Fish Remains (Zooarchaeology)

Zooarchaeological Analysis of the Indigenous Fishery at the Huu7ii Big House and Back Terrace, Huu-ay-aht Territory, Southwestern Vancouver Island

by Iain McKechnie

(2012) Zooarchaeological Analysis of the Indigenous Fishery at the Huu7ii Big House and Back Terrace, Huu-ay-aht Territory, Southwestern Vancouver Island. In Huu7ii: Household Archaeology at a Nuu-chah-nulth Village Site in Barkley Sound, by Alan D. McMillan and Denis E. St. Claire. Archaeology Press, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, BC.

This paper describes how fish overwhelmingly dominates the animal bone assemblage from the examined column sample... more This paper describes how fish overwhelmingly dominates the animal bone assemblage from the examined column sample deposits at the Huu7ii village site, the named ancestral village of the Huu-ay-aht First Nation. Fish represent 99.9% of all identified bone specimens and are present in every examined litre of sediment indicating the importance of fish in the everyday life of site occupants. The bone assemblage is numerically dominated by Pacific herring, which vastly outnumbers the next most abundant fish: anchovy, salmon, hake, greenling, dogfish, and rockfish as well as two-dozen other fish taxa. I conduct a series of descriptive, quantitative, and graphical analyses that seek to interpret resource harvesting practices at the two examined portions of the site: a very large house (17x35m) dating to the late-Holocene (ca. 1,500-400 yr BP) and mid-Holocene midden deposits recovered on a raised beach terrace (ca. 5,000-3,000 yr BP).

Big Fish Hunting: interpretation of stone clubs from Lepenski Vir

by Ivana Zivaljevic

Published in N. Vasić (ed.) Harmony of Nature and Spirituality in Stone (Proceedings of the 2nd International Conference in Kragujevac, Serbia, March 15-16, 2012), Stone Studio Association: Belgrade: 195-206.

In this paper, I discuss a specific type of stone tool found at Lepenski Vir: clubs or mallets - which may have been... more In this paper, I discuss a specific type of stone tool found at Lepenski Vir: clubs or mallets - which may have been used in fishing as stunners. The significance of large fish species (especially beluga sturgeon) in the diet, settlement patterns and cosmogony of the inhabitants of the Mesolithic-Neolithic settlement of Lepenski Vir (c. 6200-5900. cal. BC) is amply manifested in the archaeological record, namely by significant quantities of sturgeon bones, the famous ‘fishlike’ sandstone sculptures and isotopic dietary signatures of humans buried at the site. Ironically, there is less evidence to suggest how exactly these great animals were caught. The massive and often ornamented stone clubs were initially interpreted as ‘magic’ and ‘ritual’ devices; however, it should be noted that the ‘ritual’ and ‘profane’ uses of an object need not exclude one another. The aim of this paper is to present the material and stylistic properties of these tools, look into and interpret their contextual provenience, and offer an understanding of them not as passive objects, but as powerful agents in dramatic encounters with the big fish.

Los sistemas de pesca en la Antigüedad y sus implicaciones económicas: las industrias de salazón

by Julio Martínez Maganto

Fish otoliths and depth variations in the Plio-Pleistocene of Rhodes island, Aegean Sea

by Konstantina Agiadi

Fish otolith paleobathymetric application to the Early - Middle Quaternary deposits of Kephallonia and Zakynthos islands (Ionian Sea, Western Greece)

