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FLORIDA 2005 MEETING PAPERS
Daniella E. Bar-Yosef Mayer -- baryosef@research.haifa.ac.il University of Haifa, Haifa, Israel Interpreting Dentalium shells
ABSTRACT Dentalium shells have long been recognized as a hallmark of the Natufian Culture in which they were used to decorate skulls (or heads). Little attention has been paid to Dentalium shells from earlier or later sites. The frequency of Dentalium in a shell assemblage and the length of the Dentalium beads may reflect changes in the degree of mobility of hunter-gatherer societies, and may provide insight into certain social behaviours.
Greg Campbell - g.v.campbell@btopenworld.com Sorry, Wrong Phylum: A Neophyte Archaeomalacologist's Experiences in Analyzing a European Atlantic Sea Urchin Assemblage.
ABSTRACT This paper discusses a recent approach to analyzing the sea urchin remains recovered from a sequence of fills in a pit of the Gallic Empire era of the Roman period above the Baie de Lannion, northern Brittany, France. Possible solutions for northeast Atlantic urchin assemblages to some problems which all archaeo-zoologists face (identification, the generation of mni data, diagnosis of butchery methods, and reconstructing the nature of the population exploited) are outlined. The implications for the state of the discipline of archaeomalacology of the diversity of sources consulted, and a number of instances of parallel work by others, are discussed.
Diana Rocio Carvajal Contreras - diacarco@hotmail.com University of Calgary, Canada Molluscs in Panama: A review
ABSTRACT In recent years, mollusc remains have been used by archaeologists working in Panama to reconstruct environments and subsistence and exchange activities at coastal and inland sites. the aim of this review is to summarize some general aspects of mollusc use at sites located on the central Pacific coast of Panama, with special reference to a) their distance from the sea, b) their date of occupation, and c) the frequency and abundance of mollusc species.
Canan Cakirlar -- canancakirlar@yahoo.com Tübingen University, Germany The Economic Importance of Shellfish in Troy and the First Results on Seasonality Studies on Cerastoderma glaucum.
ABSTRACT Troy is a reference site for the archaeology of the Eastern Mediterranean, due to its long history of detailed archaeological investigations both at the settlement proper and in the surrounding landscape. The 4 millennia-long occupational history of the site offers an opportunity to observe the dynamic aspects of anthropogenic responses to the changing environment during the Holocene. One way of extracting such knowledge from the archaeology of a coastal site is to investigate the shell remains, which we are in no shortage of at Troy. The current state of the on-going archaeomalacological investigations in Troy and its vicinity is presented in this paper. The marine and freshwater shell remains from the new excavations are evaluated in the context of animal economy at the site and changes in Holocene climate and geography. The methods used to determine the seasonality and other factor affecting shell gathering at Troy is explained in detail. These include the interpretation of computerised NIS records of shell remains, coastal surveys conducted in the Troad in order to detect modern shellfish populations, and studies on incremental growth (microscopical as well as metrical). The implications of these analyses at Troy are then discussed in the framework of other archaeomalacological studies done in the Eastern Mediterranean. Finally the potential meaning of the study is put forward with the help of some hypothetical models, and further research directions are proposed.
Francesco
d’Errico1, Christopher Henshilwood2, Marian Vanhaeren3,
Karen van Niekerk4 1 UMR 5199 CNRS,
PACEA, Institut de Préhistoire et de Géologie du Quaternaire, Avenue des
Facultés, F-33405 Talence, France. 2 Centre for
Development Studies, University of Bergen, Nyga˘Şrdsgaten 5, N- 5015 Bergen,
Norway. 3 UMR 7041 CNRS,
ArScAn, Ethnologie préhistorique, 21 allée de l’Université, F-92023
Nanterre, France. 4 Department of
Archaeology, University of Bergen, J. Frielesgt. 1, N- 5015 Bergen, Norway. The oldest shell beads: Nassarius kraussianus from the Middle Stone Age layers at Blombos Cave, Cape province, South Africa. (poster)
Since 1991, excavations at Blombos Cave have
yielded a well-preserved sample of faunal and cultural material in Middle Stone
Age (MSA) levels. The uppermost MSA phase, M1, is dated to c.75 ka by optically
stimulated luminescence (OSL) and thermoluminescence; the middle M2 phase to a
provisional c. 78 ka. Artefacts unusual in a MSA context from these phases
include bifacial points, bone tools, engraved ochre and an engraved bone. In
this poster, we describe forty-one marine tick shell beads recovered from these
MSA phases and compare them with tick shell beads from Later Stone Age (LSA)
levels at Blombos Cave and the Die Kelders site. Thirty-nine shell beads come
from the upper M1 phase and two from M2. Morphometric, taphonomic and
microscopic analysis of modern assemblages of living and dead tick shell
demonstrate that the presence of perforated Nassarius
kraussianus shells in the Blombos MSA levels cannot be due to natural
processes or accidental transport by humans. The types of perforation seen on
the MSA shells are absent on modern accumulations of dead shells and not
attributable to post-depositional damage. Their location, size, and microscopic
features are similar to those obtained experimentally by piercing the shell
wall, through the aperture, with a sharp bone point. Use-wear, recorded on the
perforation edge, the outer lip, and the parietal wall of the aperture indicates
the shells having being strung and worn. MSA shell beads differ significantly in
size, perforation type, wear pattern and shade compared to LSA beads and this
eliminates the possibility of mixing across respective levels. Thirty-one beads were found in four groups of
five to twelve beads, each group being recovered in a single square or in two
adjacent sub-squares during a single excavation day. Within a group, shells
display a similar shade, use-wear pattern and perforation size suggesting their
provenance from the same beadwork item, lost or disposed during a single event.
The likely symbolic significance of these finds suggests levels of cognitively
modern behaviour not previously associated with MSA people.
Esteban Álvarez Fernández -- estebanalfer@hotmail.com Dep. of Prehistory, University of Salamanca, Salamanca, Spain Food & More: Marine Mollusk Exploitation during the Upper Palaeolithic and Mesolithic in Cantabrian Spain and in the Ebro Valley.
ABSTRACT This paper focuses on the exploitation of marine mollusks within a cultural and ecological context, from the archaeological excavations in the prehistoric sites in the Cantabrian Region (northern Spain) and along the Ebro Valley. This research analysed different species, on the one hand used as ornaments or tools and, on the other hand as food during the Upper Palaeolithic and Mesolithic. These mollusks are examined for taxonomic diversity among cultural phases. Our research focuses on two main issues: the first one refers to which species of mollusks were selected and transformed into personal ornaments and the second one to which ones were collected for nutritional interests.
Arlene Fradkin - afradkin@fau.edu Department of Anthropology, Florida Atlantic University, Florida, USA Applying a Seasonality Measure of Oyster Harvesting: A Case Study from the Precolumbian Florida Coast.
ABSTRACT Over
the past two decades, several methods have been developed for determining
season(s) of shellfish collection at archaeological sites. One such
technique involves the use of the impressed odostome (Boonea impressa), a
gastropod that is an ectoparasite of oysters and often found in archaeological
oyster middens where fine recovery methods are employed. Shell length
measurements of archaeological odostomes are correlated with modern studies on
the snail's annual growth cycle, ultimately indicating the season(s) of oyster
collecting by the site inhabitants. This technique is applied to the
archaeological faunal assemblage at Greenfield Site #5 (8DU5541), a precolumbian
site located along the Atlantic coast in northeast Florida, USA. Over
6,000 odostomes were recovered in the 1.5mm (1/16-inch) mesh screens.
Shell length measurements indicate that oysters were harvested in the summer
through late autumn months (July-November).
Sándor Gulyás and Pál Sümegi -- gubanc@yahoo.com University of Szeged, Department of Geology and Paleontology, Szeged, Hungary Shellfishing in Neolithic Hungary (paper).
ABSTRACT The manifold, complex
archeological excavations implemented at Hungarian Neolithic, Bronze and Copper
Age sites have yielded considerable amounts of shellfish and gastropod material
recently. However, these have enjoyed much less scientific attention, if any at
all, compared to the remains of other more spectacular taxonomic groups, such as
vertebrates, or the actual artifacts themselves. The representatives of the
various freshwater mussel groups or genera, the remains of which are generally
retrieved during archeological excavations, populate the recent rivers and ponds
of Hungary as well. The majority of these freshwater habitats are also usually
found in the vicinity of the actual settlement sites. Consequently, knowing the
modern ecologic requirements (substrate quality, water movement, food supply),
habitat preferences of these bivalve taxa, as well as the biological and
statistical parameters of these (biomass, size changes and distributions), there
is a chance to relatively accurately assess the site of shellfishing along with
the prevailing characteristics. The detailed statistical
analysis and other type of archaeozoological exploration methods of the
retrieved mussel valves can reveal further fascinating details about for example
the method (by hand or using sophisticated tools), season or time, and frequency
(single or multiple event) of shellfishing. Plus it may shed light onto the
various roles these creatures might have played in the everyday (diet,
craftsmanship (jewellery, tools, tempering agent)) as well as sacral activities
and beliefs of the prehistoric communities (funeral rituals, shell medals as
talisman). Mussel shells mostly come
to light from refuse pits located around the houses of the settlement, or are
scattered on the surface of the actual settlement horizons. The meat of these
bivalves must have represented an important food supplement in the daily
subsistence of prehistoric groups. Based
on modern analogues, the actual amount of the edible meat and the resulting
nutritive value may be approximated via the application of various
mathematical-statistical tools. This way we can estimate the magnitude of human
labor expended for the gathering of shells in a single event, along with the
approximate number of people it could have supported. Furthermore, one can also
determine if these prehistoric groups
have shown preference for or avoided a particular suit of species or size
group for cultural, taste preferences or other reasons. Moreover, we can also
say how these majestic meals were consumed, cooked or uncooked? And what was the
reason for the choice? Was it for the relative cleanness of the habitat, which
might have influenced the flavor, or something else? With the help of recorded
values of the biomass of freshwater mussels dwelling in the Hungarian rivers and
ponds, the approximate area of the exploited site can be assessed. The
statistical evaluations may also reveal the number of the exploited populations,
as well as the temporal and spatial alterations observable in these. Via
determining the approximate time or season of collection, we can say something
about the possible causes that had triggered the shellfishing event, like the
need for an alternative food source in harsh times, or when other resources were
not available (the construction of a new settlement). When these parameters are
investigated through several layers corresponding to different time periods,
like in case of a multiphase tell settlement site, we can capture not only the
spatial and temporal fluctuation in the environment, site and method of
shellfishing, but its possible underlying human or natural causes as well. Not
to mention the findings of the numerous possible geochemical and isotope-geochemical
studies. These could reveal further important information on the
paleoenvironment (water temperature, alkalinity, contamination, rate of primary
production), corroborating or even confuting our former interpretations. This presentation will touch upon the issues depicted above using examples from some Neolithic sites in Hungary (Ecsegfalva, Hódmezővásárhely-Gorzsa, Tiszapüspöki-Karancspart-Háromága). Studies with such scope are generally lacking in Hungarian and also European archeological research. Thus the final results of our work will hopefully contribute to the creation of a much more colorful as well as accurate picture regarding the lives of various human groups that once populated our country.
Douglas S. Jones1, Irvy R. Quitmyer1 and C. Fred T. Andrus2 - quitmyer@flmnh.ufl.edu 1 Florida Museum of Natural History, Gainesville, FL. 2 University of Georgia, Savannah River Ecology Laboratory, Aiken, SC 29802. Oxygen Isotopic Evidence for Greater Seasonality in Holocene Shells of Donax variabilis from Florida
ABSTRACT Donax variabilis, the variable coquina clam, has been a common inhabitant of exposed sand beach intertidal and shallow subtidal zones in the southeastern United States throughout the Pleistocene and Holocene. It is ideally suited for paleotemperature studies because it is restricted to environments of well-mixed, normal-marine seawater with a fairly uniform isotopic composition. As a result, oxygen isotope variability in D. variabilis shells is largely explained by temperature variation. Although D. variabilis is small and short-lived, its shell represents an important paleoclimate archive because of its unique habitat preference. High-resolution sampling of individual D. variabilis shells and comparison of oxygen isotope temperature profiles with historical seawater temperatures from the northeastern Florida coast indicate rapid shell growth over a brief life span of three to five or six months. Analysis of two modern shells reveals a close correspondence between isotopically-determined water temperatures and historical water temperatures during the spring-summer growing season. Paleotemperature profiles from four archaeological shells, however, suggest a longer growth interval spanning summer-autumn. Two Preceramic Archaic Period shells (ca. 4240 and 5570 14C yr BP) and two Orange Period Archaic shells (ca. 3600 and 3760 14C yr BP), from four different archaeological sites, yield paleotemperatures that average 3.5°C higher than present summer-autumn water temperatures. these warm paleotemperatures highlight seasonality differences associated with the mid-Holocene Hypsithermal climatic interval in this region.
Lilian Karali -- ikarali@arch.uoa.gr Lilian Karali-Giannacopoulos, Greece Archaeomalacological Research in Greece
ABSTRACT The discipline of archaeology seeks to investigate and to illuminate aspects of human activity in the past, to locate and to elucidate man's achievements, to reconstruct the natural environment and to determine the relations of interdependence between man and his environment. For studying the past, modern archaeological research is concerned with the total of remains brought to light in excavation, that is the artifacts and the biological remains. Man's presence and activity in a particular place is that which makes it a subject of study for the environmental archaeologist. Of considerable significance, among remains, that at first glance go unnoticed, are molluscs, particularly in Greece. Archaeologists investigate the archaeological importance of this particular order of the animal kingdom, which appear as both ecofacts ( remains of natural organisms) and artifacts. The first scientific information on living organisms is found in the work of Aristotle. In his three major treatises of biological content (Historia Animalium, Parts of Animals, Generation of Animals) describes in detail the constituent elements (e.g. blood, bones, hair) and the organs of the body, the way in which animals reproduce, their dietary habits, ecosystems and behavior. In Roman times Pliny's work (Natural History) provides inter alia important information on the world of the sea and molluscs. Molluscs concerned later scholars from the standpoint of biology, anatomy, systematic taxonomy and scientific onomatology. C.Linnaeus (1707-1778) is generally acclaimed as the founding father of classification. Earlier archaeological studies on mollusks and their shells are mainly of ethnographic content and concern population groups living in distant lands. In the study of Aegean prehistory, evidence on the palaeoenvironment and on mollusk remains in particular, is to be found in the work of C.Tsountas on the Cyclades (?s???ta? 1898, 137-212, 1899, 134-173). The first catalogues of mollusk species found in excavations, were prepared by N.G.Gejwall. The foundations for the study of mollusks as archaeological remains per se were laid by N.J.Schakleton. The first comprehensive review of the malacological material in the prehistoric Aegean was presented in the author's doctoral thesis (Karali 1979). Today, specialist scholars such as D.Reese, N.J.Schakleton, H.Chevallier, L.Karali and J.Powell, are systematically studying the mollusk remains found in excavations in Greece, from prehistoric to later times. Through dissertations, articles and monographs on this material, a rich data bank of archaeological importance is being compiled, essential for the conspectus of the past. Archaeologists now attach special weight to this avenue of research, as more and more facts become known, and it is now taking its rightful place in the examination and analysis of excavation data and testimonies that have survived to this day from time past.
