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
This thesis concerns the taxonomic and taphonomic identification of bird species from a faunal assemblage found in the Northern Emporium project excavation of a workshop belonging to the Viking-Age...Show moreThis thesis concerns the taxonomic and taphonomic identification of bird species from a faunal assemblage found in the Northern Emporium project excavation of a workshop belonging to the Viking-Age marketplace site in the town of Ribe, Denmark. The assemblage consists of at least 27 bird species, 26 of which are wild species, belonging to 13 different bird families and 9 orders. The majority of the birds are from ducks and waders, and domestic fowl is also noted, but in very low numbers. The specific bird taxa at the site indicated the birds were caught from in the local regions; the Wadden Sea area. Ribe was a nodal point in a larger network of trade and exchange, an emporium, during the Viking Age (approximately 8th-10th centuries BC). The aim is to not only understand how the assemblage was accumulated, i.e. what activities can be inferred from it, but how it related to the diachronic trends in the Viking Age Scandinavian towns of trade with relation to the role of birds in terms of diet, economy, and socio-cultural terms. The identified species indicate a significant difference from other contemporaneous sites and other emporia. Ribe has the largest diversity in taxa. The primary skeletal elements found are wing bones, suggesting that the birds were captured for meat and possibly feather extraction. Birds are good environmental indicators and their presence are a testament to the changing seasons and certain environmental conditions. The avifauna informs that bird harvesting or hunting likely occurred all year-round, with possible increases during autumn and spring months where many of the migrating birds arrive to the coastal region. Evidently, the seasonality of bird procurement can also aid in the overall interpretation of the permanency of the settlement.Show less
Animals have played a major role in the Halaf. Animals did not only figure in Halaf subsistence and the economy, but they also played a prominent role in symbolism. We encounter animals in...Show moreAnimals have played a major role in the Halaf. Animals did not only figure in Halaf subsistence and the economy, but they also played a prominent role in symbolism. We encounter animals in different material categories, as images in wall paintings, on Halaf Fine Ware ceramics, sealings, and as stamps for sealing, amulets, and figurines. Animal remains have been found alongside those of humans, or in other special or ritual contexts. How can we understand these animal representations and ‘ritual’ animal deposits? This preliminary study explores the meanings of animals in the Halaf by using a new approach that was never employed in this area before: Social zooarchaeology. Social zooarchaeology views animals not only as ‘good to eat’, but also as ‘good to think with’ as Lévi-Strauss so famously pointed out. This study investigates multiple case studies from various sites, like Domuztepe (Turkey), Tell Kurdu (Turkey), Kazane Höyük (Turkey), Fıstıklı Hüyük (Turkey), Tell Sabi Abyad (Syria), Tell Khirbet esh-Shenef (Syria), Tell Arpachiyah (Iraq), Banahilk (Iraq), and Yarim Tepe I and II (Iraq). In order to interpret the various animal representations and ritual deposits, every material category and ritual animal deposit is considered in its depositional context and context of use. Furthermore, comparisons with the zooarchaeological record are made, and subsistence. Four main contexts can be recognized in which animals fulfilled symbolic roles, and these often overlap: 1) Domestic space, 2) ‘ritual’, including communal events, commensality and burial, and 3) administration, including storage, the marking of property, and the usage of objects as mnemonic devices, and 4) bodily adornment. It appears that animals might have functioned as a common spoken language in the sharing economy, figuring in complex narratives, myths, and rituals, enforcing human-human relationships and tying together diverse people from various backgrounds in communal events.Show less
