In t r odu c t ionto a r chaeo log i ca lf i shrema in s

Gu ide29

BA JRP ra c t i ca lGu ideSe r ie s

HannahRu s sAHRCPhDRe sea r che r No vembe r2009

©he ldbyau tho rs

An Introduction to archaeological fish remains This guide aims to outline the importance of fish remains in the understanding of people in the past, discussing what fish remains can tell us and why they tend not to receive the same attention as mammal bones. This document was created by Hannah Russ AHRC PhD Researcher Division of AGES Phoenix Building SW University of Bradford BD7 1DP [email protected]

Working with fish-bones was getting under his skin!

An In t rodu c t ion toa r cha eo log i ca lfi shr ema in s

1 . A im Th i s gu ide a im sto ou t l inetheimpo r t an c eo ffi shr em a in sinthe unde r s t and ingo fpeop le inthep a s t ,d i s cu s s ingwh a tfi shr em a in sc ant e l l u sandwh ythe yt endno ttor e c e i v ethes amea t t en t iona sm amm a lbone s . I ta l sop ro v ide sap r a c t i c a lgu idetother e co v e r y fo rfi shr em a in sandab r ie f in t rodu c t ionto iden t ifi c a t ionandan a l y s i s .A l i s to fu se fu lr e sou r c e s fo rthe iden t ifi c a t iono ffi sh r em a in s f roma r ch aeo log i c a ls i t e s i s in c luded fo rtho se whow i shtopu r suean in t e r e s t infi shr em a in s .

2. Whyco l le c tfi shrema in s ? F i shh a scon s t i tu t edanimpo r t an tp a r to fthehum and ie tdu r ing m an y pe r iod sinthep a s t .How e v e r ,fi shr em a in sc ant e l lu s mu ch mo r eabou t hum anbeh a v iou rth an ju s te s t ab l i sh ingd ie t . G i v entheapp rop r i a t er e sou r c e sfi shr em a in sc an ind i c a t e : • Wh a tt ypeo ffi sha r ebe inge a t en • S i t et ype–p ro c e s so ro rcon sume r • P ro c e s s ing me thod s • T e chno log i c a lc ap ab i l i t ie s–e .g . i fthe ya r eu s ingbo a t stoe xp lo i t deepse afi sh • Wh a tk ind so ffi sh ingge a r i sbe ingu sed • I ffi sh ingw a sase a son a la c t i v i t y F i shr em a in st endtor e c e i v e mu chle s sa t t en t ionth anther em a in so f m amm a l s r e co v e r ed f roma r ch aeo log i c a ls i t e s .The r ea r ese v e r a l r e a son s fo r th i s ( seebe low ) ,bu tthe iden t ifi c a t iono ffi shbone s f romas i t e i s impo r t an t a si tw i l la l lowa mo r ecomp le t ein t e rp r e t a t iono fhum anl i f e(e spe c i a l l y d ie t ) inthep a s t . • • •

F i shbone sc anbev e r ysm a l l ,andthe r e fo r eon l yr e co v e r edb y en v i ronmen t a ls amp l ing F i shbone iden t ifi c a t ion i sd iffi cu l tandthe r ea r ef ewspe c i a l i s t s F i sh i so f t enno tcon s ide r edan impo r t an td ie t a r yr e sou r c e

Beaw a r e !P eop lea r eno ttheon l yagen t sth a tdepo s i tfi shr em a in s .Fo r mo s ts i t e shum an sc anbe iden t ifieda sthea c cumu l a t ionagen t sb a sedon thea s so c i a t edfind sw i th ind i s c r ee tcon t e x t s . A tsomes i t e sth i sa s so c i a t ion i s mu ch mo r ed iffi cu l t–fo re x amp lewhe r e the r e i scomp le xs t r a t ig r aph yo rwhe r ethe r eh a sbeenhe a v yb io tu rb a t ion . I ti simpo r t an ttobesu r eth a tyouh a v efi shbone sth a ta r edepo s i t edb y peop lebe fo r ein t e rp r e t a t ion sr eg a rd inghum and ie tande conom ya r e m ade .

An In t rodu c t ion toa r cha eo log i ca lfi shr ema in s

3. Whyco l le c tfi shrema in s ? F i shbone sshou ldsu rv i v eonan ys i t e sw e r em amm a l i ananda v i anbone i s p r e se rv ed ,the ya r eu su a l l yab sen tina c id i cso i l s .Commoncon t e x tt ype s wh i ch f r equen t l yy ie ldfi sh r em a in s in c ludec a v edepo s i t s , l a t r ine s ,m idden s andp i t sd a t ingto mo s tpe r iod s .F i shs c a le s ,de rm a lden t i c a l s ,t ee thand o s s ifiedc a r t i l agec ana l sober e co v e r edf roma r ch aeo log i c a ls i t e s insome c a se s .A l lc anbeu sedintheiden t ifi c a t iono fspe c ie s ,a l thoughfi shs c a le iden t ifi c a t ion i sav e r yspe c i a l i s ta r e a .

4. Wha tspe c ie sm igh tyoufindandwhy ? Thechem i c a landph y s i c a lch a r a c t e r i s t i c so ffi shbone sv a r y be tw eenspe c ie s ;th i seff e c t sthe i rr ep r e sen t a t ioninthe a r ch aeo log i c a lr e co rd .Somespe c ie s ,su cha stheA t lan t i c cod( Gadu s mo rhua )h a v ef a i r l yrobu s tbone s , wh i lebone s o fo the r s ,su cha sthelump -fi sh( C y c lop t e r ida e)a r ep ape r t h i n . I t i s a l s o t h o u g h t t h a t Lump -F i sh thev a r y ingl ip idcon t en tin fi shbone so fd iff e r en tspe c ie sh a saneff e c t onp r e se rv a t ion ,a l though l i t t ler e se a r chh a s beendoneonth i s .Spe c ie sr ep r e sen t a t ion a l sov a r ie sb ype r iodandlo c a t ion .P r io rto theRom anpe r iod ,m a r inespe c ie sa r e mo r ecommononco a s t a ls i t e s , wh i lef r e shw a t e rspe c ie sa r eu su a l l yfoundfu r the rin l and .D i ad romou s spe c ie s(fi shth a tt r a v e lbe tw eenf r e shw a t e rand m a r ineen v i ronmen t s –su cha ss a lmon ,t rou tandee l s )c anbefoundonbo thco a s t a land in l and s i t e s . In l a t e rpe r iod s ,whenp r e se rv a t ionandt r an spo r t a t ionme thod sh a v e imp ro v ed ,m a r inespe c ie sc anbe foundons i t e sm an ym i le s f romtheco a s t . C e r t a inspe c ie sw e r ea l so mo r eo r le s spopu l a rdu r ingc e r t a inpe r iod s ,fo r e x amp le ,the med ie v a lpe r iod i sknownfo rafo cu soncodfi sh ingfo rthe t r adeo fd r iedcoda c ro s sEu rope (B a r r e t te ta l .2008 ) . B a r r e t t ,J . ,C .John s ton e ,J .H a r l and ,W .V anN e e r ,A .E r v yn c k ,D .M a kow i e c k i ,D .H e in r i ch ,A .K . Hu f th amm e r , I .B .Enghoff ,C .Amund s en ,J .S .Ch r i s t i an s en ,A .K .G .Jon e s ,A .Lo c k e r ,S .H am i l ton D y e r ,L .Jon s son ,L .Lõug a s ,C .Rob e r t s&M .R i ch a rd s2 0 0 8 . D e t e c t ingth em ed i e v a lcodt r ad e :an ew m e thodandfi r s tr e su l t s . Jou rna lo fA r cha eo log i c a lS c i en c e3 5 ( 4 ) :8 5 0 8 6 1 .

5. Wh i chfi shpa r t sa rep re sen tandwhy ? S im i l a r l y ,somes ke le t a le lemen t sa r e mo r ef r equen t l yr e co v e r edth an o the r s .Une v ens ke le t a le lemen tr ep r e sen t a t ionp a t t e rn sa r eo f t enu sed toin t e rp r e tfi shp ro c e s s ingbeh a v iou r .Fo re x amp le ,a tG ro t t ad iPo z zo ( anUppe rP a l aeo l i th i cc a v es i t einc en t r a lI t a l y )the r ew e r em an yc r an i a l e lemen t sandf ewv e r t eb r ae .I in t e rp r e t edth i sa stheu seo fthec a v ea sa p ro c e s s ings i t e ,whe r ethehe ad s( andpo s s ib l yt a i l s )o ffi shw e r er emo v ed toa idthet r an spo r t a t ion (b yr edu c ingw e igh tands i z e )toano the r lo c a t ion fo rcon sump t ion ,andth a tth i sm a ya l soimp l yth a tthefi sh w e r ebe ing p r e se rv edinsome w a y–e i the rb ysmo k ing ,s a l t ingo ra i rd r y ing .O the r s i t e sy ie ldabund an tv e r t eb r ae ,bu tv e r yf ewo rnoc r an i a lr em a in s .In

A t lan t i cCod

An In t rodu c t ion toa r cha eo log i ca lfi shr ema in s m an yc a se sthe ses i t e sm a ybe in t e rp r e t eda scon sump t ions i t e s–whe r e fi shh a v ebeenb rough ta f t e rther emo v a lo fthehe ad( andpo s s ib l yt a i l ) po r t ion s .E lemen tr ep r e sen t a t ionp a t t e rn sc ana l sobeaff e c t edb yg lue m a k ing ,coo k ingandd i spo s a lp r a c t i c e s .How e v e r ,a l l in t e rp r e t a t ion sshou ld be m adea f t e rcon s ide r ingar angeo ft aphonom i cp ro c e s se sth a tcou ld c r e a t es im i l a re lemen tr ep r e sen t a t ionp a t t e rn s .Theeff e c t so fd ige s t ion , b io tu rb a t ion ,bu r i a lcond i t ion s ,t r amp l ingandan im a ls c a v eng inga r ea l lto becon s ide r edbe fo r ein t e rp r e t a t ion .Someo fthe sep ro c e s se sh a v ebeen in v e s t ig a t edqu i t etho rough l y ,how e v e r ,m an yh a v eno t .The r ei sag r e a t needfo rfu r the rr e se a r ch ,e spe c i a l l y ine xpe r imen t a lt aphonom y .

6. Howtore cove rfi shbone s Insomec a se sfi shbone sc anbeh andco l le c t edon s i t ea longw i tho the r f aun a lr em a in s ,the sew i l lt yp i c a l l yr ep r e sen tther em a in so fthe l a rge rfi sh spe c ie ssu cha sA t l an t i ccod(Gadu s mo rhua )andA t l an t i cs a lmon( Sa lmo sa la r ) .T oen su r eanun -b i a sed r ep r e sen t a t iono ffi shspe c ie ssed imen t sneed tobee i the rw e to rd r ys ie v ed ,o rp r e f e r ab l yt a kena sbu l ken v i ronmen t a l s amp le s fo rflo t a t ion ( seeF igu r e1 ) .E v enw i ththe l a rge rfi shr em a in s i tc an bebenefi c i a l to t a kea r e a sw i thcon c en t r a t ion sa sbu l ks amp le s fo rflo t a t ion wh i chw i l lc au se le s sd am agetothebone s . Inca se s whe reske le ta l ma te r ia li sex t reme lyf rag i lei t mayno tbe po s s ib le to re cove rfi sh rema in s in ta c t , in the seca se sgoodpho tog raph s w i ths ca le sa rethe be s t way o fp re se rv ingthein fo rma t ion .I ti s a l sou se fu ltopho tog raphanyrema in stha ta rea r t i cu la tedp r io rto ex cava t iona sth i s in fo rma t ioncanbeu se fu lfo r in te rp re ta t ion .

7.Iden t ifi ca t ionand in te rp re ta t ion . F i sh boneiden t ifi c a t ionc an beat r i c k yp ro c e s s ,andsome th ingth a t r equ i r e se xpe r ien c eande xpe r t i se .I ti show e v e r ,some th ingth a tc anbe se l ft augh t i fyoua r ep r ep a r edto in v e s tasub s t an t i a lamoun to ft imeand effo r t .Thebe s tw a yto in t rodu c eyou r se l ftofi sho s t eo log y( seeF igu r e s2 and3 ) i stogotothefi sh monge r s ,bu yawho lefi sh ,andd i s se c t i t .T rou t ( b rown / se at rou t( Sa lmot ru t ta )o rr a inbowt rou t( On co rh yn chu sm y k i s s ) ) a r egoods t a r t e rspe c ie s–the ya r eno ttoosm a l landno ttooe xpen s i v e ( fo rd i s se c t ion in s t ru c t ion sseeWhee le r&Jone s1989 ,178 -183 ) . Fo rthe iden t ifi c a t iono fa r ch aeo log i c a lfi shr em a in syouneed : • Agoodr e f e r en c eco l le c t iono f mode rnspe c imen s( see Whee le r andJone s (1989 ,177 -185 ) ) •