Imre Magyar, Miklós Szónoky and Sándor Gulyás - gubanc@yahoo.com University of Szeged, Department of Geology and Paleontology, Szeged, Hungary The endemic Lake Pannon bivalve Congeria ungulacaprae - the myths about 'goat hoofs' and the truth behind (poster)
ABSTRACT The
term "Congeria ungulacaprae
horizon” was coined by a famous Hungarian researcher Halaváts (1903) to
designate a local stratigraphic unit of the Late Miocene Lake Pannon sediments
in the Lake Balaton region of Western Hungary. In this region, the conspicuous
shells of C. ungulacaprae, an endemic
Lake Pannon species reworked and worn by Lake Balaton had been associated with a
fairytale and called “goat’s hoofs” by the local people. These shells were
described and depicted as early as the 18th century, the first Lake
Pannon fossils treated scientifically. The Late Miocene Lake Pannon occupied the
area of the Carpathian Basin approximately 12 MA with a lifespan of 7 my. This
palaeo-ancient lake with a maximal size and water chemistry similar to the
present Caspian Sea harbored a spectacular endemic fauna restricted to this
basin alone. One of the many endemic forms totaling around 900 species was that
of the thick-shelled bivalve Congeria
ungulacaprae occurring very commonly in sandy, littoral facies around the
Transdanubian Central Range in Western Hungary, including several outcrops along
the present-day Lake Balaton. However, this latter freshwater lake is not a
direct descendant of the former Ancient Lake Pannon. So how come its shells
ended up in Lake Balaton? The
present paper will be seeking an answer to this and numerous other questions,
like why and how they appeared in Hungarian folk tradition during the past
century, and what are the reasons that led to the complete disappearance of the
hoofs from the modern lake.
Marcello A. Mannino and Ken Thomas -- marcello.mannino@eudoramail.com -- tcfa312@ucl.ac.uk Institute of Archaeology, University College London, United Kingdom Shellfish and Season: Investigating Prehistoric Human Ecology in the Coastal Zone of NW Sicily.
ABSTRACT NW Sicily has a high density of coastal sites with occupation spanning the Upper Palaeolithic, Mesolithic and Neolithic periods. Most have yielded large assemblages of marine molluscs. The region, the sites and the shellfish remains together constitute an important resource for investigating a range of important and currently-debated issues in archaeology, including: · the potential for coastal environments to support sustained hunter-forager exploitation and settlement, · the impact of changing environments on patterns of exploitation of intertidal resources, · the role of coastal resources in changing economies, especially following the adoption of agriculture. Our on-going research involves a combination of archaeological, palaeoecological, modern ecological and geochemical approaches (stable isotope, XRD and SEM) to the analysis and interpretation of prehistoric shellfish assemblages. In this paper we focus on the results from studies of oxygen isotopes in shell carbonates, and how they may be used to reconstruct past inshore seawater temperatures and to infer patterns of seasonality of shellfish exploitation and, hence, patterns of sedentism or movement for prehistoric groups of hunter-foragers. The importance of modern ecological and biological analogue studies for the interpretation of the palaeo-isotope data is exemplified and discussed.
Dan C. Marelli -- dmarelli@adp.fsu.edu Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL, USA Giving Life to Dead Scallops (Argopectin irradians)
ABSTRACT Bay scallops have been exploited by human populations inhabiting coastal Gulf of Mexico sites since at least 3500 BC. The scallop was undoubtedly an important food source to prehistoric humans in areas bordered by marine coastal lagoons and seagrass beds (primarily Thalassia and Syringodium). Despite the apparent heavy use of the scallop by indigenous people, major scallop population decline did not occur until the past 3-4 decades. Morphological analysis of bay scallop valves from Gulf of Mexico sites (both prehistoric and modern) suggest major disruption of the population biology of the central Gulf Florida scallop populations. In addition, I suggest a method to examine time of collection that may be useful to compare with oxygen isotope ratio data.
David Maxwell Statistical Research Inc., Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada Fish-drying and El Nińo: Recognizing Short-Term Events Through Invertebrate Analysis
ABSTRACT Invertebrate faunal analysis can provide the basis for very specific functional inferences if excavation methods and site preservation permit. Testing at a midden site on San Nicolas Island, southern California, produced a wealth of faunal remains, far exceeding the available analytical budget for identification. Using limited analysis and looking for patterns in both invertebrate and vertebrate remains aided in the recognition of several distinctive features reflective of short-term events relating to subsistence. These included the use of a drying rack for fish preservation and the presence of a sea urchin lens likely representing the response to environmental fluctuation brought on by an El Nińo event. Although all of these features were recognized during excavation, it was only through the limited analysis of the associated faunal materials that it became possible to make functional interpretations.
David W. Morgan - morgand@nsula.edu Cultural Resource Office Department of Social Sciences Northwestern State University Natchitoches, LA Rangia cuneata Overharvesting and Subsistence Change in Southwest Alabama, circa A.D. 1100-1250
ABSTRACT Late Woodland period (A.D. 400-1100) and Mississippi period (A.D. 1100-1550) subsistence in the Mobile-Tensaw Delta of southwest Alabama was predicated on the seasonal exploitation of certain fish species and the brackish water clam, Rangia cuneata. Although exploitation of these two classes of animals created a general pattern that went largely unchanged for a millennium and a half, it was not monolithic. At times occupants of the delta appear to have intensified rangia clam harvesting to the point that they demonstrably altered the size structure of populations living in nearby mollusk beds. Data from two shell midden sites in the delta indicate that clam sizes decreased markedly around A.D. 1100-1250, a shift in harvesting intensity that parallels the first introduction of corn to peoples' diets in significant quantities. The damage to clam bed structure may reflect human population increases related to the interplay of corn horticulture, infant weaning patterns, birth spacing patterns, and subtle decreases in mobility. An alternate current hypothesis is that this period coincides with the migration of non-local Mississippian populations into southwest Alabama.
Dennis C. Nieweg -- dcnieweg@xs4all.nl Natural History Museum Rotterdam, The Netherlands Attending but not presenting
Evan Peacock - Peacock@Soc.Msstate.Edu Mississippi State University Investigating the Hypsithermal Climatic Optimum through Morphometric and Chemical Analysis of Freshwater Mussels.
ABSTRACT Two different hypotheses currently exist regarding the effects of the mid-Holocene Hypsithermal climatic optimum on the landscapes of the southeastern United States. One is that it was a period of landscape stability, with reduced precipitation and lower water courses. The other is that, due to a decrease in stabilising vegetation and an increase of storm activity, runoff was enhanced and degradation of the landscape was increased. The latter hypothesis has been used to explain various archaeological phenomena, such as a decrease in the amounts of local lithic materials obtained from stream beds. Freshwater mussel shell from the Vaughan Mound, a prehistoric site on the Tombigbee River, was examined to see if changes in shell size/sculpture, calcium to strontium ratios, or oxygen isotopes can be seen between shell from a mid-Holocene stratum and a stratigraphically distinct late Holocene stratum. No significant differences in shell size were noted, but significant differences in shell sculpture and shell chemistry suggest that the Tombigbee River was larger in the mid-Holocene.
Nathalie Serrand -- serrandnathalie@yahoo.fr National Museum of Natural History, Paris, France Shellfish use across the precolumbian West Indies. The matter of metrics: what and how do we compare ?
ABSTRACT The paper gives an outline of the use of shellfish across the West Indies during the precolumbian times (ca. 1000 BC-AD 1200) based on original data analyzed from about twenty sites of the Lesser Antilles and, to a lesser extent, the Greater Antilles. Case studies are briefly presented to give a sketch of the variety of shellfish uses since the Preceramic Age up to the Late Ceramic Age. Focus is then put on the metric data recorded on several species found in common in those sites and on the potentials for their comparative use. Examples are discussed in order to submit questions: these deal with the possibilities, pitfalls and limits of such an approach; and with the possible ways to integrate shellfish populations dynamics and ecology, and paleo-environmental parameters to better understand the data and built up interpretations that can have an anthropogenic dimension.
