Prehistoric Midden Research Articles

Dolphins from a prehistoric midden imply long-term philopatry of delphinids around Tokyo Bay

Abstract Cetaceans of the family Delphinidae are widely distributed throughout the global ocean, and it has been suggested that females exhibit philopatry. However, the duration of time that a maternal group of these highly mobile creatures spends inhabiting a particular region remains unknown. The objective of this study is to examine the genetic diversity of delphinids in the past and to shed light on the above question. In this study, we amplified and sequenced the mitochondrial DNA D-loop region from the skeletal remains of delphinids that were excavated from the Shomyoji Midden, a site situated on the western coast of Tokyo Bay and dating to 5000–3000 years before the present. We acquired prehistoric D-loop sequences of seven bottlenose dolphins, six Pacific white-sided dolphins, and a false killer whale. Notably, one or more haplotypes from the prehistoric individuals were detected in the geographically proximate modern conspecific populations across all three species. Whilst the genetic diversity of prehistoric and modern Pacific white-sided dolphin populations appears to be comparable, the modern bottlenose dolphin population demonstrates significantly lower genetic diversity when compared to its prehistoric counterpart in the vicinity of Tokyo Bay. The maternal groups of these species are speculated to have persisted in the same habitat for at least 4000 years.

Prehistoric Adaptation, Identity, and Interaction Along the Northern Gulf of California

ABSTRACT Archaeological investigations have been conducted along the northern coast of Sonora, Mexico where over 60 prehistoric middens have been identified around Bahía Adair and the town of Puerto Peñasco. The middens include low densities of pottery, chipped and ground stone tools, and some shell tools and ornaments, as well as molluscs, fish bones, crab claws, sea turtle bones, terrestrial animal bones, and charred plant remains. Radiocarbon dates indicate nearly continuous use of the coast from as early as 4,000 BC through late historic times. Pottery types found are associated with the Patayan, Hohokam, Trincheras, and the Ancestral Comcaac cultures. These middens were created by peoples occupying the western Papaguería who interacted extensively with neighboring groups in California, Arizona, and Sonora, Mexico. The Areneños (Sand Papago or Hia ced O’odham) occupied the area in historical times and their subsistence, settlement, and interaction patterns can be used as a model for prehistoric groups.

An Investigation into 14C offsets in Modern Mollusk Shell and Flesh from Irish Coasts shows no Significant differences in areas of Carbonate Geology

ABSTRACTOur ability to reliably use radiocarbon (14C) dates of mollusk shells to estimate calendar ages may depend on the feeding preference and habitat of a particular species and the geology of the region. Gastropods that feed by scraping are prone to incorporation of carbon from the substrate into their shells as evidenced by studies comparing the radiocarbon dates of shells and flesh from different species on different substrates (Dye 1994; Hogg et al. 1998). Limpet shells (Patella sp.) are commonly found in prehistoric midden deposits in the British Isles and elsewhere, however these shells have largely been avoided for radiocarbon dating in regions of limestone outcrops. Results from limpets (Patella vulgata) collected alive on limestone and volcanic substrates on the coasts of Ireland indicate that the shells were formed in equilibrium with the seawater, with no significant 14C offsets. Limpets collected from the east coast of Northern Ireland have elevated 14C due to the output of Sellafield nuclear fuel reprocessing plant. In all locations, the flesh was depleted in 14C compared to the shells. The results will have an important consequence for radiocarbon dating of midden deposits as well as the bone of humans and animals who fed on the limpets.

Late Holocene Coastal Intensification, Mass Harvest Fishing, and the Historical Ecology of Marine Estuaries: The View from the Manila Site (CA-HUM-321), Humboldt Bay, Northwestern Alta California

The Manila site (CA-HUM-321) is a stratified prehistoric midden site with a long history of use by the Wiyot people. The site is located on Humboldt Bay on the North Coast of California, a major estuary system of the Pacific Northwest, and is unique for its excellent preservation, depth and integrity of deposits, and its strategic location, with ready access to both open coast and estuarine resources. In this article, we report our constituent analysis of excavated materials—the first study of its kind from Humboldt Bay—involving identification and quantification of dietary and material residues, including shellfish, fish, bird, and mammal bone, paleoethnobotanical seeds and wood, and lithics. The research establishes that the site dates to over 1,300 cal BP—predating deposits excavated by Loud (1918) at Tuluwat village on Gunther (Indian) Island (CA-HUM-67) by several hundred years—as well as the earliest evidence to date of the mass harvest of fish (especially smelt) and intensive shellfish procurement on the North Coast of California. The study contributes to our understanding of the historical ecology of northern California estuaries and provides insight into the emergence of bulk storage, mass capture techniques, and the development of plank house villages in the region.

