Fishing in Denmark during the Ertebølle periodxs

“…Fish vertebral morphometrics are routinely reported in the archaeological fishing literature outside of the Pacific Islands, given the ubiquity of vertebrae in cultural deposits and their use for reconstructing fish length and weight based on specific measurements (e.g., Desse and Desse-Berset 1996c;Enghoff 1994;Gobalet 1989;Huber et al 2011). Yet, in…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…To facilitate accurate osteometric reconstructions, it is critical that archaeological vertebrae are identified to type (e.g., thoracic, precaudal, caudal; see Figure 4) and that their position along the vertebral column is determined (Enghoff 1994;. and Butler (1993) Frimigacci 1980) by providing the first identification of mullet (Mugilidae) for the Hawaiian Islands (Weisler 1993: 145), flying fish (Exocoetidae) for the Marshall Islands (Weisler 2001: 109), bonefish (Albulidae) and whiting (Sillaginidae) from New Caledonia (Weisler 2002: 208), 14 species of fish never found before in New Zealand middens (Weisler et al 1999: 43), and new fish records for Australian waters (Crouch et al 2007: 57;Weisler and McNiven 2015).…”

Section: Element Selectionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Outside the Pacific Islands a wider range of cranial and postcranial elements have been used for decades to complete fish length and weight reconstructions (e.g., Desse and DesseBerset 1996c;Enghoff 1994;Makowiecki and Van Neer 1996;Van Neer et al 1999). …”

Section: Metric Reconstructions Sustainability and Resource Depressionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…For example, using an archaeological assemblage from Spain, 53-6) acknowledged the variability of fish vertebrae along the vertebral column and recorded measurements of only those vertebrae that were identified to taxon and type prior to size reconstructions. Furthermore, Enghoff (1994), when investigating Danish fishing practices during the Ertebølle period, consistently measured only the first and second vertebrae of those identified to species to reconstruct fish size. In contrast, Gobalet (1989) Desse-Berset 1997.…”

Section: Global Applications Of Vertebral Morphometricsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Sustained prehistoric exploitation of a Marshall Islands fishery: ichthyoarchaeological approaches, marine resource use, and human-environment interactions on Ebon Atoll

Lambrides¹

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Atolls are often characterised in terms of the environmental constraints and challenges these landscapes impose on sustained habitation, including: nutrient-poor soils and salt laden winds that impede plant growth, lack of perennial surface fresh water, limited terrestrial biodiversity, and vulnerability to extreme weather events and inundation since most atolls are only 2-3 m above sea level. Yet, on Ebon Atoll, Republic of the Marshall Islands in eastern Micronesia, the oceanside and lagoonside intertidal marine environments are expansive, with the reef area four times larger than the land area, supporting a diverse range of taxa. Given the importance of finfish resources in the Pacific, and specifically Ebon, this provided an ideal context for evaluating methods and methodological approaches for conducting Pacific ichthyoarchaeological analyses, and based on this assessment, implement high resolution and globally recognised approaches to investigate the spatial and temporal variation in the Ebon marine fishery. Variability in landscape use, alterations in the range of taxa captured, archaeological proxies of past climate stability, and the comparability of archaeological and ecological datasets were considered. Utilising a historical ecology approach, this thesis provides an analysis of the exploitation of the Ebon marine fishery from initial settlement to the historic period-two millennia of continuous occupation.The thesis demonstrated the importance of implementing high resolution methods and methodologies when considering long-term human interactions with marine fisheries. Improving methods and data quality of Pacific fishing studies included using vertebral morphometrics for fish size reconstructions and the utilisation of all cranial and postcranial remains for taxonomic identifications. Spatial analysis of habitation sites spread across three islets representing the windward-leeward gradient indicated that marine environments local to each site were not influencing taxonomic composition, but the variability in richness and evenness identified is likely a reflection of fishing technology and site function. There was no indication of significant human impact to the inshore reef taxa, which may be a reflection of the flexible foraging strategies implemented and the resilience and structure of these marine environments. As such, the shifts in the relative abundance of skipjack (K. pelamis) in the archaeological sites were attributed to the potential influence of ENSO variability over the last two millennia.With the implementation of these comprehensive methods and the use of historical ecology as a conceptual framework the range of research questions that could be explored was expanded.Consequently, this thesis was able to address some of these questions, including: the identification of variability in foraging practices across small spatial scales, the usefulness of ichthyoarchaeological data for tracking environmental stability, and distinguishing between changes ii in resource availability and s...

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