Teresa E. Steele -- tsteele10@yahoo.com Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology; Department of Human Evolution, Leipzig, Germany Investigating marine shellfish use during the Middle and Later Stone Age of South Africa.
ABSTRACT Middle Stone Age (MSA; 127,000 - > 40,000 years ago) and Later Stone Age (LSA; ca. 12,500 year ago -historic times) archaeological sites along the coast of South Africa frequently preserve the remains of marine shells. These shells are primarily limpets, mussels, and turbans. The west, Atlantic Ocean coast and south, Indian Ocean coast provide different habitats for shellfish, and therefore different species are found on the two coasts. I focus on west coast assemblages but will make references to south coast samples. Analysis of these shells illuminates ancient subsistence practices, environmental changes, and human population densities, with the goal to address issues surrounding the emergence of fully modern humans. The abundance of shells in many sites demonstrates that shellfish were an important source of food for both MSA and LSA people. The proportions of different shellfish species change through time, suggesting that changing sea levels or ocean conditions may have influenced the available species. However, some LSA assemblages also show possible evidence of species preference by ancient collectors. In many respects, MSA and LSA assemblages are different. The MSA samples have a much lower diversity of shellfish species than LSA samples, they are poor in granular limpets, and they also completely lack crayfish, which are common in LSA assemblages. Also, in general, limpets are larger in MSA assemblages than they are in LSA samples. The sum suggests that MSA people foraged less intensively than LSA people, perhaps because they lived at lower population densities.
Victoria Stosel -- CeceliacollinsC@aol.com CSULA, USA Observations on the Nicoleno Diet.
ABSTRACT Using standardized formulae, meat and protein yields for twelve archaeological sites on San Nicolas Island are calculated, providing previously unavailable information regarding the Nicoleno diet and habitat exploitation. Sites included in this study come from the four main topographical zones on the island. Information from this study indicates a dietary preference for shellfish favoring the mid-tide and low tide zones, easily accessible areas with numerous species of shellfish present. Black abalones provide the majority of protein in comparison to other shellfish present in all units. Fish provided the majority of dietary protein. Large kelp forests surround the island, providing habitat for numerous fish species. Sea mammals were found in small quantities, and made minor dietary contributions.
Pál Sümegi and Sándor Gulyás -- gubanc@yahoo.com University of Szeged, Department of Geology and Paleontology, Szeged, Hungary Mollusk jewellery from prehistoric Hungary (poster)
ABSTRACT Unionid shells with drilled holes in the topmost central part, or artificially created chips in the marginal areas have come to light from several Neolithic localities in Hungary indicating the possible use of the shells in jewellery making. Most likely these were not functioning as talismans, as the naiad medals are not as common or elaborated as the ones of other more precious marine forms that were recovered in a fewer numbers during archeological excavations. Numerous excavations encountered shells in Neolithic, Bronze Age and Avar tombs of the Great Hungarian Plain, including examples of many indigenous freshwater taxa. These were either scattered over the skeleton or placed into vessels, probably signifying symbolic food in the otherworld, but by all means expressing the importance of these shells in the spiritual life of the communities together with the medals. Besides the several shellfish medals we have frequently come across necklaces made from the shells of tiny freshwater gastropods and sometimes fossil invertebrates. This presentation will give a short overview of these various mollusk jewelleries.
Katherine Szabó -- katherine.szabo@anu.edu.au Australian National University, Canberra, Australia Trajectories and relationships in shell artefact manufacture in Island Southeast Asia and the western Pacific.
ABSTRACT For many years, shell artefacts have constituted some of the pivotal classes of material culture used to argue for a neolithic migration of Austronesian language speakers from Island Southeast Asia into the Pacific. More recently, they have also been invoked to argue the opposing case; for cultural continuity in the Bismarck Archipelago/Solomon Islands region of the western Pacific. While debate has been fierce, physical comparative analysis of the shell artefact types in question has never been undertaken. Here, I will present the results of a comparative analysis of worked shell and associated production techniques from nineteen assemblages across the Island Southeast Asian and western Pacific region. Detailed analysis makes it clear that cultural relationships and trajectories through space and time are complex and multifaceted.