New light on feasting and deposition: exploring accumulation history through taphonomic analysis at later prehistoric middens in Britain

This paper explores the potential of using taphonomic analysis to reconstruct broad-scale variation in patterns of consumption and deposition at six later prehistoric midden sites in the UK. These sites comprise large accumulations of material culture, dominated by faunal and ceramic fragments, presumed to result from feasting events during the Bronze Age–Iron Age transition. New artefact and landscape studies have refined the characterisation of these sites (Tubb 2011a, b; Waddington 2009), but little research has focussed on accumulation history. This research uses simple statistical analyses on a large dataset (NISP >20,000) to compare the prevalence of bone modifications between midden sites. Crucially, significant differences in modification are not interpreted directly. Additional tests are undertaken to assess whether variation in assemblage composition could account for differences in modification. Previous research has demonstrated that certain elements and the remains of certain taxa are more likely to exhibit modification, and consequently, a prevalence of these specimens could account for differences, rather than their resulting from varied depositional treatment (Madgwick and Mulville 2012). Therefore, patterns of modification are only interpreted once compositional differences can be discounted from responsibility. The study is intentionally broad in its focus and assesses whether large-scale inter-site differences in depositional practice can be reconstructed. Clear patterns are observed with some middens accumulating predominantly through rapid, large-scale deposits and others building up through smaller, more gradual deposits and being subject to greater disturbance and bone movement. These findings have implications for our understanding of ritualised consumption and deposition at the Bronze Age–Iron Age transition in Britain.

Reconstructing depositional histories through bone taphonomy: extending the potential of faunal data

Reconstructing the sequences of deposition of archaeological material is central to the interpretation of archaeological sites and provides the foundations for how site chronology is understood. Generally stratigraphy provides the most direct evidence for understanding depositional histories. However, in certain instances stratigraphic relationships may be obscured or unobservable and therefore other sources of evidence must be drawn upon for defining deposits and reconstructing sequences of deposition. This is a particular problem at dark earth sites, which are homogeneous in terms of the colour and texture of deposits, and also in artefact-rich samples, which have little sedimentary matrix.This paper explores the potential of a new approach to the analysis of bone taphonomic data for the purposes of deciphering depositional histories when stratigraphy is unobservable. Integral to this method is rigorous statistical analysis of modification data combined with an assessment of the taxonomic and anatomical composition of deposits, in terms of their susceptibility to modification. This facilitates more confident interpretation of modification patterns, as deposit composition can be discounted from responsibility for significant differences. The approach is tested on a sample area of the later prehistoric midden of Potterne, Wiltshire, UK. Through detailed recording and statistical analysis of bone modifications (weathering, gnawing and trampling), this research demonstrates that bone taphonomy is not only useful for identifying distinct depositional events in apparently homogeneous strata, but can also provide detail on the nature of processes responsible for the formation of the deposit.

Engraved prehistoric Conus shell valuables from southeastern Papua New Guinea: their antiquity, motifs and distribution

AbstractIn the early 1900s thirteen engraved Conus shell valuables were dug from prehistoric midden mounds in Oro Province. Since the early 1970s nineteen undated surface finds have been found in the northern Massim of Milne Bay Province.When three artifacts became available for AMS radiocarbon dating, provided they were restored after sampling to their original visual appearance, a specialist team was assembled and this paper reports its findings regarding the thirty‐two shells. The paper covers sampling and conservation, dating (including new information on the local oceanic reservoir effect), distribution, art, depositional and cultural histories.These distinctive Conus shell valuables are part of the material culture found along the northern coast of the eastern tip of New Guinea and on the islands of the northern Massim during the Expansion Phase c.1000–500 BP. Their decoration is comparable to that produced by Milne Bay Province woodcarvers in historic times. This continuity makes them the oldest radiocarbon dated artifacts decorated in the Massim art style.

