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THE ARCHAEO+MALACOLOGY GROUP NEWSLETTER Issue Number 8, September 2005 Coordinator: Janet Ridout Sharpe, BSc ARCS 66 Radnor Road, Wallingford, Oxfordshire OX10 0PH, UK Email: Janet_Sharpe@beeb.net Editorial
This issue of the AMG Newsletter contains the usual mixture of articles on freshwater and land – but very little this time on marine – molluscs from an archaeological perspective. There are two articles on freshwater mussels in Israel, one on the identification and distribution of edible land snails in Turkey and a brief appreciation of the work of Professor J.G. ‘Snails’ Evans, who sadly passed away earlier this year. Henk Mienis draws our attention to an unusual fake cowry from a grave in Hungary (which hopefully may prompt others to record representations of molluscs in archaeology?), and this issue also contains some requests for information, abstracts of papers and notices of forthcoming conferences. I would like to thank all the contributors to this newsletter for their support, including those who sent me copies of their publications for abstracting. This is a good way of making your work more widely known, and it also provides a useful source of information for fellow archaeomalacologists. Please continue to submit articles, reports of work in progress … in fact, anything that might be of interest to others working in this field. Without you, there would be no newsletter! Once again, thanks are due to Kath Szabo of the ICAZ Archaeomalacology Working Group and to Aydin Orstan for posting this newsletter on their websites: http://triton.anu.edu.au/ and http://home.earthlink.net/~aydinslibrary/AMGnews.htm, respectively. The next issue, number 9, will appear at the end of March 2006. (JRS) Note
on some freshwater molluscs from a 3000 BP site near Akhziv, Israel Henk K. Mienis National
Mollusc Collections at the Dept. Evolution, Systematics & Ecology, Hebrew
University of Jerusalem, IL-91904
Jerusalem, Israel, and The
Zoological Museum, Tel Aviv University, IL-69978 Tel Aviv, Israel Email:
mienis@netzer.org.il
The well-known geologist Ze’ev Lewy discovered in the early eighties an elevated terrace near the ancient harbour of Akhziv, Israel (I.G. 159.6/271.9), which contained a rich accumulation of molluscs (Lewy et al., 1986a). This site was initially considered to be of post-Roman age (Lewy et al., 1986a), but the date was changed to 3000 BP in an unpublished hand-out by the same authors (Lewy et al., 1986b), based on carbon dating of some marine molluscs (Buccinulum corneum and Cerastoderma glaucum) among the material. Interestingly, dating carried out on a freshwater bivalve resulted in an age twice as old, i.e. 6000 BP, clearly showing the confusing effects of the presence of dead carbon in freshwater (see also Mienis, 2004). This 3000-year old site is situated in the vicinity of the estuary of Nahal Keziv, a stream which now carries water only during the rainy season. It was interesting to see that the site contained large numbers of Melanopsis buccinoidea (Olivier, 1801), Melanoides tuberculatus (Müller, 1774) and a Unio species. Of the latter, articulated specimens were also found (Lewy et al., 1986a: fig. 4). My friend and colleague Reuven Ortal managed to obtain for me a small part of the original material in order to verify the identity of the freshwater bivalve. To my surprise, this sample contained five species of freshwater molluscs: the gastropods Melanoides tuberculatus, Melanopsis praemorsa (Linnaeus, 1758), Melanopsis lampra Bourguignat, 1884 and Cleopatra bulimoides syriaca Pallary, 1929 and the unionid bivalve Potomida littoralis delesserti (Bourguignat, 1852). This combination of species points to the presence of a perennial stream in the vicinity of the site. In other words, Nahal Keziv was a river carrying water the whole year round some 3000 years ago. Melanopsis tuberculatus and the smooth Melanopsis praemorsa are still commonly encountered in large parts of Israel. Melanopsis lampra is confined to a few coastal streams (for example Nahal Na’aman and Nahal Tanninim). The local subspecies of an African species, Cleopatra bulimoides syriaca, disappeared some 50 years ago from the fauna of Israel due to pollution, while the unionid bivalve Potomida littoralis delesserti most probably disappeared from the coastal rivers about 10-15 years ago.