by Konstantina Agiadi

Fish otoliths are herein used to estimate the depositional depth of the Early – Middle Pleistocene deposits at SE... more Fish otoliths are herein used to estimate the depositional depth of the Early – Middle Pleistocene deposits at SE Zakynthos and SW Kephallonia Islands (Ionian Sea, Western Greece), through comparison with the modern bathymetric distributions of the determined fish taxa. These estimates provide a more detailed picture of the depth variations for the Gelasian – Ionian stage interval in the study areas. The Gerakas Formation’s Early Pleistocene marine deposits (SE Zakynthos Island, Ionian Sea) were deposited at average depths of 400-450 meters, with eustacy playing an important role in the depth variability, between 1.95 – 1.73 Ma. An uplifting episode, followed by subsidence takes place between 1.73 – 1.66 Ma, taking the area to 200-300 meters of depth, and then back to 400-500 meters. However, the area seems uplifted again to 200-400 meters later on in the Calabrian stage (1.25 – 0.97 Ma). Sedimentation of the Akrotiri deposits (NW Kephallonia Island, Ionian Sea), during the same chronostratigraphic interval, took place in a similar setting. At the Early Pleistocene (1.95 – 1.73 Ma) this basin reached depths of 400-450 meters, with uplift and following subsidence taking place between 1.73 – 1.66 Ma. Overall, the application of fish otolith paleobathymetry in the study areas provide a detailed picture of the depth variations for the Early Quaternary interval and refine the currently hypothesized pattern of tectonic movements.

Roman aquaculture: the techniques and agronomic importance of fish-farming in the light of modern research and practice

by Geoffrey Kron

In: E. Hermon (ed.), Vers une gestion intégrée de l’eau dans l’Empire romain, coll. « Saggi di storia antica », (Rome: l’Erma di Bretschneider, 2008) 175-85.

Balance y novedades sobre la pesca y la industria conservera en las ciudades fenicias del "área del Estrecho"

by Antonio Saez Romero

The taphonomy of fish bone from archaeological sites in East Otago, New Zealand

by Matthew Campbell

2005. Archaeofauna 14: 129-137

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 …

by Robert H. Gargett

There's something fishy going on around here

by Robert H. Gargett

Marine Animal Populations:A New Look Back in Time

by Poul Holm

authors: Poul Holm, Anne Husum Marboe, Bo Poulsen, Brian R. MacKenzie

What used to be in the sea before humans began impacting marine ecosystems and habitats? What are the major long-term... more What used to be in the sea before humans began impacting marine ecosystems and habitats? What are the major long-term effects of human extractions of marine life? Are the impacts of recent or ancient origin? In other words what are the baselines against which we may evaluate some of the findings of the Census of Marine Life field projects by 2010? Can we talk with confidence about the history of the sea, can we gauge how much has changed – and with what consequences to us humans? This was the grand challenge that was put to the scientific community some ten years ago when the Census endorsed the History of Marine Animal Populations (HMAP) Project to assess and explain the history of diversity, distribution, and abundance of marine life.

Identification of salmon species from archaeological remains on the Northwest Coast

by Paul Szpak

Orchard, T.J., and P. Szpak. 2011. Identification of salmon species from archaeological remains on the Northwest Coast. In M. Moss, and A. Cannon, eds. The Archaeology of North Pacific Fisheries. University of Alaska Press, Fairbanks, pp. 17-29.

Strategy and scenario for wetland conservation in India

by MONJIT PAUL

Paul M, Chanda M, Gupta SS. Strategy and scenario for wetland conservation in India. Chron Young Sci [serial online] 2011 [cited 2011 Jul 28];2:79-82. Available from: http://www.cysonline.org/text.asp?2011/2/2/79/82976

