Faunal Remains from Archaeological Sites Document Human Impact on the Terrestrial and Aquatic Environment: examples from the last thousand years in Belgium

Abstract

The aim of this article is to demonstrate how animal remains from archaeological sites can contribute to a better understanding of human impact on the terrestrial and aquatic environment over time. A number of case studies, mainly from Belgium, illustrate the possible effects of deforestation, overhunting, overfishing and water pollution on wildlife. Species extinctions and introductions from the last millennium are also discussed. It is shown how relevant these results are and how they can be communicated to the general public, the wider scientific community and stakeholders.

Archaeozoology Supports a Holistic View on Fish Assessments in Large Rivers—A Case Study from the Volga River: From Quantitative Data and Ancient DNA to Biodiversity Analysis

“…The method of comparing samples of archaeoichthyological collections made it possible to reliably reconstruct long-term changes in the ichthyofauna of the former USSR from the Paleolithic to the Modern Age [16,17]; in the Polish Lowlands from the Mesolithic to the Modern Age [18]; and along the Austrian and Hungarian parts of the river Danube with records from the prehistoric, Roman, medieval, and late/post-medieval periods [19]. At the same time, changes in the ichthyofauna can also be largely determined by local and regional events [4,[19][20][21].…”