Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-t5tsf Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-10T16:13:40.626Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Deep-Sea Fishing in the European Mesolithic: Fact or Fantasy?

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  25 January 2017

Catriona Pickard  and
Clive Bonsall
Catriona Pickard*
Affiliation:
University of Edinburgh, UK
Clive Bonsall*
Affiliation:
University of Edinburgh, UK
*
[email: Catriona.Pickard@ed.ac.uk]
[email: C.Bonsall@ed.ac.uk]
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Some previous authors have argued for the practice of offshore, deep-water fishing in the European Mesolithic. In this article, various lines of evidence are brought to bear on this question: the kinds of fishing gear employed, the evidence relating to the use of boats and navigation, site location, ethnographic data, and fish biology and behaviour. It is concluded that the existence of deep-sea fisheries cannot be demonstrated on the basis of the available data. However, around much of Europe Mesolithic shorelines now lie below sea level and the study highlights the need for underwater archaeological investigation of submerged landscapes.

Certains auteurs ont parlé en faveur d'une pêche côtière et hauturière durant le Mésolithique européen. Dans cet article, différents arguments se rapportent à cette question: quel était le genre d'équipement de pêche employé, quelles preuves existent quant à l'emploi de bateaux et de navigation, quel était l'emplacement des sites, quelles sont les données ethnographiques, et que savons-nous de la biologie et du comportement des poissons. En conclusion, nous ne pouvons démontrer une pêche hauturière sur la base des données disponibles. Toutefois, comme une grande partie des côtes de l'Europe mésolithique se trouve en dessous du niveau actuel de la mer, cette étude souligne la nécessité d'entamer des investigations archéologiques sous-marines dans les régions submergées.

Zusammenfassung

Zusammenfassung

Einige frühere Autoren haben für das europäische Mesolithikum die Praxis der küstenfernen Tiefseefischerei angenommen. In diesem Aufsatz werden verschiedene Argumentationslinien zu einer Aussage gebracht: die Arten der Entwicklung der Fischerei-Ausrüstung, Belege für die Nutzung von Booten und Navigation, die Lage von Fundplätzen, ethnographische Angaben sowie Verhaltensweisen und Biologie von Fischen. Es lässt sich zusammenfassen, dass anhand der vorliegenden Daten die Existenz von Tiefseefischereien nicht nachweisbar ist. Allerdings liegt ein Großteil der mesolithischen Küstenlinie in Europa unterhalb des heutigen Meeresspiegels, so dass der vorliegende Beitrag besonders die Notwendigkeit von Untersuchungen mittlerweile überfluteter Landschaften mittels Unterwasserarchäologie hervorhebt.

Keywords

deep-sea fishingEuropefishingMesolithichaute merpêcheMésolithiqueEuropeTiefseeFischereiMesolithikumEuropa
Type
Articles
Information
European Journal of Archaeology , Volume 7 , Issue 3 , 2004 , pp. 273 - 290
Copyright
Copyright © 2004 Sage Publications 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Aaris-Sorensen, K., 1980. Atlantic fish, reptile, and bird remains from the Mesolithic settlement at Vedbæk, north Zealand. Videnskabelige Meddelelser fra Dansk Naturhistorisk Forening 142:139–149.Google Scholar
Albrethsen, Svend E. and Petersen, E.B., 1976. Excavation of a Mesolithic cemetery at Vedbæk, Denmark. Acta Archaeologica 47:1–28.Google Scholar
Andersen, S.H., 1987. Mesolithic dug-outs and paddles from Tybrind Vig, Denmark. Acta Archaeologica 57:87–106.Google Scholar