Miklós Szónoky and Sándor Gulyás - gubanc@yahoo.com University of Szeged, Department of Geology and Paleontology, Szeged, Hungary Mollusks in Provenance Studies of Hungarian Building Stones and Bricks from the SE Great Hungarian Plains (poster).
ABSTRACT The
assumption that brick was the main building material in the area of the Great
Hungarian Plains, lacking any rocks, from the beginning of time seems quite
adequate at first sight. This is true for the majority of the medieval churches
and monasteries. However, according to recent findings the primary building
stone of the oldest 1000-year Hungarian churches and sanctuaries was a
lacustrine, dolimitic “hornet’s nest” limestone rich in freshwater
lacustrine gastropods preferring stagnant alkaline waters. A mixed use of this
rock with brick initiated only at a later phase during reconstructions and
expansions of the original building. The site of origin of the raw material used for brick production can be easily identified on the basis of the fossil content and other characteristics of the bricks in thin section. This study is concerned with the analysis of bricks from 4 medieval buildings of the city of Szeged: the Franciscan monastery and church of “Alsóváros” (Lower Town), Szeged- Dömötör tower, Szeged-Castle tower, Szeged-Castle-Erzsébet chapel. Bricks from other sites of the SE Great Hungarian Plain have also been investigated, those of the church ruins of Csomorkány, and the monasteries of Csongrád-Ellés and Bátmonostor. Traces of loess gastropods are quite frequently observable in several bricks from the churches of the city of Szeged as well as Csomorkány. In numerous bricks deriving from the foundations of the Dömötör Tower of Szeged, druses of gypsum and calcite were precipitated in the pores of the burnt bricks, the dissolved carbonate must have originated from the capillary waters. The minor fissures as well as the presence of carbonate shells indicate low firing and lower quality. According to the characteristic loess gastropods and textural characteristics, the majority of the raw material used for brick production came from the island-like loessy backs of the city of Szeged, exposing infusional loess and fluvial deposits of Pleistocene age (brickyards). These were in the vicinity of the streets populated by craftsman of brickburners (“Kőégető utca”=Brickburners street) and potters (“Fazekashát utca”= Potter’s hill street) during the medieval times. Marian Vanhaeren1, Francesco d’Errico2, Isabelle Billy3, Francis Grousset3 1 UMR 7041 CNRS,
ArScAn, Ethnologie préhistorique, Université Paris X, 21 allée de
l’Université, F-92023 Nanterre, France. 2 UMR 5199 CNRS,
PACEA, Institut de Préhistoire et de Géologie du Quaternaire, Université
Bordeaux I, Avenue des Facultés, F-33405 Talence, France. 3 UMR 5805 CNRS, Environnements et Paléoenvironnements Océaniques, Université Bordeaux I, Avenue des Facultés, F-33405 Talence, France.
ABSTRACT Up
to 1314 Dentalium sp. shell beads were
found associated to the La Madeleine child burial dated
to 10,190 ±
100 BP (GifA
95457), i.e. between 10,200 and 9,600 cal BC. Analysis of archaeological, modern
and experimental data are
used to trace the source of the shell beads, to reconstruct bead manufacturing
techniques and discuss the significance of children’s ornaments in the
Epipaleolithic. 87Sr/86Sr
ratios indicate that the Dentalium sp.
shells were collected on far away Atlantic beaches rather than at nearer Miocene
outcrops. Taphonomic, morphometric, technological and use-wear analyses reveal
that the shells were 1) purposely broken by flexion or sawing to produce small
standardized tubular beads of about 6 mm in length, 2) sewn vertically, one next
to the other, to create horizontal alignments of similar beads. Results highlight the capital role played by bead size and time consuming embroidery in Epipaleolithic child burials and support the interpretation of the child’s Dentalium sp. shell beads as markers of a distinct social group for children or as symptoms of a hereditary ranking system.
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