Transforming New Orleans and its environs: centuries of change

Human settlement of the Lower Mississippi River Valley--especially in New Orleans, the region's largest metropolis--has produced profound and dramatic environmental change. From prehistoric midden building to late-twentieth century industrial pollution, Transforming New Orleans and Its Environs traces through history the impact of human activity upon the environment of this fascinating and unpredictable region. In eleven essays, scholars across disciplines--including anthropology, architecture, history, natural history, and geography--chronicle how societies have worked to transform untamed wetlands and volatile floodplains into a present-day sprawling urban center and industrial complex, and how they have responded to the environmental changes brought about by the disruption of the natural setting. This new text follows the trials of native and colonial settlers as they struggled to shape the environment to fit the needs of urbanization. It demonstrates how the Mississippi River, while providing great avenues for commerce, transportation, and colonization also presented the region's greatest threat to urban centers, and details how engineers set about taming the mighty river. Also featured is an analysis of the impact of modern New Orleans upon the surrounding rural parishes and the effect urban pollution has had on the city's water supply and aquatic life.

Food and Drink in European Prehistory

There is a wealth of archaeological evidence, from bones excavated in prehistoric middens, piles of fruit stones and sea shells, that give us concrete indications of food consumed at various prehistoric sites around Europe. In addition to this information, we have pollen analysis from settlement sites and charred plant macrofossils. Wetland archaeology informs us in much more detail about not only the types of foods that were being eaten in prehistory but also, in some cases, their cooking techniques. This paper will explore whether or not a popular misconception about the daily diet in prehistory has its roots in the analysis of stomach contents of various bog bodies found in Europe.

The accumulation of charcoal within a midden at Cape Byron, northern New South Wales, during the last millennium

The analysis of the presence and distribution of wood and charcoal fragments often forms part of archaeological studies in Australia, providing either some measure of fluctuations in charcoal fragment abundance or sedimentation rate or sources for radiometric dating (e.g. Colley 1997; Lilley et al. 1998; Bird et al. 1998). However, there have been relatively few studies in which the range of species represented by the charcoal or wood remains has been studied in detail (cf. Hope 1998). The applicability of such study has been well demonstrated throughout the world, where the study of fossil wood and charcoal provides valuable ecological, bioarchaeological and human ecological information about the people and the places they inhabited during the period of occupation represented by the archaeological deposits. Such information includes insights into both practical aspects of daily life based on the use of natural resources, and conceptual relationships between people and their environment: the harvesting and collection of foodstuffs; the supply of materials for the construction of shelter, tools, weapons and other artefacts; the provision of fuels for heating and lighting; attitudes towards certain plants; articulation of beliefs in natural phenomena (e.g. Boyd 1988; Boyd and Kenworthy 1991-1992; Smart and Hoffman 1988; Â Pearsal 1989; Thompson 1995). In particular, the analysis of wood types fossilised in archaeological deposits provides the opportunity to examine the related issues of fuel wood collection and forest resource management. While studies may indicate form and direction of environmental change brought about by wood fuel extraction (e.g. Miller 1985; Smith et al. 1995), it is more likely that patterns of both site catchment wood resource distribution and timber selection for particular usages can be identified (e.g. Shay and Shay 1978; Thompson 1984; van Zeist et al. 1986; Boyd and Kenworthy 1991-1992; Pierce et al. 1998), and thus that some insight into the cultural characteristics of resource selection may be approached. This report provides the results of a study of the woody taxa represented at a prehistoric midden on the north coast of New South Wales (Bell 1997); it will not detail the full excavation results (Collins 1994), but will draw on these where appropriate. The context of the site is one of a prehistoric occupation of a coastline at least during the late Holocene, for which there is ample evidence for extensive and probably relatively dense late Holocene occupation (e.g. Coleman 1980; Hall and Hiscock 1988; Byrne 1989; Collins 1992; Rich 1994). Such population density is largely attributed to the resource richness of this sub-tropical coast, and consequently there has been some debate about the balance between the importance of seasonal movement and sedentary settlement (McBryde 1974, 1982). While an emphasis on a sedentary life style in the region may, in part, be ascribed to an uncritical reading of Ainsworth's (1922) reminiscences of a period some 70 years earlier in his life, it is undoubtedly the case that the coastal region of New South Wales was a particularly rich ecological zone for human settlement. Such ecological richness has largely been expressed in the archaeological analysis of the material contents of middens. The midden is probably the most common type of occupation site in the coastal zone and, being characterised by high concentrations of shellfish remains, provides an analytical basis for studies of natural resource use focusing on shell and fish resource use. However, middens characteristically contain other classes of fossil, including the charcoal which is the focus of attention in this paper.

