With the help of the ichthyoarchaeologist drs. B. Beerenhout I was given the chance to write a thesis about ichthyology within an archaeological context. Because this expertise did really interest...Show moreWith the help of the ichthyoarchaeologist drs. B. Beerenhout I was given the chance to write a thesis about ichthyology within an archaeological context. Because this expertise did really interest me, I accepted a material study of fish remains (sieve sample) from an unknown site in Amsterdam. It was my first objective to determine the site from which the sample was taken. With the help of drs. B. Beerenhout and the Bureau of Monuments and Archaeology (BMA) of Amsterdam I came to the conclusion that the sample must have been taken from an excavation at the Nieuwendijk, Amsterdam in the year 1979. It turned out a biology student named Pauline Vos-Kelp took samples from the Nieuwendijk 1979 excavation for here PhD program. It was clear the sample I possessed was not taken care by Vos-Kelp so I could precede with the determination of fish remains that the sample contained. Documentation from the BMA made clear Vos-Kelp took only samples from the earliest medieval phase of human habitation of Amsterdam (13th to 14th century AD), so this gave me a dating of more or less the same age for the sample. During these first periods Amsterdam was plagued by flooding, so the earliest inhabitants were forced to construct levels of elevation at the place where their houses were located. Determination of the fish remains from my sample gave some major indications that the sample was taken from one of those earliest levels of elevations. The sample now serves as an environmental indicator from the earliest medieval occupation of Amsterdam.Show less