A c c e s sto iden t ifi c a t iongu ide s ( seepub l i c a t ion l i s tbe low )

•

Ah and len s

F igu r e1 :L ynn eGa r d in e r Jon e su s ingth eF lo ta t ion tan ka tB i rn i e(2006 )

An In t rodu c t ion toa r cha eo log i ca lfi shr ema in s Subo rb i t a lSe r ie s

Me t ap t e r ygo id H yom and ibu l a r Po s t t empo r a l

F ron t a l

P r eope r cu l a r

P a r a spheno id

Ope r cu l a r Sup r a c le i th rum Subo pe r cu l a r

N a s a l L a c r im a l P r em a x i l l a

C le i th rum

M a x i l l a P a l a t ine

R ad i a l s

Den t a r y En top t e r ygo id E c top t e r ygo id A r t i cu l a r Qu ad r a t e

S c apu l a r a co id In t e rope r cu l a r Co B r a ch io s t eg a lR a y s

a n t e r i o r l a t e r a l

F i g u r e 2 :T h ec r a n i a l s k e l e t o no fa nA t l a n t i c s a lm o n(S a lm os a l a r )

Neu r a lSp ine

Neu r a lFo r amen Do r s a lp r ez yg apoph y se s

a n t e r i o r

Do r s a lpo s tz yg apoph y se s R ib C en t rum

Neu r a lSp ine Neu r a lSp ine L a t e r a lapoph y se s

V en t r a lp r ez yg apoph y se s Sp in a lFo r amen

V en t r a lpo s t z yg apoph y se s H aem a l Sp ine

H aem a lA r ch C en t rum H aem a l Sp ine

Iden t ifi c a t ion sa r eu su a l l yr e co rdedinad a t ab a seo rsp r e ad shee t( see F igu r e4 ) ,a l thougha l lthed a t a i sno tu su a l l yp r e sen t ed inar epo r t ,wh i ch i s mo r e l i ke l y tocon t a in t ab le sandg r aph swh i chsumm a r i se the in fo rm a t ion . Insomec a se sthesp r e ad shee to rd a t ab a sei sin c ludeda sanappend i x . The mo s tb a s i cfi shboner epo r tw i l ls imp l ycomp r i seal i s to ffi shspe c ie s p r e sen t ;how e v e r , i t i s mo r eu se fu lto in c lude : • • • • • •

W e igh tb ycon t e x tandto ta lw e igh t N I SP (numb e ro f ind i v idua lsp e c im en sp r e s en t ) fo rea chsp e c i e s MN I (m in imumnumb e ro f ind i v idua l s ) fo rea chsp e c i e s E l em en tr ep r e s en ta t ionpa t t e rn s–e i th e rb ye l em en to rs imp l y c ran ia lv s .po s tc ran ia l An ye v id en c e fo rbu rn ing ,cu t -ma r k s ,gnaw ing M ea su r em en t s ( s e eMo ra l e sandRo s en lund1979 ) ( fo rmo r e d e ta i l edr epo r t son l y )

F i g u r e3 :V i ewo fc a u d a l v e r t e b r a

An In t rodu c t ion toa r cha eo log i ca lfi shr ema in s Dono tt r ytopu sh iden t ifi c a t ion fu r the rth an i spo s s ib le , fo re x amp le i tc an bed iffi cu l ttod i s t ingu i shbe tw eenthed iff e r en tspe c ie sandsub spe c ie so f theS a lmogenu sb a sedons ke le t a l mo rpho log y . Inthe sec a se s i t i sbe t t e r toa t t r ibu t ethemtoSa lmosp .o r Sa lmospp .r a the rth anaspe c ifi cspe c ie s . In t e rp r e t a t iono ffi shr em a in sr e l ie she a v i l yonasoundunde r s t and ingo f e a chfi shspe c ie s ’d ie t ,beh a v iou randh ab i t a t s .Unde r s t andthecond i t ion s andh ab i t a t r ange inwh i chafi sh l i v e sc anhe lp iden t i f y i ffi sh ing i sse a son a l andwhe the rfi sh ingo c cu r r ed inr i v e r s , l a ke s ,e s tu r ine ,co a s t a lo rdeepse a en v i ronmen t s . I t i s impo r t an tth a twhend i s cu s s ingfi shr em a in sth a tyoua r em adeaw a r e o fan ya r t e f a c t sf romthes i t eth a tm igh tbe l in kedtothee xp lo i t a t ionand / o rcon sump t iono ffi she .g .fi shhoo k s ,gouge s ,h a rpoon s ,ne tw e igh t s ,a s the sew i l lenh an c eyou r in t e rp r e t a t ion . S i t e ZZ09

Con t ex t 654

ZZ09

677

ZZ09

523

Ph a s e S amp l eNo Sp e c i e s V I I 16 Sa lmo sa la r V 32 Angu i l la angu i l la V I Ib 7 Gadu s mo r hua

E l em en t D en t a ry

L /R L

F r equ en cy 1

Cu tm a rk s Bu rn ing 0 1

V e r t eb r a e -

7

0

3

C l e i th rum R

1

1

0

F igu r e4 :E xamp l er e co r d ing sh e e tfo rfi shr ema in s

An Introduction to archaeological fish remains

8. Useful Resources Books Casteel, R. W. 1976. Fish Remains in Archaeology and Palaeo-Environmental Studies. London: Academic Press. Härkönen, T. 1986. Guide to the Otoliths of the Bony Fishes of the Northeast Atlantic. Hellerup: Danbiu ApS. Morales, A. & K. Rosenlund 1979. Fish Bone Measurements; An Attempt to Standardize the Measuring of Fish Bones from Archaeological Sites. Københaven: Zoologisk Museum. Watt, J., G. J. Pierce & P. R. Boyle 1997. Guide to the Identification of North Sea Fish Using Premaxillae and Vertebrae. ICES Cooperative Research Report No. 220. Aberdeen: International Council for the Exploration of the Sea. Webb, J. B. 1980. Otter Spraint Analysis Occasional Publication of the Mammal Society No. 13. London: The Mammal Society. Wheeler, A. 1978. Key to the Fishes of Northern Europe. London: Frederick Warne Ltd. Wheeler, A. & A. K. G. Jones 1989. Fishes. Cambridge Manuals in Archaeology. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Yee Cannon, D. 1987. Marine Fish Osteology; A Manual for Archaeologists. Burnaby: Archaeology Press Simon Fraser University.

Journal Articles Casteel, R. W. 1972. Some archaeological uses of fish remains. American Antiquity 37(3): 404-419. Granadeiro, J. P. & M. A. Silva 2000. The use of otoliths and vertebrae in the identification and size-estimation of fish in predator-prey studies. Cybium 24(4): 383-393. Gregory, W. K. 1933. Fish skulls: A study of evolution of natural mechanisms. Transactions of the American Philosophical Society 23: 75-481. Vale, D. & R. H. Gargett 2002. Size Matters: 3-mm Sieves Do Not Increase Richness in a Fishbone Assemblage from Arrawarra I, an Aboriginal Australian Shell Midden on the Mid-north Coast of New South Wales, Australia. Journal of Archaeological Science 29: 57-63.

An Introduction to archaeological fish remains

Websites FishBase is an information system available on-line at www.fishbase.org, covering all fishes of the world. FishBase, an accompanying book is available in English, French and Portuguese, and covers over 30,600 species of fish (most of the extant species in the world). It addresses the needs of a vast array of potential users, ranging from ichthyologists, fisheries biologists, ecologists and managers to biology teachers, administrators and the public at large. The features of FishBase that enable it to meet such a wide range of needs reside in its architecture, which makes extensive use of modern relational database techniques. Other features of FishBase are: • All information on a given species in the database is accessible through a unique scientific or common name or through common names in many languages; • The wide use of multiple choice field structures standardized qualitative information; • Numeric fields record quantitative information that has been previously standardized; • Numerous cross-relationships between data tables enable previously unknown relationships to be discovered; and • Complementary databases provided by colleagues and linked to FishBase proper contribute to making the combined package the most comprehensive data source of its kind. NABONE fish has 3D images for 5 Gadid species: www.nabohome.org/products/manuals/fishbone/index.html ICAZ (International Council for Archaeozoology) Fish Remains Working Group web page: http://waihinga.ac.nz/foss/ICAZ/ The AHRC (Arts and Humanities Research Council) have just funded a project which will produce a digital archive of fish bones for at least 80 marine and freshwater, Mediterranean and North Atlantic species. This is due for completion March 2011, and will be linked to fishbase (address above).

Advice For advice on any aspect of the recovery, identification or analysis of fish remains you can contact me by e-mail: [email protected]