Early Holocene Pearl Oyster Circular Fishhooks and Ornaments on Espíritu Santo Island, Baja California Sur

Fujita, Harumi

doi:10.3398/042.007.0113

Cited by 11 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 8 publications

(12 reference statements)

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“…Circular rotating hooks are found in archaeological contexts in Australia (Attenbrow 2010), throughout Oceania (Anell 1955;Reinman 1967;Kirch 1985;Allen 1996; Burley Shutler 2007;Szabó 2007), in Japan (Fujita et al 2016), Arabia (Santini 1987), along the California coast and islands (Rick et al 2002), in the islands of Baja California, Mexico (Fujita 2014), Chile (Llagostera 1992) and Ecuador (Meggers & Evans 1962;Bearéz et al 2012) (see OSM, Figure S3). Santini (1987) comments on how similar the rotating hooks from burial RH-10 in the Qurum area of Oman are to those in the Indo-Pacific region.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…All are thickest and widest at the bend, midway between the shank and the hook, to provide mechanical strength (see OSM). Hook E retains evidence of striae that are probably the result of attempts to remove the periostracum (outer layer) to expose the nacreous surface beneath (Figure 7), which may have helped attract fish (Fujita 2014: 129). Hook C was fragmented during excavation and a small fragment was used for AMS dating.…”

Section: The Tron Bon Lei Fish-hooks and Bivalvementioning

confidence: 99%

“…The Tectus niloticus shell of which the Alor hooks are made is highly lustrous when the outer periostracum layer is removed. This quality apparently enhanced hook performance (Fujita 2014), and in western Melanesia, single-piece Tectus hooks were sometimes used without bait, their lustre being sufficient to attract the fish (Anell 1955).…”

Section: Mechanical and Functional Attributes Of Fish-hooks With Refementioning

confidence: 99%

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Fishing in life and death: Pleistocene fish-hooks from a burial context on Alor Island, Indonesia

et al. 2017

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: The Tron Bon Lei Fish-hooks and Bivalvementioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Mechanical and Functional Attributes Of Fish-hooks With Refementioning

confidence: 99%

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Fishing in life and death: Pleistocene fish-hooks from a burial context on Alor Island, Indonesia

et al. 2017

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“…However, grooved pearls were found in older contexts in Baja California Sur than in Alta California (Bravo 1970; Koerper and Descautels-Wiley 2010). Similarly, circular shell fishhooks from archaeological contexts of the Baja peninsula were also found to predate those of similar form in Alta California (Des Lauriers 2010; Des Lauriers et al 2017; Fujita 2014; Rick et al 2002). Although there are many connections between the marine-oriented cultures of Alta and Baja California, just how deeply these connections go remains to be seen.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 96%

The Antiquity of Pearling in the Americas: Pearl Modification Beginning at Least 8,500 Years Ago in Baja California Sur, México

Ainis

Fujita²,

Vellanoweth

2019

Latin Am. antiq.

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AMS radiocarbon dating of two modified pearls from the Covacha Babisuri site, Espíritu Santo Island, Baja California Sur, México, corroborates associated midden dates suggesting that traditional indigenous use and modification of pearls as items of adornment began at least 8,500 years ago. To our knowledge, these are the oldest modified pearls found in dated archaeological contexts anywhere in the world. The presence of similarly modified pearls in later components at Covacha Babisuri suggests that this custom continued throughout the Middle Holocene, and ethnohistoric accounts indicate that similar modifications of pearls continued up until the Historic Era. These data show a long history of cultural continuity in the region in pearl harvesting, modification, and use as adornment.

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“…It may be significant that Espíritu Santo Island, off Baja California Sur, Mexico, has also produced very early shell fishhooks. Fujita (2014) reports a fishhook preform directly dated to 8380 ± 50 B.P. from well-preserved strata in the cave site of Covacha Babisuri.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

The Earliest Shell Fishhooks From the Americas Reveal Fishing Technology of Pleistocene Maritime Foragers

et al. 2017

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While the North American archaeological record signals the presence of early humans along the northeastern Pacific coast by the Late Pleistocene, we know little about the technological systems employed by these coastally oriented colonizing groups. We here report the discovery of the earliest unequivocal evidence for the use and manufacture of shell fishhooks in the western hemisphere. Four single-piece shell fishhooks dating to the terminal Pleistocene/early Holocene transition (between ~11,300 and 10,700 cal B.P.) have been excavated on Isla Cedros, Baja California, Mexico. One hook is directly dated at 9495 ± 25 B.P. with a marine reservoir–corrected age of 11,165–9185 cal B.P. Radiocarbon ages associated with three other shell fishhooks range between 8900 ± 25 B.P. and 10,415 ± 25 B.P, while median ages for the earliest contexts confirm occupation of the island by at least 12,600–12,000 cal B.P. The stratigraphic levels from which the fishhooks were recovered contained a diverse assemblage of fish remains, including deepwater species, indicative of boat use. Thus, some of the earliest known inhabitants of the Pacific coast of the Americas employed shell hook and line technology for offshore marine fishing at least by the Pleistocene-Holocene transition, if not earlier.

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Early Holocene Pearl Oyster Circular Fishhooks and Ornaments on Espíritu Santo Island, Baja California Sur

Cited by 11 publications

References 8 publications

Fishing in life and death: Pleistocene fish-hooks from a burial context on Alor Island, Indonesia

Fishing in life and death: Pleistocene fish-hooks from a burial context on Alor Island, Indonesia

The Antiquity of Pearling in the Americas: Pearl Modification Beginning at Least 8,500 Years Ago in Baja California Sur, México

The Earliest Shell Fishhooks From the Americas Reveal Fishing Technology of Pleistocene Maritime Foragers

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