Attenbrow, V.J. and Steele, D., 1995. Fishing in Port Jackson, New South Wales — more than met the eye. Antiquity 69:47–60.Google Scholar
Balme, J., 1983. Prehistoric fishing in the lower Darling, western New South Wales. In Grigson, C. and Clutton-Brock, J. (eds) Animals and Archaeology 2. Shell Middens, Fishes and Birds: 19–32. Oxford: British Archaeological Reports (International Series 183).Google Scholar
Barnes, Richard S.K. and Hughes, R.N., 1988. An Introduction to Marine Ecology. Oxford: Blackwell.Google Scholar
Barrett, J.H., 1997. Fish trade in Norse Orkney and Caithness: a zooarchaeological approach. Antiquity 71:616–638.Google Scholar
Béarez, P., 1998. First archaeological indication of fishing by poison in a sea environment by the Engoroy Population at Salango (Manabi, Ecuador). Journal of Archaeological Science 25:943–948.Google Scholar
Bednarik, R.G., 1999. The implications of hominid seafaring. Acta Archaeologica 70:1–23.Google Scholar
Bennyhoff, J.A., 1950. Californian Fish Spears and Harpoons. Berkeley: University of California Press.Google Scholar
Bonsall, C., 1996. The ‘Obanian’ problem: coastal adaptation in the Mesolithic of western Scotland. In Pollard, T. and Morrison, A. (eds), The Early Prehistory of Scotland: 183–197. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press.Google Scholar
Bowdler, S. and McGann, S., 1996. Prehistoric shark fishing at Shark Bay, Western Australia. In Plew, M.G. (ed.), Prehistoric Hunter-Gatherer Fishing Strategies: 84–113. Boise, ID: Boise State University.Google Scholar
Burov, G.M., 1996. On Mesolithic means of water transportation in northeastern Europe. Mesolithic Miscellany 17(1):5–15.Google Scholar
Camps, G., 1991. Le peuplement préneolithique de la Corse. In Mésolithique et Néolithisation en France et dans les Regions Limitrophes. Actes du 113e Congrès National des Sociétés Savantes, Strasbourg, 5–9 avril 1988. Paris: CTHS, 37–51.Google Scholar
Cartwright, C.R., 1994. Preliminary results of the study of fish remains from a 3rd millennium BC site, HDI, at Ra's al-Hadd, Oman. In Van Neer, W. (ed.) Fish Exploitation in the Past: 239-242. Proceedings of the 7th Meeting of the ICAZ Fish Remains Working Group. Tervuren, Belgium: Musée Royal de l'Afrique Centrale.Google Scholar
Clark, J.G.D., 1946. Seal-hunting in the Stone Age of north-western Europe: a study in economic prehistory. Proceedings of the Prehistoric Society 12:12–48.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Clark, J.G.D., 1948. The development of fishing in prehistoric Europe. Antiquaries Journal 28:45–85.Google Scholar
Clark, J.G.D., 1952. Prehistoric Europe. The Economic Basis. London: Methuen.Google Scholar
Clark, J.G.D., 1954. Excavations at Star Carr. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Clark, J.G.D., 1975. The Earlier Stone Age Settlement of Scandinavia. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Cleland, C.E., 1982. The inland shore fishery of the northern Great Lakes: its development and importance in prehistory. American Antiquity 47(4):761–784.Google Scholar
Cleland, C.E., 1989. Comments on ‘A reconsideration of aboriginal fishing strategies in the northern Great Lakes region’ by Susan Martin. American Antiquity 54(3):605–609.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Clifford, K., 1989. Carp. London: Ward Lock.Google Scholar
Codere, H., 1990. Kwakiutl: traditional culture. In Wayne, Suttles (ed.), Northwest Coast, vol. 7 of Handbook of North American Indians (general editor William C. Sturtevant): 359–377. Washington DC: Smithsonian Institution.Google Scholar
