A collection of fish remains recovered from the Upper Palaeolithic site of Les Pedroses in the Spanish province of Asturias have been examined to determine the nature of accumulation. Research...Show moreA collection of fish remains recovered from the Upper Palaeolithic site of Les Pedroses in the Spanish province of Asturias have been examined to determine the nature of accumulation. Research focused on the anatomy, taxonomy, taphonomy and osteometry of the remains. The site is located along a tributary of the Sela river valley Asturias in the municipality of Ribadesella. Previous excavations have uncovered evidence of human occupation ranging from the Solutrean to the Early Holocene. The fish remains were recovered from four stratigraphical layers found at the back of the vestibule along the northern wall of the cave. The oldest layer has been radiocarbon dated to 12.250±40 BP or 14.328-14.004 Cal BP, which puts it well within the Late Upper Magdalenian. It is followed by a transitionary layer, an Early Holocene layer and a superimposed layer. Taxonomic identification of the remains was conducted with the help of fish bone reference collections housed at the Laboratory for Archaeozoological Studies of Leiden and the Laboratory for Zooarchaeological Research at the University of Amsterdam. A family, genus or species level identification could be obtained for the majority of fish remains found in the assemblage. A mix of marine and freshwater fishes were identified with Clupeids and Salmonids being best represented taxa in all four stratigraphical layers. Vertebrae were by far the best represented skeletal elements. Over half of the skeletal elements in all four stratigraphical layer could be identified as vertebrae. All skeletal elements were measured according to the guidelines established in Watt et al. (1997) for vertebrae and Morales & Rosenlund (1979), when applicable. Total length and weight of the fishes was estimated through the use of global rachidean profiles. Clupeid and salmonids vertebrae, the most common taxa and skeletal elements, were compared to two reference specimens taken from the Laboratory for Archaeozoological Studies of Leiden. We estimate the clupeids had fork length of less than 24 cm and the salmonids had a total length of around 29.5 cm and weighted roughly 200 grammes. The total length and weight of all other taxa falls somewhere in-between, likely on the side of the Clupeids. The presence of bone surface modifications such as compression or digestion and degree of fragmentation was documented for each skeletal element in the assemblage. Over 90% of the remains were fragmented with 10 to 20% of vertebrae showing signs of compression or digestion. The absence of chopmarks, cutmarks or burning marks and the overall small size ranges of the fishes discounts an anthropogenic origin of accumulation. The osteometrical, taphonomical, taxonomical and anatomical aspects of the assemblage best fit the characteristics of fish bones deposited by otters (Lutra lutra L.). The seasonality inferred from the fishes suggests human occupied Les Pedroses during the late summer and autumn months. This research has illustrated the archaeological value in fish remains, which are typically understudied in the region.Show less
Overfishing of our oceans is a big problem nowadays, the rising demand in consumption fish and rapid technological advances of fishing deplete our oceans at an alarming rate. The beginning of ocean...Show moreOverfishing of our oceans is a big problem nowadays, the rising demand in consumption fish and rapid technological advances of fishing deplete our oceans at an alarming rate. The beginning of ocean fishing seems to originate at the ‘fish event horizon’ a rapid shift from a consumption based on freshwater fish to marine fish. This is visible in England around 1000 AD. The Low Countries are known from the Late Middle Ages to excel in trade of marine fish; technological advances made the Dutch hold a monopoly in the herring trade. In contrast, the Early Middle Ages of the Low Countries are not well researched in term of fish and fishing gear. Fifty years of archaeozoological research done in the Netherlands concluded that fish consumption in the early medieval period concerned mainly freshwater and migratory fish and that marine fish are, with a few exceptions, only found in coastal areas. This thesis analyzed the archaeological data on the fish remains and fishing gear of nineteen early medieval sites in the Netherlands to find out the nature of the Early Medieval fisheries in the Low Countries between 425-1050 AD. Archaeological sites are divided into regional areas (coastal, transition and inland-sites) and data is divided into chronological phases. The results show that the caught fishes are regionally determined and consists of a ‘head-catch’ of nine important fish families that consist of: freshwater fish, marine fish, anadromous fish, catadromous fish and flatfish. Further from the coast there is a large number of freshwater and migratory species present and closer to the coast this shifts into a large number of flatfish, migratory and marine fish. Marine fish are, however, present in the inland and suggest (interregional) trade. Coastal and transition-sites show an increasing number of flatfish and marine fish throughout the Early Medieval Period, but this is not visible on the inland-sites. Associated fishing methods of the head-catch show that the majority of fish were caught using nets and fykes. Fishing gear that is found on the archaeological sites consist of weights of stone, lead and ceramics used as net-sinkers, fykes, fishing hooks, fish lead, fishing spears and forks. Fishing gear is consistent throughout the Early Medieval Period, but seems to differ regionally: on coastal-sites there are no net-sinkers apparent or net-sinkers are possibly misinterpreted. There is no clear fish event horizon visible in the Early Medieval Period of the Low Countries and further research should focus on finding the origin of this event in the Late Medieval Period.Show less