Wetlands are the most important ecosystems for the organisms in Animal Kingdom (including human beings) and Plant... more Wetlands are the most important ecosystems for the organisms in Animal Kingdom (including human beings) and Plant Kingdom. There are about hundred species of flora in and around Indian Wetlands. They include Sagittaria montividensis, Cryptocoryne ciliata, Cyperus spp., Acrostichum aureum, Ipomoea aquatica, etc. They are also the habitats of several mammals like the marsh mongoose, small Indian mongoose, palm civet and the small Indian civet. Endangered species like the Indian mud turtle have also been found in the wetlands. Certain species of birds also visit the wetlands. Prominent ones are grebe, coot, darter, shag, cormorant, teals, egrets, jacanas, snipes, tern, eagle, sand piper, gulls, rails and kingfishers. The wetlands are important for production of foods and human safety. The East Kolkata wetlands with their garbage farms and fishponds have provided the city with three facilities, i.e., food, sanitation and livelihood. They also provide ecological security to the city of Kolkata. Over the past few years, wetlands have come under severe threat. With the population explosion, some of the largest fish farms have been converted from pisiculture to paddy cultivation. Industries also empty their wastewater effluent without treatment to the channels flowing eastward and these ultimately land up in the wetlands. This has caused substantial amount of deposits of metal in the canal sludge and made the wastewater incapable for the consumption by the fishes and the plants grown in the wetland. Nevertheless, due to urbanization or human interference, the wetland and its unique ecosystem biodiversity are in danger. After Ramsar Convention, 1971, different acts have been passed in India for conservation of wetlands, along with conducting general awareness program for the local people by the government, conducting different programs, management of wetlands, and research by the government, NGOs and other institutions.

Keywords: Biodiversity hotspots, East Kolkata wetlands, management of wetlands, problems of wetlands, wetlands in India, wetland conservation.







tlands, wetlands in India, wetland conservation

Histopathological changes in Labeo rohita (Hamilton) fingerlings to various acclimation temperatures

by MONJIT PAUL

Dash G, Yonzone P, Chanda M, Paul M. Histopathological changes in Labeo rohita (Hamilton) fingerlings to various acclimation temperatures. Chron Young Sci 2011;2:29-36. http://www.cysonline.org/text.asp?2011/2/1/29/79347

Background: Histopathological changes induced by a rise in the acclimation temperature in advanced Labeo rohita... more Background: Histopathological changes induced by a rise in the acclimation temperature in advanced Labeo rohita (Hamilton) fingerlings were studied to understand their adaptive ability to thermal changes. The histopathological changes in relation to the thermal changes have been widely used as bioparameters in the evaluation of fish health. Materials and Methods: The six experimental temperatures that the fishes were exposed to were 32, 34, 36, 38, and 40ºC for a period of 30 days each. The fishes kept at an ambient temperature of 29.3΁1.5ºC were used as control. The major organs studied were gills, liver, kidney, and heart. No specific alterations were observed at control, 32, and 34ºC. The organs were sampled at the end of 30 days exposure and histopathological changes of different organs were examined. Result and discussion: Different organs (gill, liver. Kidney and heart) show different histopathological changes in higher temperatures. However, adaptive and degenerative changes were found to occur at the higher temperatures of 36, 38, and 40ºC. Conclusions: Changes of temperature can be tolerated by the fishes and it brings about adaptive physiological changes to compensate the effects of temperature. Significance: The study was helpful; to understand the adaptive mechanisms used by fishes with changes of environmental temperatures.

Holm P, Marboe AH, Poulsen B, MacKenzie BR (2010) Marine animal populations: A new look back in time

by Poul Holm

In: Life in the World's Oceans: Diversity, Distribution, and Abundance (ed A. D. McIntyre), Wiley-Blackwell, Oxford, UK. doi: 10.1002/9781444325508.ch1

The rise and reorganization of the Pompeian salted fish industry

by Steven Ellis

in The Making of Pompeii: Studies in the history and urban development of an ancient town (Edited by Steven J.R. Ellis, JRA suppl. 85, 2011) 59-88.

Sáez Romero, A. M., & Bernal, D., (2007): “Acerca del origen púnico-gaditano de las piletas de salazón en el Mediterráneo Occidental: ¿una innovación de la ciudad de Gadir?”, en L. Lagóstena, D. Bernal & A. Arévalo (Eds.) Cetariae 2005. Salsas y salazones de pescado en Occidente durante la Antigüedad. Actas del Congreso Internacional (Cádiz, 7-9 de noviembre de 2005). BAR International Series 1686, Oxford, pp. 463-473.

by Antonio Saez Romero