Coles, J.M., 1971. The early settlement of Scotland: excavations at Morton, Fife. Proceedings of the Prehistoric Society 38:284–366.Google Scholar
Colgan, P.W., 1993. The motivational behaviour of fish. In Pitcher, T.J. (ed.), Behaviour of Teleost Fishes, 2nd edition: 31–56. London: Chapman and Hall.Google Scholar
Cordell, J., 1980. The lunar fishing cycle in northeastern Brazil. In Spoehr, A. (ed.), Maritime Adaptations: 25–38. Pittsburgh, PA: University of Pittsburgh Press.Google Scholar
Coull”, J.R., 1996. The Sea Fisheries of Scotland. Edinburgh: John Donald.Google Scholar
Coutts, P.J.F., 1975. Marine fishing in archaeological perspective: techniques for determining fishing strategies. In Casteel, R.W. and Quimby, G.I. (eds), Maritime Adaptations of the Pacific: 265–306. Chicago, IL: Aldine.Google Scholar
Crockford, S., 1994. New archaeological and ethnographic evidence of an extinct fishery for giant bluefin tuna (Thunnus thynnus orientalis) on the Pacific Northwest Coast of North America. In Van Neer, W. (ed.), Fish Exploitation in the Past: 163–176. Proceedings of the 7th Meeting of the ICAZ Fish Remains Working Group. Tervuren, Belgium: Musée Royal de l'Afrique Centrale.Google Scholar
De Laguna, F., 1990. Tlingit. In Suttles, W. (ed.) Northwest Coast, vol. 7 of Handbook of North American Indians (general editor W.C. Sturtevant): 203–228. Washington D.C.: Smithsonian Institution.Google Scholar
De Rohan-Csermak, G., 1963. Sturgeon Hooks of Eurasia. Viking Fund Publications in Anthropology no. 35. Chicago, IL: Aldine.Google Scholar
Dennell, R.W., 1983. European Economic Prehistory. A New Approach. London: Academic Press.Google Scholar
Engås, A. and Løkkeborg, S., 1995. Abundance estimation using bottom gillnet and longline - the role of fish behaviour. In Fernö, A. and Olsen, S. (eds), Marine Fish Behaviour: 134–165. London: Fishing News.Google Scholar
Enghoff, I.B., 1983. Size distribution of cod (Gadus morhua [L[) and whiting (Merlangius merlangus [L]) (Pisces, Gadidae) from a Mesolithic settlement at Vedbæk, north Zealand, Denmark. Videnskabelige Meddelelser fra Dansk Naurhistorisk Forening 144:83–97.Google Scholar
Enghoff, I.B., 1991. Mesolithic eel-fishing at Bjornsholm, Denmark, spiced with exotic species. Journal of Danish Archaeology 10:105–118.Google Scholar
Enghoff, I.B., 1994a. Fishing in Denmark during the Ertebølle period. International Journal of Osteoarchaeology 4(2):65–96.Google Scholar
Enghoff, I.B., 1994b. Freshwater fishing at Ringkloster, with a supplement of marine fishes. Journal of Danish Archaeology 12:99–106.Google Scholar
Enghoff, I.B., 1995. Fishing in Denmark during the Mesolithic period. In Anders, Fischer (ed.), Man and Sea in the Mesolithic. Coastal Settlement Above and Below the Present Sea Level: 67–74. Oxford: Oxbow Books.Google Scholar
Feustel, R., 1985. Technik der Steinzeit. Weimar: Hermann Bohlaus Nachfolger.Google Scholar
Finlayson, B., 1998. Wild Harvesters. Edinburgh: Historic Scotland / Canongate Books.Google Scholar
Fischer, A., 1987. The Argus Site - examination of a Mesolithic settlement 4-6m below present sea level. Mesolithic Miscellany 8(1):1–5.Google Scholar
Forman, S., 1970. The Raft Fishermen: Tradition and Change in the Brazilian Peasant Economy. Bloomington: University of Indiana Press.Google Scholar
Forman, S., 1980. Cognition and catch: the location of fishing spots in a Brazilian coastal village. In Alexander, Spoehr (ed.), Maritime Adaptations: 15–24. Pittsburgh, PA: University of Pittsburgh Press.Google Scholar