The study of just this small sample of freshwater molluscs from the site
near Akhziv has allowed us to conclude that the hydrological and ecological
conditions of the Nahal Keziv were quite different some 3000 years ago. At that
time it was still a perennial river containing at least five species of
freshwater molluscs. Today springs along this stream still harbour Melanopsis
buccinoidea and occasionally a pulmonate snail; however, the present estuary
of Nahal Keziv does not contain a single living freshwater mollusc. Acknowledgements
I
would like to thank Dr Ze’ev Lewy (Geological Survey of Israel) and Dr Reuven
Ortal (Israel Nature Reserves and National Parks Protection Authority) for
enabling me to study a part of the shell material from Akhziv. The studied
specimens will be permanently lodged in the archaeomalacological collection of
the National Mollusc Collection at the Zoological Museum, Tel Aviv University. ReferencesLewy,
Z., Neev, D. and Prausnitz, M.W., 1986a. Late Holocene tectonic movements at Akhziv,
Mediterranean coastline of northern Israel. Quaternary Research, 25:
177-188. Lewy,
Z., Neev, D. and Prausnitz, M.W., 1986b. Revised timing of the “Late Holocene tectonic
movements at Akhziv, Mediterranean coastline of northern Israel”.
Unpublished. 1 p. Mienis, H.K., 2004. Problems with dating freshwater snails from extinct populations in Israel. Ellipsaria, 6 (2): 12-13. Nile
mussels in the kitchen of the Monastery of Martyrius, Judaean Desert Henk K. Mienis National
Mollusc Collections at the Dept. Evolution, Systematics & Ecology, Hebrew
University of Jerusalem, IL-91904
Jerusalem, Israel, and The
Zoological Museum, Tel Aviv University, IL-69978 Tel Aviv, Israel Email:
mienis@netzer.org.il
During the construction of the new town of Ma’ale Adummim in the Judaean Desert, east of Jerusalem, the builders stumbled upon the remains of Khirbet al Murassas on a hill in the centre of the town. An excavation carried out during 1982-1985 by Yitzhak Magen, the archaeological staff officer for Judaea and Samaria, showed that the ruins were in fact those of the Monastery of Martyrius. The Monastery of Martyrius was one of the numerous monasteries, housing hundreds of monks, which were built in the Judaean Desert during the Byzantine period (324-640 CE). It was named after Martyrius, a monk from Cappadocia, Turkey, who lived initially as a hermit in a cave not far from the spot where he started to build a very small cenobitic monastery that included only a small church and his cave. The archimandrite Paulus expanded the monastery, which reached its final form and size in 482 CE after the appointment of Martyrius as Patriarch of Jerusalem in 478 CE. It became the principle monastic centre in the Judaean Desert and one of the most luxurious of its type. It was damaged during the Persian invasion of 614 and was abandoned after the Arab conquest in the mid-7th century. The excavation of the site revealed that the dining room (refectory) measured 31 x 25 m, while the food was prepared in a kitchen of similarly impressive size: 21 x 6 m. The floors of all the rooms were covered with splendid mosaics, most of which were found to be intact during the excavation (Magen and Hizmi, 1985; Magen and Talgam, 1990; Magen, 1993a, 1993b). Even the kitchen was paved with mosaics, while the food was prepared on marble tables. Among the numerous utensils found in the kitchen were hundreds of ceramic vessels, lots of metal tableware, grinding utensils, cooking pots and many wine cups. Most interesting was the discovery of numerous valves of a freshwater mussel among the food remains in the kitchen. From a recent, personal inspection of these shells it appears that they all represent Chambardia rubens arcuata (Cailliaud, 1823), the well-known large freshwater mussel of the river Nile. These mussels were imported from Egypt to numerous places throughout the Levant from as early as the Natufian to deep into the Arabic period (Reese et al., 1986, and numerous more recent publications dealing with archaeomalacological finds made throughout the Levant in general and in Israel in particular). In most cases we do not know why these shells were so popular among the people in the Levant over such a long time. However, I think that the mussels from the Monastery of Martyrius provide additional proof that they served most probably as an exquisite food item. The find of nine matching pairs of valves of Chambardia rubens arcuata in a Late Chalcolithic to Early Bronze I jar, in a boat sunken off the coast of Megadim, northern Atlit Bay, Israel (Sharvit et al., 2002), also forms in my opinion evidence that living or preserved mussels were shipped from Egypt to the Levant for human consumption. However, I do not rule out the possibility that the empty valves, with their beautiful layer of mother-of-pearl, were exploited for various other purposes.
