains one of the central topics of archaeological research, with ongoing debates about the importance of economic, demographic, and cultural changes in the transition. The Southern Caucasus, while close to one area where agriculture emerged, has remained understudied regarding this spread. Here, information about the role of fish, a topic that has been almost completely neglected until now is presented. Fish remains are scarce in this region. Moreover, isotope analyses seem to indicate that freshwater fish were not an important food source. For the first time, fishbones have been found in larger quantities at the site of Aruchlo I from some layers in ditches. It is the largest assemblage of fish bones safely dated to the sixth millennium BC in the South Caucasus. The interpretation of these finds is not straightforward due to the lack of other comparable finds and the absence of fishing gear. Fishing appears to have been conducted in the waters close to the settlement. It is unclear if fishing was a year-round activity, although the way these bones were concentrated in different layers in the ditches suggests that this was not the case. We think that the bounteous catch of spawning fishes at certain times of the year can be linked to special social events like feasting, showing the importance of a food resource that is usually greatly underrepresented archaeologically. Introducing more precise recovery methods for animal remains at other excavations will hopefully refine our understanding.
This pdf of your paper in Archaeozoology of the Near East 9 belongs to the publishers Oxbow Books... more This pdf of your paper in Archaeozoology of the Near East 9 belongs to the publishers Oxbow Books and it is their copyright. As author you are licenced to make up to 50 offprints from it, but beyond that you may not publish it on the World Wide Web until three years from publication (February 2020), unless the site is a limited access intranet (password protected). If you have queries about this please contact the editorial department at Oxbow Books
Revue éditée par le Comité pour la di usion de la recherche en archéologie gallo-romaine Tijdschr... more Revue éditée par le Comité pour la di usion de la recherche en archéologie gallo-romaine Tijdschrift uitgegeven door het Comité voor de verspreiding van het onderzoek in de Gallo-Romeinse archeologie
Fish represent a key economic, social and ecological group of species that humans have exploited ... more Fish represent a key economic, social and ecological group of species that humans have exploited for tens of thousands of years. However, as many fish stocks are going into decline and with little known about the anthropogenic impacts on the health of the marine ecosystem pre-Industrial Revolution, understanding historical and archaeological exploitation of fish species is key to accurately modelling these changes. Here, we explore the potential of collagen peptide mass fingerprinting (also known as Zooarchaeology by Mass Spectrometry, or ZooMS) for identifying fish remains from the Medieval (fifteenth century) Newport ship wreck (Wales, UK), and in doing so we establish a set of biomarkers we consider useful in discriminating between European fish taxa through the inclusion of over 50 reference taxa. The archaeological results identified nine distinct taxonomic groups, dominated by ling (> 40%), and a substantial amount of cod (> 20%) and hake (~ 20%). The vast majority of sa...
Fish represent a key economic, social and ecological group of species that humans have exploited ... more Fish represent a key economic, social and ecological group of species that humans have exploited for tens of thousands of years. However, as many fish stocks are going into decline and with little known about the anthropogenic impacts on the health of the marine ecosystem pre-Industrial Revolution, understanding historical and archaeological exploitation of fish species is key to accurately modelling these changes. Here, we explore the potential of collagen peptide mass fingerprinting (also known as Zooarchaeology by Mass Spectrometry, or ZooMS) for identifying fish remains from the Medieval (fifteenth century) Newport ship wreck (Wales, UK), and in doing so we establish a set of biomarkers we consider useful in discriminating between European fish taxa through the inclusion of over 50 reference taxa. The archaeological results identified nine distinct taxonomic groups, dominated by ling (> 40%), and a substantial amount of cod (> 20%) and hake (~ 20%). The vast majority of samples (> 70%) were identified to species level, and the inability to identify the remaining taxonomic groups with confidence using ZooMS was due to the fact that the reference collection, despite being relatively large in comparison to those presented in mammalian studies, reflects only a small proportion of fish biodiversity from this region. Although the results clearly demonstrate the potential for ZooMS as a means of fish bone identification, the sheer number of different fish species that potentially make up ichthyoarchaeological assemblages leads to obvious requirements for the analysis on much greater numbers of modern reference specimens, or the acquisition of collagen sequences.
Cahiers Du Centre De Recherches Anthropologiques, Jan 14, 2023
des vestiges anthropologiques, fauniques et archéologiques découverts dans la Grotte des Enfants ... more des vestiges anthropologiques, fauniques et archéologiques découverts dans la Grotte des Enfants à Freyr, Belgique (Néolithique récent) », Bulletins et
An unusual concentration of tens of thousands small fish remains discovered during rescue excavat... more An unusual concentration of tens of thousands small fish remains discovered during rescue excavations in the town of Antwerp, Belgium, is described. The material was found in a small depression with no associated archeological material but could be dated to the first half of the 16th century based on its stratigraphic position. About 3500 freshwater fish were found in articulating position and it is shown that they died naturally during a single depositional event after an exceptional flood. The species spectrum and the reconstructed fish lengths make it possible to document the season when the catastrophic mortality occurred. This assemblage differs from the few assemblages of natural mortality reported in the literature, which are all of the attritional type.
Esser E., Van Neer W., Wouters W., ten Anscher T.J., Zeiler J.T., Kootker L.M., van Hees L. 2023.... more Esser E., Van Neer W., Wouters W., ten Anscher T.J., Zeiler J.T., Kootker L.M., van Hees L. 2023. Dierlijke resten uit de Hazendonkperiode. In: T.J. ten Anscher, S. Knippenberg, C.M. van der Linde, W. Roessingh & N.W. Willemse (red.), Doorbraken aan de Rijn. Een Swifterbant-gehucht, een Hazendonk-nederzetting en erven en graven uit de bronstijd in Medel-De Roeskamp, pp. 1087-1164. RAAP-rapport 6519, Weesp.
The production and maritime trade of salted-fish products are well documented in the western Medi... more The production and maritime trade of salted-fish products are well documented in the western Mediterranean during the Classical and Roman periods. Ichthyological remains found within amphorae in shipwrecks and other archaeological contexts provide evidence for long-distance exchange based on the biogeographical distributions of fish species. The Ma‘agan Mikhael B shipwreck (mid-seventh to mid-eighth century ad) found on the Carmel coast of Israel held three Late Roman amphorae which contained the remains of small fish. The identified species suggest a previously unknown fish-salting operation at the Sea of Galilee during the early Islamic period. The evidence also points to a distribution or trade centre for salted fish at Caesarea-Maritima after the transition to Islamic rule in the eastern Mediterranean. The results of this study demonstrate the value of archaeozoological methods applied to maritime archaeological contexts, attesting to production and trade activities that left fe...
Pike (Esox lucius) is a large freshwater species with a wide distribution in Eurasia and North Am... more Pike (Esox lucius) is a large freshwater species with a wide distribution in Eurasia and North America that has been exploited since prehistoric times as is shown by the skeletal remains found on numerous archaeological sites. The role the species played in the subsistence of inland human settlements can be documented by its proportion within the spectrum of exploited fish and by reconstructing the body lengths of the pike and the amount of meat they represent. Osteometrical data in the literature allow size and, sometimes, meat weight reconstructions on the basis of the measurements of isolated cranial bones, but little attention has been paid thus far to the use of vertebrae for such reconstructions. Using a series of 27 dry skeletons of modern pike, here, we provide regression equations that allow an accurate estimation of the body length and weight of the fish on the basis of each of the first five vertebrae. Analysis of the size variation of the height, width and length of all the vertebral centra along the vertebral column, through the construction of the so-called Global Rachidian Profile, showed that only the length measurements can be of potential use for a rather crude estimation of body length. Finally, a case study is provided, using a large assemblage of Early Neolithic pike vertebrae, to show the potential of the new osteometrical data.
Abstract The spread of the Neolithic way of life from its centers of origins remains one of the c... more Abstract The spread of the Neolithic way of life from its centers of origins remains one of the central topics of archaeological research, with ongoing debates about the importance of economic, demographic, and cultural changes in the transition. The Southern Caucasus, while close to one area where agriculture emerged, has remained understudied regarding this spread. Here, information about the role of fish, a topic that has been almost completely neglected until now is presented. Fish remains are scarce in this region. Moreover, isotope analyses seem to indicate that freshwater fish were not an important food source. For the first time, fishbones have been found in larger quantities at the site of Aruchlo I from some layers in ditches. It is the largest assemblage of fish bones safely dated to the sixth millennium BC in the South Caucasus. The interpretation of these finds is not straightforward due to the lack of other comparable finds and the absence of fishing gear. Fishing appears to have been conducted in the waters close to the settlement. It is unclear if fishing was a year-round activity, although the way these bones were concentrated in different layers in the ditches suggests that this was not the case. We think that the bounteous catch of spawning fishes at certain times of the year can be linked to special social events like feasting, showing the importance of a food resource that is usually greatly underrepresented archaeologically. Introducing more precise recovery methods for animal remains at other excavations will hopefully refine our understanding.