Frimodt, C., 1995. Multilingual Illustrated Guide to the World's Commercial Coldwater Fish. Oxford: Fishing News.Google Scholar
Gregory, R., 2002. Northton, Harris, Western Isles. Discovery and Excavation in Scotland (new series) 3:153.Google Scholar
Hickling, C.F., 1961. Tropical Inland Fisheries. London: Longman.Google Scholar
Holden, J., 1979. Shorefishing. London: Faber and Faber.Google Scholar
Hongo, H., 1989. Freshwater fishing in the Early Jomon Period (Japan): an analysis of fish remains from the Torihama shell-mound. Journal of Archaeological Science 16:333–354.Google Scholar
Hornell, J., 1946. The role of birds in early navigation. Antiquity 20:142–149.Google Scholar
Igarashi, T., 1977. Fisherman's locality-finding in the marine environment. In Hitoshi, Watanabe (ed.), The Human Activity System and its Spatiotemporal Structure: 171–206. Tokyo: University of Tokyo Press.Google Scholar
Irwin, G., 1992. The Prehistoric Exploration and Colonization of the Pacific. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Jacobsen, T., 1981. Pre-Neolithic at Franchthi Cave. Mesolithic Miscellany 2(2):6–10.Google Scholar
Johnson, L.L. and Bonsall, C., 1999. Mesolithic adaptations on offshore islands: the Aleutians and western Scotland. In Erwin, Cziesla, Kersting, T. and Pratsch, S. (eds), Den Bogen spannen…: Festschrift far Bernhard Gramsch, vol. 1:107–115. WeiBbach: Beier and Beran.Google Scholar
Johnstone, P., 1988. The Sea-craft of Prehistory. 2nd edition. London: Routledge.Google Scholar
Jonsson, L., 1988. The vertebrate faunal remains from the late Atlantic settlement Skateholm in Scania, south Sweden. In Larsson, L. (ed.), The Skateholm Project I. Man and Environment: 56–88. Stockholm: Almqvist and Wiksell.Google Scholar
Kroeber, A.L. and Barrett, S.A., 1960. Fishing Among the Indians of Northwestern California. Anthropological Records 21(1). Berkley: University of California Press.Google Scholar
Kvause, A., 1956(1885). The Tlingit Indians: results of a trip to the northwest coast of America and the Bering Straits. Translation of Die Tlingit Indianer. Seattle: University of Washington Press.Google Scholar
Lagler, K.F., 1968. Capture, sampling and examination of fishes. In Ricker, W.E. (ed.), Methods for Assessment of Fish Production: 7–45. International Biological Programme Handbook no. 3. Oxford: Blackwell Scientific Publications.Google Scholar
La Gorce, J.O., 1924. Fish and fisheries of our North Atlantic seaboard. In The Book of Fishes. Game Fishes, Food Fishes, Shellfish and Curious Citizens of American Ocean Shores, Lakes and Rivers: 1–69. Washington, DC: National Geographic Society.Google Scholar
Larsson, L., 1997. Coastal settlement during the Mesolithic and Neolithic periods in the southernmost part of Sweden. In Król, D. (ed.), The Built Environment of Coast Areas during the Stone Age: 12–22. Gdańsk.Google Scholar
Leach, B. Foss, 1979. Fish and crayfish from the Washpool midden site, New Zealand: their use in determining season of occupation and prehistoric fishing methods. Journal of Archaeological Science 6:109–126.Google Scholar
Leach, B. Foss and Boocock, A.S., 1993. Prehistoric Fish Catches in New Zealand. BAR International Series 584. Oxford: Tempus Reparatum.Google Scholar
Lindstrom, S., 1996. Great Basin fisherfolk: optimal diet breadth modeling. The Truckee River aboriginal subsistence fishery. In Plew, M.G. (ed.), Prehistoric Hunter-Gatherer Fishing Strategies: 114–179. Boise, ID: Boise State University.Google Scholar
Løkkeborg, S., 1995. Fish behaviour and longlining. In Fernö, A. and Olsen, S. (eds), Marine Fish Behaviour: 9–27. London: Fishing News.Google Scholar
