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Excavations at Hierakonpolis
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Fish otoliths and their relevance to archaeology: an analysis of medieval, post-medieval and recent material of plaice, cod and haddock from the North Sea
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The growth increments were investigated of late medieval, post-medieval and modern otoliths of plaice, cod and haddock from the North Sea. Thin-sectioned otoliths were used to age all the analysed individuals and to reconstruct their growth patterns. In addition, fish lengths of the archaeological specimens were calculated after the relation between otolith width and fish length was established using modern material. The age and fish length distribution, and the growth patterns obtained on the archaeological material allow inferences about fish trade, market strategies and consumption behaviour on producer sites (coastal sites) and consumer sites. Differences in growth patterns were observed between the archaeological and recent populations of the three demersal species analysed which may be related to a change in fishing pressure through time. However, diachronic changes in species distribution, temperature, food availability and selection of catch in function of market strategies may have played a role as well. Age and body size data allow some inferences about the exploited fishing grounds, but the growth patterns are of limited use in this respect.
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Archaeozoological evidence for the former presence of spotted-necked otter ( Lutra maculicollis ) in Egypt
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A description is given of the skeletal remains of otter discovered at the Late Palaeolithic fishing sites Makhadma 2 and 4. This is the second archaeozoological find of otter in Egypt and the first one that allows an identification at species level. The possible reasons for the rarity of otter remains in sites along the Egyptian Nile are discussed as well as the possible causes for the present-day local extinction of the species. The consequences of these bone finds for the interpretation of animal depictions and statuettes in ancient Egyptian art are briefly mentioned.
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Stratigraphie et faune d’un puits d’extraction néolithique à Petit-Spiennes
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L'étude de la stratigraphie combinée à celle de la faune d'un puits d'extraction de silex, fouillé entre 1997 et 1999 à Petit-Spiennes, tente de retracer l'histoire détaillée du comblement d'un puits afin d'y rechercher des indices relatifs au travail minier. Elle montre que le comblement ne doit pas être conçu comme un événement synchrone mais doit se mesurer, au minimum, en terme de mois dans un environnement qui, lui, reste stable. La faune - et parmi celle-ci, surtout, les petits vertébrés intrusifs recueillis sur toute la hauteur du puits d'accès ainsi que les gastéropodes, - indiquent un milieu semi-forestier marqué par la présence de la Trouille. La découverte d'éléments fcetaux d'animaux domestiques suggère la pratique de lélevage dans un périmètre relativement proche de la mine e! par là même, celle d'un habitat aux alentours de 4500 8.P., époque du comblement de la structure. La stratigraphie offre, enfin, une illustration de phénomènes de tassement, décrits précédemment dans la littérature, ainsi que dévénements post-dépositionnels particuliers qui posent le problème du déplacement de certains restes dans un espace en théorie colmaté.
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Social status as reflected in the food refuse from late medieval sites in Namur (Belgium)
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An identification key for dermal denticles of Rajidae from the North Sea
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As a result of more systematic fine sieving on archaeological sites, dermal denticles and isolated teeth of rays are now more frequently recovered than before. A detailed description of the teeth is available in the literature, but no comparative study of the morphology of the dermal denticles exists that allows the identification of such elements issued from archaeological sites. A key and illustrations are provided for the identification of the dermal denticles of 10 ray species from the North Sea. In addition, the ray denticles have been analysed from seven medieval and postmedieval sites showing their potential for the interpretation of ichthyo-archaeological assemblages.
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Beyond affluence : the zooarchaeology of luxury
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The statement, by the eighteenth-century economist Adam Smith, that luxuries are all things that are not necessities is too simplistic an approach to be useful within the context of zooarchaeology. To start with, all animal products could be regarded as unnecessary within the human diet. Therefore, a four-part subdivision is proposed, distinguishing between foodstuffs that fulfill basic physiological needs, those that fulfill imagined needs, those that render a diet affluent and, finally, luxury foods. Optimal foraging theory further develops this subdivision by also taking into account the costs involved in obtaining the ingredients. The distinction between the affluent and the luxurious diet in particular allows us to define criteria through which luxury foods can be recognized within a zooarchaeological assemblage. At the same time, however, the constraints of such an exercise become apparent. This theoretical approach is illustrated by case studies from Roman to post-medieval Europe.
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Mitochondrial DNA sequence from an enigmatic gorilla population (Gorilla gorilla uellensis)
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Although today gorillas are found in only two widely separate, discontinuous western and eastern African populations, rumors of the existence of an additional gorilla population in central Africa have inspired recent unsuccessful field expeditions in search of the "mystery ape" termed Gorilla gorilla uellensis. Such a gorilla population would have considerable conservation and scientific interest, and would presumably have descended from a population of gorillas that was thought to exist until the end of the 19th century on the Uele River in the current-day Democratic Republic of Congo. However, the sole evidence for the existence of these gorillas is three skulls and one mandible brought to the Royal Museum for Central Africa (Tervuren, Belgium) in 1898. We determined a mitochondrial DNA sequence from one of these specimens and compared it to sequences from other gorillas. Contrary to expectations, the sequence obtained did not exhibit the phylogenetic distinctiveness typical of a representative of a peripheral isolated population. Rather, the results suggest a scenario in which the museum specimens did not originally derive from the northern Congo, but were brought from the area of current distribution of western gorillas to that location; the subsequent discovery and collection of the specimens there gave rise to the false inference of a local gorilla population.
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Roman trade relationships at Sagalassos (Turkey) elucidated by ancient DNA of fish remains
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The excavations of Roman and Early Byzantine contexts at the town of Sagalassos (Turkey) yielded fish remains belonging to species that do not occur near the site. The modern geographical distribution of the identified fish indicates trade with various regions of Anatolia, the Mediterranean coast, Egypt and/or the Levant. Trade with Levant and Egypt is evident throughout the period by the presence of Clarias, a catfish living amongst others in the Nile and Levant. Mitochondrial DNA analysis was successfully carried out on modern populations of this species from Turkey, Syria, Israel and Egypt. Several variable regions were discovered on the mitochondrial control region containing polymorphisms that distinguish the haplotypes. Primer sets were designed to amplify small fragments of ancient DNA containing these informative regions. Ancient fish DNA could be successfully extracted, amplified and sequenced. The analyses indicate that the catfish bones belong to Clarias gariepinus and that they originated from the lower Nile. In addition, this study sheds light on the understanding of the modern distribution of C. gariepinus in Anatolia.
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Evolution of prehistoric fishing in the Nile Valley
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The available data are reviewed on ichthyofaunas from prehistoric sites along the Nile in Egypt and Sudanese Nubia. Former fishing practices are reconstructed using information derived from species spectra, reconstructed fish sizes, growth increment analysis and fishing implements. It is demonstrated that fishing was initially practised exclusively on the floodplain and that it was limited to a small number of shallow water taxa during Late Palaeolithic times. From the Epipalaeolithic onwards (ca 10000-8000 bp), fishing was also undertaken in the main Nile whereby the number of exploited species increased. Technological innovations allowing the exploitation of the deeper parts of the main river included nets and fish-hooks as well as improved vessels, permitting the capture of larger species from the open water. It is argued that fish must always have been a staple food because the animals seasonally occurring in large numbers on the floodplain were intensively exploited and because these fish could be easily dried for future consumption. Once the fishing grounds also included the main river, fishing was no longer restricted to the flood season, but could also be carried out when the Nile levels were low. Hence the role of fish in the resource scheduling also changed at the transition of Late Palaeolithic to Epipalaeolithic times.
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