It would be interesting to know whether there are any
written records about imports such as the Nile mussels from Egypt during the
Byzantine period. ReferencesMagen,
Y., 1993a.
The Monastery of Martyrius at Ma’ale Adummim. In: Tsafrir, Y. (ed.), Ancient
churches revealed, 9-15. Jerusalem, Israel Exploration Society. Magen,
Y., 1993b.
The Monastery of Martyrius at Ma’ale Adummim. Guides to Antiquity Sites,
2: 72 pp. Jerusalem, Israel Antiquities Authority. Magen,
Y. and Hizmi, H., 1985. The Monastery of St. Martyrius at Ma’ale Adummim. Qadmoniot,
18: 62-92. (In Hebrew.) Magen,
Y. and Talgam, R., 1990. The Monastery of Martyrius at Ma’ale Adummim (Khirbet el-Murassas)
and its mosaics. In: Bottini, G., Di Segini, L. and Alliata, E. (eds.),
Christian archaeology in the Holy Land: new discoveries. Studium Biblicum
Franciscanum, 36: 91-152. Reese,
D.S., Mienis, H.K. and Woodward, F.R., 1986. On the trade of shells and fish from the Nile River.
Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research, 264: 79-84. Sharvit,
J., Galili, E., Rosen, B. and van den Brink, E.C.M., 2002.
Predynastic maritime traffic along the Carmel coast of Israel: a submerged find
from North Atlit Bay. In: van den Brink, E.C.M. and Yannai, E. (eds.), In
quest of ancient settlements and landscapes, 159-166. Tel Aviv University,
Ramot Publishing. Edible
land snails of Turkey Burçin
Aşkım Gümüş, who has previously contributed to this newsletter
on the subject of Turkish land snails, and her colleagues from the Süleyman
Demirel University at Isparta have recently published a paper on the edible
snails of Turkey. Although this paper describes living species and their
geographical distribution and habitats, with a view to the economic exploitation
of these snails for food, the descriptions of the shells and the key provided
for their identification will be of interest to archaeomalacologists working in
this area.
Considerable interest has been expressed
recently in the role of land snails in the prehistoric diet in the Mediterranean
region (see previous issues of this newsletter). As this paper states, snail
meat is rich in minerals and essential amino acids and fatty acids, and it has a
relatively high omega-3 fatty acid content compared with other meats; in Crete,
snail meat has been associated with longevity and a lower incidence of cancer.
There can be no doubt that snails were consumed in antiquity, but which species
were eaten?
Seven species of edible snails with economic
potential have now been determined in Turkey, with the notable absence of Helix
pomatia Linnaeus, 1758. These species are described and illustrated in this
paper and their present distribution and habitats are given as follows: (1)
Theba pisana (Muller, 1774) is found in the Mediterranean fringe of
Turkey, where it occurs in dunes and xerothermic and exposed places close to the
sea. The animals cluster on vegetation from which they are easily harvested. (2)
Eobania vermiculata (Muller, 1774) occurs in all coastal areas and is
synanthropic in fields, open country, gardens and vineyards. It climbs up trees
and bushes to escape the heat of the day. (3)
Cryptomphalus aspersus (Muller, 1774) [=Helix aspersa] is not
generally abundant in Turkey in areas away from the sea, except in parts of
Anatolia where it occurs in cultivated land. This is another synanthropic
species which occurs in low altitude gardens and parks with plenty of shade. (4)
Cantareus apertus (Born, 1778) [=Helix aperta] is relatively
uncommon and is also synanthropic. It occurs in vineyards, olive orchards and
macchia in Mediterranean coastal areas. (5)
Helix asemnis Bourguignat, 1860 in contrast is widely distributed in
southern Anatolia from the Taurus Mountains to the Hatay region, and it occurs
in all habitats including the coast. This species is restricted to Turkey and
Syria. (6)
Helix cincta Muller, 1774, subspecies anatolica, occurs throughout
southwestern Anatolia in undisturbed habitats where it is the second most
frequent species after Helix lucorum. It is found in low and humid parts
of hilly areas in the Marmara, Aegean, Mediterranean and western Black Sea
regions. (7)
Helix lucorum Linnaeus, 1758 is present throughout Anatolia and is
especially abundant in humid coastal areas in the north; it is also found in
European Turkey. It occurs in damp riverside grasslands, moist forests at
moderate altitudes, gardens and orchards. Key
to the edible land snails of Turkey (reproduced
with permission) 1
Shell small (diam. <20 mm), white to light brown, narrow
umbilicus…………….Theba pisana
-Shell large (diam. >25 mm), darker, no
umbilicus……………………………………………. 2 2
Spiral low, 5-6 whorls, mouth compressed, edges thick and reflected…….Eobania
vermiculata
-Spiral spherical to conical, 4-5 whorls, only
the columellar lip reflected……………………...3 3
Shell thin and weak, smaller (diam. = 23-39
mm)……………………………………………...4
-Shell thick, larger (diam. =35-55
mm)…………………………………………………………5 4
Spiral conical, banded………………………………………………….Cryptomphalus
aspersus
-Spiral rounded, not
banded…………………………………………………..Cantareus
apertus 5
Largest diameter >45 mm, dark brown with whitish peripheral
band…………….Helix lucorum
-Largest diameter <45 mm, lighter with brown
peripheral band………………………………..6 6
Last turn regular with broad bands, peristome high (=1/2 h) and
whitish………...Helix asemnis
-Last turn compressed with thin bands,
peristome shorter and brown………………Helix cincta It
is considered that most of the records of Helix pomatia in Turkey are
attributable to Helix lucorum. This is a very variable species which has
been given numerous synonyms over the years. In Turkey the following synonyms
have been recognised: castanea Olivier, 1801; taurica Krynicki,
1833; radiosa Ziegler, 1837; socia Pfeiffer, 1853; onixiomicra
Bourguignat, 1860; mahometana Bourguignat, 1860; euphratica
Martens, 1874; schahbulakensis Bourguignat, 1876; martensi
Boettger, 1883; dorylaenis Naegele, 1903; berytensis Kobelt, 1903;
angustefasciata Kobelt, 1904; halepensis Kobelt, 1905; haussknechti
Kobelt, 1905; hueti Kobelt, 1905; loebbeckei Kobelt, 1905; quinquefasciata
Kobelt, 1905; ancyrensis Kobelt, 1906; byzantina Kobelt, 1906; minima
Kobelt, 1906; and trapezuntensis Forcart, 1963. Helix pomatia is
restricted to central and western Europe: it is absent in the east Balkan
Peninsula and does not occur near the Turkish border.
Not all large land snails are considered to be
edible: Helix buchii Dubois, 1853, the largest land snail in Turkey, is
not consumed. Reference Yildirim, M.Z., Kebapci, U. and Gümüş, B.A., 2004. Edible snails (terrestrial)
of Turkey. Turkish Journal of Zoology, 28: 329-335. John Evans (1941-2005) It seems appropriate here to mark the passing of one
of the great names in archaeomalacology: Professor John Gwynne Evans, author of
that seminal work Land snails in archaeology, published by Seminar Press
in 1972 and never surpassed. John’s book became the ‘bible’ for a whole
generation of archaeomalacologists in the UK. The
son of Sir David Evans, director of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical
Medicine, John took his first degree in zoology at Reading University and then
moved to the London University Institute of Archaeology to undertake a PhD on
land molluscs, which earned him the epithet of ‘Snails’ Evans. He was truly
a pioneer in this field and he studied the snail assemblages from numerous sites
throughout the British Isles, concentrating specifically on the Neolithic and
the advent of farming. In
1970 he was appointed lecturer in environmental archaeology at Cardiff
University and he remained there, becoming reader in 1982 and professor in 1994,
until his retirement in 2002. After Land snails, which remains the
definitive textbook, he wrote or co-authored several popular books on
environmental archaeology, including The environment of early man in the
British Isles (1975), An introduction to environmental archaeology
(1978) and, with Terry O’Connor, Environmental archaeology: principles and
methods (1999). John
changed radically our understanding of the vegetational and land-use history of
the chalklands of southern and eastern Britain by his detailed studies of the
snail shells preserved in buried soils: he was able to prove that the chalk
uplands were largely wooded until early farmers felled the trees to create
farmland. With the soil specialist Susan Limbrey he studied the alluvial
sequences around Avebury, where the land and riverine snail faunas provided the
ecological context for the processes of soil development, erosion and the
build-up of flood plains. Towards
the end of his life John developed an interest in archaeological theory and his
last book, Environmental archaeology and the social order (2003)
presented some original, some say controversial, ideas. His premature passing at
the age of 63 is a sad loss. Some
brief notes on imitation cowries found at archaeological sites Henk K. Mienis National
Mollusc Collections at the Dept. Evolution, Systematics & Ecology, Hebrew
University of Jerusalem, IL-91904
Jerusalem, Israel, and The
Zoological Museum, Tel Aviv University, IL-69978 Tel Aviv, Israel Email:
mienis@netzer.org.il
Since the dawn of mankind cowries have been very popular among people, not just because of their pure beauty in form and colour. In the past cowries have been used as currency (especially Monetaria moneta and Monetaria anuulus), royal symbols (for example, Lyncina aurantium in the Fiji Islands and cowries in general in Zaire) and personal ornaments (in the form of cowry beads and pendants); they have functioned as markers of warrior status (Southeast Asia), have been used in rituals (Nigeria) and were considered fertility symbols (almost everywhere) (Schilder, 1952; Safer and Gill, 1982). For these reasons alone, cowries are often encountered during archaeological excavations, even if these digs are carried out far inland or outside the natural range of distribution of the family Cypraeidae. Cowries have been so popular that from time to time imitations have been made using various materials, and now and then these fake cowries are found during excavations. During the Zhou dynasty in China, which lasted from 1027 to 221 BC, various forms of imitation cowries were produced. Initially these were carved from bone, shell or stone; at a later stage they were made from clay and bronze with the help of moulds. The latter are now considered one of the oldest forerunners of metal currency (Schilder, 1952). It is not clear whether these mock cowries were produced because of a shortage of real ones. Excavations in Elat carried out by Uzi Avner have produced a fake cowry carved from limestone (D. Bar-Yosef Mayer, pers. com.), in spite of the fact that at least 26 different species of cowries would have been locally available (Heiman, 2002). Less known has remained the find of a beautiful glass cowry from the grave of a female, most probably of noble descent, found near Hajdúböszörmény, Hungary (Kovacs, 2001; this author refers to a second article, “A glass cowry imitation from the Sarmatian period in Hungary”, Journal of Glass Studies, 43 (in print), in which he describes this unique find. Unfortunately I have been unable to trace this reference since the journal in question is not available in Israel for consultation). This blown glass cowry, which measures 55 x 36 x 31 mm, resembles in form one of the Zoila species which occur in Australian waters, although the artisan who produced this glass cowry would of course have been unaware of the existence of such forms. However, the colour pattern shows a unique design which is not known to occur in any real cowry (Kovacs, 2001: 286, fig. 2). It served most probably as a pendant or large bead because the anterior and posterior ends show a perfect round hole indicating that it could have been strung. The grave is dated to the Sarmatian period (4th to 1st centuries BC) and the glass cowry has been tentatively placed in the earlier part of that period (4th to 3rd centuries BC). I am not aware of any similar archaeological find of a glass cowry.
I can not rule out the possibility that
somewhere imitation cowries were also carved from wood, but so far I have not
come across any such records. However, I hope that this short note will inspire
others to watch out for imitation cowries. I would appreciate receiving any
information concerning such interesting items. AcknowledgementI
would like to thank Dr Daniella Bar-Yosef Mayer (Haifa University) for the
unpublished information concerning the carved cowry from Elat. ReferencesHeiman,
E.L., 2002.
Cowries of East Sinai. Jerusalem, Keterpress Enterprises (for E.L.
Heiman). 208 pp. Kovacs,
L., 2001.
Sarmatenzeitliche Glaskauri aus der Gemarkung von Hajdúböszörmény. Acta
Archaeologica Academiae Scientiarum Hungaricae, 52: 283-302. Safer,
J.F. and Gill, F.M., 1982. Spirals from the sea: an anthropological look at shells. New
York, Clarkson N. Potter Inc. 192 pp. Schilder, M., 1952. Die Kaurischnecke. Neue Brehmbücherei, 46: 1-48. Leipzig. Requests for information From Greg Campbell (email: g.v.campbell@btinternet.com) I am a Canadian archaeomalacologist working in
England and I have done some work on a Roman layer of sea urchins (echinoids)
found in Brittany (France). I have developed methods for identifying species
based on the very small pieces found, and I have redeveloped methods for sizing
urchins based on these small fragments: each type has a different preferred sea
temperature and is only ready to eat in a particular season…There may have
been regular use of urchins in the Atlantic Mesolithic…I would be very
grateful for any references to reports on edible sea urchins in prehistory. From Carole Biggam (email: C.Biggam@englang.arts.gla.ac.uk) I’m writing a paper on the Early Medieval
vocabulary for dyes, and am currently working on whelk dyes. In other parts of
the world, including Ireland, there are piles of broken-open dog whelk shells
indicating whelk dyeing activities [such as] Inishkea North in Ireland which is
very convincing as a purple-dyeing workshop. I can find no trace of any such
piles of Nucella lapillus shells around the British coasts, and I would
like to be able to ask a specialist whether this impression is correct. Abstracts of publications received Hausdorf,
B., Gümüş
B.A. and Yildirim, M.Z., 2004.
Two new Metafruticicola species from the Taurus
Mountains in Turkey (Gastropoda: Hygromiidae). Archiv fur Molluskenkunde,
133 (1-2): 167-171. ABSTRACT: Two new species of Metafruticicola,
an eastern Mediterranean hygromiid genus that lacks a dart apparatus, are
described from alpine altitudes (2350-2550 m) in the Taurus Mountains in the
province of Isparta in southwestern Turkey. Metafruticicola dedegoelensis
n. sp., mean diameter 14.8 mm, is characterised
by a disk-like, irregularly ribbed shell with a blunt edge at the
periphery and a wide umbilicus. Metafruticicola oerstani n. sp., mean
diameter 13.5 mm, has a smooth disk-like shell with very short hairs, a more
rounded body whorl and a narrower umbilicus. The latter species is named in
honour of Aydin Orstan, who is a contributor to this newsletter. Both species
appear to have limited distributions; their flattened aspect is considered to be
an adaptation to hiding in rock crevices. Mienis, H.K., 2004. 13. Molluscs from the excavation of Horvat Raqit. In: Dar, S. (ed.), Raqit: Marinus’ estate on the Carmel, Israel. BAR International Series, 1300: 309-311. ABSTRACT: The excavation of the remains of a Late
Roman-Byzantine estate at Horvat Raqit on Mount Carmel yielded 186 shells and
fragments which were identified as belonging to 17 different species. Seven of
these were local land snails which are still abundant in the vicinity; many
showed signs of predation by small mammals and may not be contemporary. However,
14 opercula of Pomatias olivieri had been holed and may have served as
beads [see Archaeo+Malacology Group Newsletter, No. 6 (1974): 3]. One
shell (Actaeonella sp.) was a fossil marine gastropod, probably from a
local Cretaceous outcrop, and nine species were marine. Of these, Glycymeris
insubrica accounted for 86 of 97 shells/fragments. Although some of these
were holed at the umbo, only one had a definite man-made hole and together with
the other marine species the shells are worn and were probably used for mortar
production. The single exception was an unworn fragment of Charonia tritonis
variegata which may have come from a complete specimen. Mienis, H.K., 2005. Shells from the emergency excavation in the Begin-Quarter of Ramla, Israel. Triton, No. 11: 28-30. ABSTRACT: Ninety-one shells representing 12 species
were recovered from an emergency excavation in Ramla in advance of
redevelopment. All the finds from the site dated to the Early Islamic period
(mid 8th to late 9th centuries). The shells came from five different
zoogeographic areas: the vicinity of Ramla (local land snails, Helix
engaddensis (n=2)); coastal rivers of the Levant (Potomida littoralis
delesserti (n=1)); the river Nile (Chambardia rubens arcuata (n=8));
the Mediterranean Sea (Neverita josephinia (n=1), Hexaplex trunculus
(n=1), Stramonita haematosma (n=1), Glycymeris glycymeris pilosa
(n=2), Glycymeris insubrica (n=49), Acanthocardia tuberculata
(n=4), Donax trunculus (n=9)); and the Red Sea/Indian Ocean (Monetaria
moneta (n=1), Pinctada margaritifera (n=12)). The cowry and some of
the bivalves (Glycymeris and Acanthocardia) were holed and may
have formed beads and pendants. The fresh state of the Donax shells
suggests that they were collected as food. The use of the pearl mussel shells
could not be determined. Mienis, H.K. and Hadas, G., 2005. Archaeomalacological finds in the vicinity of ‘En Gedi 4. Molluscs in an oven dating to the 1st century CE. Triton, No. 11: 31. ABSTRACT: The excavation of some dome-shaped ovens
dating to the Roman period in the ‘En Gedi oasis, Israel, revealed the
presence of large numbers of ferussaciid snails, Calaxis hierosolymarum
and Calaxis rothi, in one which was located at a depth of 1.5 m. The
ovens had been sealed by a sterile layer of sand and gravel after the
destruction of the ancient settlement by fire. Although the subterranean habit
of Calaxis spp. suggests that the snails may not be contemporary with the
oven, it is noteworthy that they were only found in one of the eight ovens
excavated. The two species are illustrated to facilitate their identification. Pauc, P., 2004. Breve typologie de l’outillage lithique inherent a la fabrication de parures protohistoriques en coquillages et les sources de matieres. [Brief typology of the stone tools used in the manufacture of protohistoric shell jewellery and the sources of material.] Bulletin de la Societe d’Etudes Scientifiques de l’Aude, 104: 69-76. ABSTRACT: The manufacture of beads from subfossil
marine shells in the department of Aude, southern France, spanned the late
Neolithic and Early Bronze Age. This industry is characterised by shell disk
beads made from Cerastoderma glaucum. The stone tools used in the
manufacture of these beads are described with reference to the sources of the
materials used. Most of the tools found in the shell jewellery workshops are
pointed flint ‘perforators’, but sandstone grinding stones and grooved
polishers in siliceous sandstone are also represented. The geology of these
tools is discussed, a brief typology of tool types is presented, and comparisons
are made with similar tool assemblages from other parts of the world. Reese, D.S., 2005. Whale bones and shell purple-dye at Motya (western Sicily, Italy). Oxford Journal of Archaeology, 24 (2): 107-114. ABSTRACT: The 1970 excavations at the Phoenician
colony (6th to 5th centuries BC) of Motya in western Sicily produced an
interesting assemblage of faunal remains which included four sperm whale (Physeter
macrocephalus) vertebrae and over 70 crushed Hexaplex trunculus
shells, together with stone hammers. It was concluded that the whale vertebrae
served as crushing platforms for breaking the shells during the initial stage of
purple dye production. The archaeological evidence for whaling in the
Mediterranean is discussed, and the archaeology of the purple dye industry in
Italy is briefly reviewed. Reese, D.S., 2005. Chapter 6: The Catalhoyuk shells. In: Hodder, I. (ed.), Inhabiting Catalhoyuk: reports from the 1995-99 seasons. Cambridge, McDonald Institute for Archaeological Research (McDonald Institute Monographs). pp. 123-128. ABSTRACT: All the shells collected from James
Mellaart’s 1961-1965 excavations, the 355 priority units from the 1995-1999
excavations, and worked freshwater shells and marine shells from surface
scrapings and other excavations at Catalhoyuk were included in this study. The
priority units produced mainly freshwater shells, mostly Unio sp. which
probably represent food items, although some were worked and some contained
traces of pigment, and 100 shells of Theodoxus jordani, most of which
were holed and are considered to be beads. Most of Mellaart’s marine shells
came from the Mediterranean and the majority consisted of dentalia and Nassarius
gibbosula [=Arcularia gibbosula] beads; also represented were
occasional cones, cowries and a few other species which also appear to have been
used as ornaments. Red Sea shells were represented by four pendants made from Pinctada
margaritifera and two holed Nerita sp. Land snails were relatively
uncommon and mostly very small; they were probably not used as a food source.
Just one fossil Conus/Strombus was present, and it is considered that
Mellaart’s description of ‘fossil oyster shells’ may refer to recent Spondylus
gaederopus [=Gaederopus gaederopus]. Forthcoming conferences The XV UISPP Congress, Lisbon, September 2006 The next UISPP Congress will be held in Lisbon from 4-9 September 2006.
Nearly 100 sessions and workshops have been proposed for this Congress and these
include at least four sessions of interest to archaeomalacologists:
‘Bioarchaeology from the midst of shells’ (organised by Sheila Mendonca,
Eugenia Cunha and Sabine Eggers; this session will focus on Mesolithic shell
middens of Portugal and shellmounds from Brazil to illustrate bioarchaeological
differences between fluvial and maritime settlements); ‘Landsnails as food:
past and present’ (organised by David Lubell); ‘Coastal geoarchaeology: the
research of shellmounds’ (organised by Marisa Coutinho Afonso and Geoff
Bailey; this will look at shellmound research in Brazil and Northwest Europe);
and ‘Harvesting the sea: current perspectives on hunter-gatherer coastal
adaptations’ (organised by Nuno Bicho and Jonathan Haws). Abstracts for these
sessions can be found on the UISPP website at http://www.uispp.ipt.pt/en/colloquia.html. ICAZ 2006, Mexico City, August 2006 An archaeomalacology session is being organised by Canan Cakirlar and
Victoria Stosel for the forthcoming ICAZ International Conference in Mexico
City, 23-28 August 2006, with the title: ‘Shells of Mollusca: environmental
adaptations, ideological expressions’. It is hoped that papers for this
session will focus on a broad range of topics including global palaeoecological
trends, aquatic adaptations, human impact on the environment, continuity and
discontinuity in cultural traditions, and trade relationships. The emphasis will
be on regional, inter-regional, methodological and environmental problems,
rather than specific site reports or purely descriptive presentations. For more
information, see http://triton.anu.edu.au/icaz2006.htm Another
session at this meeting will concern the use of animals in complex civilizations
(‘Animals and complexity: archaeozoology of complex society in the New and Old
worlds’). This session is being organized by Justin Lev-Tov and Susan
DeFrance, who hope to include papers dealing with molluscan remains and their
implications, and to cover both New and Old World perspectives. They already
have a contribution on the use of shellfish by Andean societies but would also
like some contributions from Old World researchers. If anyone is interested in
giving a paper for this session, please contact Justin at jlevtov@uab.edu.
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