Martin, A., 1995. Fishing and Whaling. Edinburgh: National Museums of Scotland.Google Scholar
Martin, A., 1996. Fishermen of Kintyre. In Kay, B. (ed.), The Complete Odyssey. Voices from Scotland's Recent Past: 11–18. Edinburgh: Polygon.Google Scholar
Mithen, S. (ed.), 2001. Hunter-Gatherer Landscape Archaeology: The Southern Hebrides Mesolithic Project 1988–1998. Cambridge: MacDonald Institute for Archaeological Research.Google Scholar
Moundrea-Agrafioti, A., 2003. Mesolithic fishhooks from the Cave of Cyclope, Youra. In Galanidou, N. and Perlès, C. (eds), The Greek Mesolithic. Problems and Perspectives: 131–141. London: The British School at Athens.Google Scholar
Murdock, G.P., 1967. Ethnographic Atlas. Ethnography 6:109–236.Google Scholar
Mylona, D., 2003. The exploitation of fish resources in the Mesolithic Sporades: fish remains from the Cave of Cydope, Youra. In Galanidou, N. and Perlès, C. (eds) The Greek Mesolithic. Problems and Perspectives: 181–188. London: The British School at Athens.Google Scholar
Netboy, A., 1958. Salmon of the Pacific Northwest. Portland, OR: Metropolitan Press.Google Scholar
Nikolsky, G.V., 1963. The Ecology of Fishes. London: Academic Press.Google Scholar
Olsen, W.M. and Hubbard, L.T., 1984. Fishing: the key to Tlingit culture. In Gunda, B. (ed.), The Fishing Culture of the World: 917–938. Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó.Google Scholar
Pálsson, G., 1991. Coastal Economies, Cultural Accounts. Human Ecology and Icelandic Discourse. Manchester: Manchester University Press.Google Scholar
Payne, S., 1975. Faunal change at Franchthi Cave from 20,000 BC to 3000 BC. In Clason, A.T. (ed.), Archaeozoological Studies: 120–131. Amsterdam: North-Holland / American Elsevier.Google Scholar
Perlès, C., 2003. The Mesolithic at Franchthi: an overview of the data and problems. In Galanidou, N. and Perlès, C. (eds), The Greek Mesolithic. Problems and Perspectives: 79–87. London: The British School at Athens.Google Scholar
Pickard, C., 2002. Fishing in Mesolithic Europe. Unpublished : University of Edinburgh.Google Scholar
Powell, J., 2003. The fish bone assemblage from the Cave of Cyclope, Youra: evidence for continuity and change. In Galanidou, N. and Perlès, C. (eds), The Greek Mesolithic. Problems and Perspectives: 173–179. London: The British School at Athens.Google Scholar
Radić, D., 2002. Vela Spila: a stratified prehistoric site. http://www.vela-spila.hr/eng/index.html Google Scholar
Rau, C., 1885. Prehistoric Fishing in Europe and North America. Smithsonian Contributions to Knowledge vol. XXV. Washington DC: Smithsonian Institution.Google Scholar
Renker, A.M. and Gunther, E., 1990. Makah. In Suttles, W. (ed.), Northwest Coast, vol. 7 of Handbook of North American Indians (general editor William C. Sturtevant): 422–430. Washington DC: Smithsonian Institution.Google Scholar
Renouf, M.A.P., 1989. Prehistoric Hunter-Fishers of Varangerfiord, Northeastern Norway. Oxford: British Archaeological Reports (International Series 487).Google Scholar
Rick, T.C. and Erlandson, J.M., 2000. Early Holocene fishing strategies on the California coast: evidence from CA-SBA-2057. Journal of Archaeological Science 27:621–633.Google Scholar
Rivallain, J., 1984. L'importance de la pêche dans les activitiés littorales du passe des Alladian, Côte d'Ivoire. In Desse-Berset, N. (ed.), 2èmes Rencontres d'Archéo-ichthyologie: 185–193. Paris: Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique.Google Scholar
Rose, M., 1995. Fishing at Franchthi Cave, Greece: changing environments and patterns of exploitation. Old World Archaeology Newsletter 18:21–26.Google Scholar
Rose, M., in preparation. The Fish Bones from Franchthi Cave. Bloomington: Indiana University Press.Google Scholar
Rosenlund, K., 1986. The Stingray, Dasyatis dastinaca (L) in Denmark. In Brinkhuizen, D.C. and Clason, A.T. (eds), Fish and Archaeology: 123–128. Oxford: British Archaeological Reports (International Series 294).Google Scholar
Rostlund, E., 1952. Freshwater Fish and Fishing in Native North America. University of California Publications in Geography vol. 9. Berkeley: University of California Press.Google Scholar
Rozoy, J.-G., 1978. Les Derniers Chasseurs. Charleville: Bulletin de la Société Archéologique Champenoise, numéro special.Google Scholar
Russell, N., Bonsall, C. and Sutherland, D.G., 1995. The role of shellfish-gathering in the Mesolithic of western Scotland: the evidence from Ulva Cave, Inner Hebrides. In Fischer, A. (ed.), Man and Sea in the Mesolithic. Coastal Settlement Above and Below the Present Sea Level: 273–288. Oxford: Oxbow Books.Google Scholar
Silverstein, M., 1990. Chinookans of the Lower Columbia. In Suttles, W. (ed.), Northwest Coast, vol. 7 of Handbook of North American Indians (general editor William C. Sturtevant): 533–546. Washington DC: Smithsonian Institution.Google Scholar
Spier, L., 1930. Klamath Ethnography. University of California Publications in American Archaeology and Ethnology vol. 30. Berkeley: University of California Press.Google Scholar
Steane, J.M. and Foreman, M., 1991. The archaeology of medieval fishing. In Good, G.L., Jones, R.H. and Ponsford, M.W. (eds), Waterfront Archaeology. Proceedings of the Third International Conference on Waterfront Archaeology, Bristol, 23–26 September 1988: 88–101. London: Council for British Archaeology Research Report 74.Google Scholar
Stewart, K.M., 1989. Fishing Sites of North and East Africa in the Late Pleistocene and Holocene. Oxford: British Archaeological Reports (International Series 521).Google Scholar
Tringham, R., 1971. Hunters, Fishers and Farmers of Eastern Europe 6000-3000 BC. London: Hutchinson.Google Scholar
Tzalas, H.E., 1999. Tropis V. Proceedings of the International Symposium on Ship Construction in Antiquity, Nauplia 1993. Athens: Hellenic Institute for the Preservation of Nautical Traditions.Google Scholar
Van Neer, W., 1984. The use of fish remains in African archaeozoology. In Desse-Berset, N. (ed.), 2èmes Rencontres d'Archéo-ichthyologie: 155–167 Paris: Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique.Google Scholar
Von Brandt, A., 1984. Fish Catching Methods of the World. Stratford upon Avon: Avon Litho.Google Scholar
Weisse, R., Von Storch, H. and Feser, F., 2005. Northeast Atlantic and North Sea storminess as simulated by a regional climate model 1958–2001 and comparison with observations. Journal of Climate 18(3):465–479.Google Scholar
Wheeler, A. and Jones, A.K.G., 1989. Fishes. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Wigforss, J., 1995. West Swedish Mesolithic settlements containing faunal remains - aspects of the topography and economy. In Fischer, A. (ed.), Man and Sea in the Mesolithic. Coastal Settlement Above and Below the Present Sea Level: 197–206. Oxford: Oxbow Books.Google Scholar
Woodman, P.C., 1978. The Mesolithic in Ireland: Hunter-Gatherers in an Insular Environment. Oxford: British Archaeological Reports (British Series 58).Google Scholar
Woodman, P.C., 1985. Excavations at Mount Sandel 1973–77. Northern Ireland Archaeological Monographs No. 2. Belfast: HMSO.Google Scholar
Worthington, S. and Worthington, E.B., 1933. Inland Waters of Africa. London: MacMillan.Google Scholar