Food and drink in European prehistory

There is a wealth of archaeological evidence, from bones excavated in prehistoric middens, piles of fruit stones and sea shells, that give us concrete indications of food consumed at various prehistoric sites around Europe. In addition to this information, we have pollen analysis from settlement sites and charred plant macrofossils. Wetland archaeology informs us in much more detail about not only the types of foods that were being eaten in prehistory but also, in some cases, their cooking techniques. This paper will explore whether or not a popular misconception about the daily diet in prehistory has its roots in the analysis of stomach contents of various bog bodies found in Europe.

The antiquity of aroid pit agriculture and significance of buried A horizons on Pacific atolls

The cultivation of aroids (herbaceous plants with starchy corms) is the foundation of Oceanic societies, yet the study of prehistoric atoll agriculture (utilizing Cyrtosperma chamissonis) has been almost totally neglected. Aroid pit agricultural features, some measuring up to 100 m long and 20 m wide, excavated in the Marshall Islands (center ca. 8°N latitude, 170°E longitude) provide the first chronometric dates (1910 ± 70 B.P., Beta-79576) for this type of cultivation practice associated with coral atolls found throughout the Pacific. Excavations through an aroid pit cultivation pit rim identified a stratigraphic sequence beginning with the sterile subsoil, an A horizon deeply buried under pit spoil dirt, and a prehistoric midden deposit beginning below the surface A horizon. Granulometric analysis of sediments and identification of foraminifers documented the nearshore lagoon as the source for all non-cultural sediments. Anthropophilic land snails (Gastrocopta pediculus and Lamellidea pusilla) in the dated, buried A horizon is a firm basis for confirming the presence of humans near initial colonization (ca. 2000 B.P.) and anchors the culture-historical sequence for the long-term study of human impacts to low coral islands. Consequently, on-going analyses of plant opal phytoliths, starch grains, and charcoal from the buried A horizon, should document the nature of early atoll ecology prior to significant human modification. As aroid pit construction is associated, in many examples, with traditional property boundaries, detailed mapping and dating of these cultivation systems should relate to changes in land tenure and prehistoric social organization. © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Digging for Clams: Shell Midden Analysis in New England

Analysis of shellfish and other faunal remains from coastal middens is a powerful tool for archaeologists studying a wide range of problems. Results of analysis of four prehistoric middens excavated on Potowomut Neck, Warwick, Rhode Island are discussed. The recovered data are used in comparing the properties and contents of each midden in order to identify distinct activities and interpret seasonality of settlement. It is demonstrated that these middens were largely specialized shellfish processing stations utilized on a seasonal basis, although other activities were also recognized. Examination of one midden suggests that the stratification of shellfish was related to the development of the nearby Potowomut River estuary. Results of shell midden analysis in general, however, provide only a partial picture of an entire subsistence-settlement system and therefore should be integrated with information from other site types both within and outside the coastal zone.

A 2500 Year Old Pseudo Shell Midden on Longreach Bay, Rottnest Island, Western Australia

On several occasions during the past decade, Perth-based and occasional visiting Quaternary researchers have examined possible prehistoric occupation sites on Rottnest Island, 20 km west of Fremantle, WA. The following describes findings from recent investigations of possible prehistoric midden material from a site on Longreach Bay, Rottnest Island.

Quantitative Investigations in Marine Biology

SynopsisEarly man's interest in marine organisms was no doubt essentially gastronomic. Ample testimony to his predilection for shellfish exists in prehistoric middens in many parts of the world. From the earliest days of history, however, we find evidence of a more philosophical interest. Aristotle (384–322 b.c.), for example, described more or less accurately about 150 species of fish and other marine organisms (Tizard et al. 1885) and his name is remembered in the ‘Aristotle's lantern', the common name for the masticatory apparatus of the sea urchin.