This pdf of your paper in Archaeozoology of the Near East 9 belongs to the publishers Oxbow Books... more This pdf of your paper in Archaeozoology of the Near East 9 belongs to the publishers Oxbow Books and it is their copyright. As author you are licenced to make up to 50 offprints from it, but beyond that you may not publish it on the World Wide Web until three years from publication (February 2020), unless the site is a limited access intranet (password protected). If you have queries about this please contact the editorial department at Oxbow Books
Revue éditée par le Comité pour la di usion de la recherche en archéologie gallo-romaine Tijdschr... more Revue éditée par le Comité pour la di usion de la recherche en archéologie gallo-romaine Tijdschrift uitgegeven door het Comité voor de verspreiding van het onderzoek in de Gallo-Romeinse archeologie
Fish represent a key economic, social and ecological group of species that humans have exploited ... more Fish represent a key economic, social and ecological group of species that humans have exploited for tens of thousands of years. However, as many fish stocks are going into decline and with little known about the anthropogenic impacts on the health of the marine ecosystem pre-Industrial Revolution, understanding historical and archaeological exploitation of fish species is key to accurately modelling these changes. Here, we explore the potential of collagen peptide mass fingerprinting (also known as Zooarchaeology by Mass Spectrometry, or ZooMS) for identifying fish remains from the Medieval (fifteenth century) Newport ship wreck (Wales, UK), and in doing so we establish a set of biomarkers we consider useful in discriminating between European fish taxa through the inclusion of over 50 reference taxa. The archaeological results identified nine distinct taxonomic groups, dominated by ling (> 40%), and a substantial amount of cod (> 20%) and hake (~ 20%). The vast majority of sa...
Fish represent a key economic, social and ecological group of species that humans have exploited ... more Fish represent a key economic, social and ecological group of species that humans have exploited for tens of thousands of years. However, as many fish stocks are going into decline and with little known about the anthropogenic impacts on the health of the marine ecosystem pre-Industrial Revolution, understanding historical and archaeological exploitation of fish species is key to accurately modelling these changes. Here, we explore the potential of collagen peptide mass fingerprinting (also known as Zooarchaeology by Mass Spectrometry, or ZooMS) for identifying fish remains from the Medieval (fifteenth century) Newport ship wreck (Wales, UK), and in doing so we establish a set of biomarkers we consider useful in discriminating between European fish taxa through the inclusion of over 50 reference taxa. The archaeological results identified nine distinct taxonomic groups, dominated by ling (> 40%), and a substantial amount of cod (> 20%) and hake (~ 20%). The vast majority of samples (> 70%) were identified to species level, and the inability to identify the remaining taxonomic groups with confidence using ZooMS was due to the fact that the reference collection, despite being relatively large in comparison to those presented in mammalian studies, reflects only a small proportion of fish biodiversity from this region. Although the results clearly demonstrate the potential for ZooMS as a means of fish bone identification, the sheer number of different fish species that potentially make up ichthyoarchaeological assemblages leads to obvious requirements for the analysis on much greater numbers of modern reference specimens, or the acquisition of collagen sequences.
Stone Age without Stones. The Early Neolithic Site of Bucova Pusta IV in Northwestern Banat (Romania), 2024
This volume deals with the results of the excavations from 2010 to 2015 at the Early Neolithic se... more This volume deals with the results of the excavations from 2010 to 2015 at the Early Neolithic settlement of Bucova Pusta IV near Sânnicolau Mare, in northern Banat. After the end of the Early Neolithic settlement, a large burial mound was erected at this site in the early 3rd millennium BC, the main burial of which was also documented during the excavations. The site was subsequently inhabited once again during the transition from the Late Bronze Age to the Early Iron Age. In medieval times, the site served as a burial ground for a nomadic equestrian population. The flat landscape of northern Banat is characterised by numerous watercourses. This is why the utilisation of aquatic resources played an important role in the Neolithic period. Another special feature is the lack of natural stones, which is reflected in the special character of the Early Neolithic finds.
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