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Article Reference Fish remains from three Upper Palaeolithic cave deposits in southern Belgium
Fish remains are described that were excavated in the 19th century from Trou de Chaleux, Trou du Frontal and Trou du Sureau, three Upper Palaeolithic cave sites in the Meuse basin, Belgium. After a critical assessment of possible taphonomic agents acting in caves, it is concluded that the material — consisting mainly of medium-sized and large salmonids, burbot and cyprinids — is anthropogenic. Using present-day behavioural information on the identified fish species it is hypothesised that the exploited fish were an abundant and predictable food resource during the spawning season, when they occurred en masse in shallow, marginal waters. Finally the possible fishing techniques and the dietary role of freshwater fish in Palaeolithic times are discussed.
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications
Article Reference The roman trade in salted Nilotic fish products : some examples from Egypt
A description is given of two fi sh bone assemblages found at Mons Claudianus, a Roman site in the Eastern Desert of Egypt, and one from Quseir al-Qadim, a contemporaneous settlement on the Red Sea coast. The material is interpreted as the skeletal remains of salted fi sh products that were imported from the Nile Valley. In two cases the reconstructed sizes of the fi sh and the presence of articulating bones allow the defi nition of the fi sh product as salsamenta made from small Nilotic fi sh, rather than as fi sh sauce. Information about the seasoning of the product is provided in two cases by archaeobotanical data, and the analysis of the insect remains found in one of the assemblages provides evidence for local attack by carrion feeders feeding on the spoiled fi sh product. In addition, the presence of some of the beetle taxa representing pests typical for stored plant foods can only be explained as resulting from of the use of already infested plant ingredients during the preparation of the product. The analysis permits a comparison of these Nilotic fi sh bone assemblages to fi sh products found elsewhere in the Roman world. Older and more recent parallels are also briefl y discussed.
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications
Article Reference The role of animals in the funerary rites at Dayr al-Barshā
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications
Article Reference Animal remains from Mahal Teglinos (Kassala, Sudan) and the arrival of pastoralism in the Southern Atbai
Faunal remains from Mahal Teglinos span the period from about 3000 to 1000 BC. They indicate that the arrival of cattle, sheep and goat in the region predates the occupation of the site, but the evidence available from other and older sites near Khashm-el-Girba does not suffice to document precisely the development of pastoralism and its consequences in the Southern Atbai. Among the limited mammalian game, the many gazelles and dikdiks point to steppe conditions, while the equally numerous buffalo remains suggest that this large bovid thrived in the seasonally inundated land along the Gash River.
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications
Article Reference Ancient breeds of domestic fowl (Gallus gallus f. domestica) distinguished on the basis of traditional observations combined with mixture analysis
Using a large assemblage of domestic fowl bones from a classical site, a methodology is presented that allows the recognition of breeds. The approach differs from previous research in which tarsometatarsi were used exclusively. In the present paper, frequency histograms of long bone lengths and mixture analysis were combined with observations on medullary bone development. By concentrating on the analysis of bones with medullary bone, only the securely sexed part of the population (the females) is considered, thereby avoiding problems related to the use of spur development in tarsometatarsi. Three breeds of different sizes could be recognized, of which the smallest shows a high incidence of spurred females.
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications
Article Reference New evidence from a Roman context in Belgium for fish sauce locally produced in northern Gaul
Fish remains from a mid-2nd century AD context at Tienen (Belgium) are believed to represent the remains of a fish sauce produced in northern Gaul. The observed species spectrum, the reconstructed sizes of the fish, and modern data on the abundance, geographical distribution and size of fish in the surf zone of the Belgian coast and in the estuary of the Scheldt basin, together indicate that the species present in the sauce were captured in the upper reaches of an estuary. Using similar reference data it was also possible to establish that the fish were caught during spring or early summer. After a discussion of the possible fish catching methods used in estuaries during Roman times, the assemblage from Tienen is compared to other Roman finds of locally produced fish sauce that have been reported thus far from sites in Great Britain and Belgium.
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications
Article Reference Pickled fish from the Egyptian Nile: osteological evidence from a Byzantine (Coptic) context at Shanhûr
During excavations of the early Roman temple of Shanhûr (near Luxor, Egypt) a large concentration of small fish bones was found in a younger occupation layer dated to the late 6th-early 7th century AD. The various taxa encountered in this Byzantine (Coptic) assemblage are described and quantified in terms of both number of fragments and minimum number of individuals. Fish lengths are reconstructed using power equations for those taxa for which sufficient modern reference material was available. After excluding natural taphonomic agents (otters, fish eating birds, natural death) it is argued that the deposit is anthropic and that the material represents the remains of fish sauce or of pickled fish. Other archaeozoological data from the literature, textual and archaeological evidence, as well as modern practices show that Nilotic fish were consumed in salted form from about 2500 years ago up to the present-day.
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications
Article Reference The continuous exploitation of wild animal resources in the archaeozoological record from Ghana
The paper provides a critical review of the archaeozoological information from Ghanaian sites published up to now and summarizes the new faunal analysis of several Gonja and Asante sites. The data suggest the persistence of the use of the various wild animal resources available and limited reliance on domestic animals since late prehistoric times up to today, although certain resources such as molluscs, insects etc. may have limited or no visibility. Intensive utilisation of edible wild resources may be prevalent in African woodlands.
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications
Article Reference The emergence of fishing communities in the Eastern Mediterranean region : a survey of evidence from pre- and protohistoric periods
The present overview deals with the fish remains found at Palaeolithic to Late Bronze Age sites in the Eastern Mediterranean. Attention is focussed on both marine and continental fisheries in Anatolia, the Levant and Mesopotamia. After presenting a detailed inventory of the archaeofaunal data available in the literature, an attempt is made to document diachronic trends in marine exploitation and continental fishing of the region. The use of fish in ritual and religious practices is dealt with briefly and attention is also paid to fish as trade items.
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications
Article Reference The Middle Holocene Shell Mound of El Gouna on the Red Sea (Egypt)
In the El Gouna (Hurghada) area on the Red Sea of Egypt, a Middle Holocene shell mound from around 5800 B.P. (uncalibrated radiocarbon years before A.D. 1950) has been tested by a restricted excavation. Collection of shellfish on the Red Sea shore provided subsistence opportunities for Middle Holocene groups coeval with the Early Predynastic Tasian of the Nile Valley. The El Gouna site demonstrates for the first time that prehistoric shell mounds exist near the Egyptian Red Sea shore.
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications