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The cultural dynamics of shell-matrix sites
\"The excavation of shell middens and mounds is an important source of information regarding past human diet, settlement, technology, and paleoenvironments. The contributors to this book introduce new ways to study shell-matrix sites, ranging from the geochemical analysis of shellfish to the interpretation of human remains buried within. Drawing upon examples from around the world, this is one of the only books to offer a global perspective on the archaeology of shell-matrix sites; 'A substantial contribution to the literature on the subject and essential reading for archaeologists and others who work on this type of site'--Barbara Voorhies, University of California, Santa Barbara, author of Coastal Collectors in the Holocene : The Chantuto People of Southwest Mexico\"-- Provided by publisher.
Book
Coastal Foragers of the Gran Desierto
The result of nearly twenty years of interdisciplinary research,
this volume contributes to the archaeological and
paleoenvironmental knowledge of an important but lightly
investigated hyperarid coastline at the heart of the Sonoran
Desert. Focused on the coast near Puerto Peñasco, Sonora, Mexico,
Coastal Foragers of the Gran Desierto examines the diverse
groups occupying the coast for salt, abundant food sources, and
shells for ornament manufacturing. The archaeological patterns
demonstrated by the data gathered lead to the conclusion that,
since ancient times, this coastal landscape was not a marginal zone
but rather an important source of food and trade goods, and a
pilgrimage destination that influenced broad and diverse
communities across the Sonoran Desert and beyond.
Contributors Jenny L. Adams Karen R. Adams Thomas
Bowen Tessa L. Branyan Bill Broyles Richard C. Brusca David L.
Dettman Michael S. Foster Gary Huckleberry Jonathan B. Mabry
Natalia Martínez-Tagüeña Richard J. Martynec Douglas R. Mitchell
Kirsten Rowell Melissa R. Schwan M. Steven Shackley R. J. Sliva
Kayla B. Worthey
eBook
A provincial heritage site in paternoster, Vredenburg Peninsula, South Africa: A unique megamidde
An archaeological impact assessment undertaken in a Paternoster property in 2004 revealed an extension of a megamidden known as Paternoster North midden (PNN). Nearly 20 years previously (1986), sampling on the eastern edge of PNN identified it as rich in artefacts and faunal remains. These observations differed from those obtained from megamiddens in the Elands Bay and Lamberts Bay areas. Marine shell dominates overwhelmingly, and other findings are rare in these latter sites. Eighteen test pits were dug at the property earmarked for development as part of the archaeological mitigation of this midden in 2004. Ostrich eggshell beads, stone artefacts, and many marine and terrestrial vertebrate species were recovered. The richness of such findings was greatest in Test Pits 01 and 17. Also, at least four human burials were close to or contained in this midden. Because megamiddens are unique in the prehistory of South Africa, and the high heritage significance of PNN findings, Heritage Western Cape declared a portion of this property (around0.3 ha) a Provincial Heritage Site in 2009. This decision was well justified in the context of the proposed development. While we have reasons to celebrate, this case brings up questions around the viability of mitigating megamiddens because of the elevated costs involved and limited storage and curation capacity in accredited repositories. Also, the lack of published reports and radiocarbon dates from Paternoster mitigations work against building a precolonial history of this area. Each and all these issues need the urgent attention of all relevant parties.
Journal Article
Late shellmound occupation in southern Brazil: A multi-proxy study of the Galheta IV archaeological site
Brazilian coastal archaeology is renowned for its numerous and large shellmounds (sambaquis ), which had been continuously occupied from at least 8000 to 1000 years cal BP. However, changes in their structure and material culture in the late Holocene have led to different hypotheses concerning their ecological and cultural changes. The archaeological site Galheta IV (ca. 1300 to 500 years cal BP) offers new insights into the complexity of the late coastal occupation in southern Brazil. Our attempt was to determine whether Galheta IV can be classified as a sambaqui site, or if it belongs to a Southern proto - Jê settlement. Here, we reassessed Galheta’s collections and applied a multi-proxy approach using: new 14 C dates, zooarchaeology, δ 13 C and δ 15 N isotopes in bulk collagen and 87 Sr/ 86 Sr enamel isotopic ratios from eight human individuals, ceramics analysis, and FTIR. The results indicate an intense exploitation of marine resources, with an area designated for processing animals located at the opposite side of the funerary areas. Bone tools and specific species of animals were found as burial accompaniments. No evidence of human cremations was detected. 87 Sr/ 86 Sr results indicate that the eight human individuals always lived on the coast, and did not come from the inland. The pottery analysis confirms the association with Itararé-Taquara, but contrary to what was assumed by previous studies, the pottery seems related to other coastal sites, and not to the highlands. In light of these findings, we propose that Galheta IV can be considered a funerary mound resulting from long and continuous interactions between shellmound and Southern proto - Jê populations. This study not only enhances our understanding of the late coastal occupation dynamics in southern Brazil but also underscores its importance in reshaping current interpretations of shellmound cultural changes over time.
Journal Article
From Shell Midden to Midden-Mound: The Geoarchaeology of Mound Key, an Anthropogenic Island in Southwest Florida, USA
Mound Key was once the capital of the Calusa Kingdom, a large Pre-Hispanic polity that controlled much of southern Florida. Mound Key, like other archaeological sites along the southwest Gulf Coast, is a large expanse of shell and other anthropogenic sediments. The challenges that these sites pose are largely due to the size and areal extent of the deposits, some of which begin up to a meter below and exceed nine meters above modern sea levels. Additionally, the complex depositional sequences at these sites present difficulties in determining their chronology. Here, we examine the development of Mound Key as an anthropogenic island through systematic coring of the deposits, excavations, and intensive radiocarbon dating. The resulting data, which include the reversals of radiocarbon dates from cores and dates from mound-top features, lend insight into the temporality of site formation. We use these insights to discuss the nature and scale of human activities that worked to form this large island in the context of its dynamic, environmental setting. We present the case that deposits within Mound Key's central area accumulated through complex processes that represent a diversity of human action including midden accumulation and the redeposition of older sediments as mound fill.
Journal Article
Further glimpses from the onset of the megamidden period: Rescue archaeology at Duine Street, Elands Bay
Redevelopment of a property in Elands Bay village revealed the buried remains of previously unknown shell middens. Although subsequent archaeological excavations recovered only a small sample, the ca 3000 cal BP assemblage adds meaningfully to the local cultural sequence. The shallow depth of the shell-supported lenses suggests single occupation events. A modest but noticeable amount of terrestrial and marine vertebrate remains of small prey was recovered, along with a few cultural artefacts. Much of the excavated volumes comprise marine shell, among which large-sized black mussels (Choromytilus meridionalis) are dominant. A limited number of limpets and a few Cape rock lobster (Jasus lalandii) mandibles also form part of the marine invertebrate assemblage. The choice of settlement close to the shoreline and a focus on black mussels reflect some of the hallmarks of sites dated to the beginning of the megamidden period. Beyond the interpretation of its contents, this rescued material increases the evidence of occupation behind the northern shore of Elands Bay and indicates that similar sites May lie buried beneath both the village and the adjacent dunes.
Journal Article
Quantifying spatial variability in shell midden formation in the Farasan Islands, Saudi Arabia
During the past decade, over 3000 shell middens or shell matrix deposits have been discovered on the Farasan Islands in the southern Red Sea, dating to the period c. 7,360 to 4,700 years ago. Many of the sites are distributed along a palaeoshoreline which is now 2-3 m above present sea level. Others form clusters with some sites on the shoreline and others located inland over distances of c. 30 m to 1 km. We refer to these inland sites as 'post-shore' sites. Following Meehan, who observed a similar spatial separation in shell deposition in her ethnographic study of Anbarra shellgathering in the Northern Territory of Australia, we hypothesise that the shoreline sites are specialised sites for the processing or immediate consumption of shell food, and the post-shore sites are habitation sites used for a variety of activities. We test this proposition through a systematic analysis of 55 radiocarbon dates and measurement of shell quantities from the excavation of 15 shell matrix sites in a variety of locations including shoreline and post-shore sites. Our results demonstrate large differences in rates of shell accumulation between these two types of sites and selective removal of shoreline sites by changes in sea level. We also discuss the wider implications for understanding the differential preservation and visibility of shell-matrix deposits in coastal settings in other parts of the world extending back into the later Pleistocene in association with periods of lowersea level. Our results highlight the importance of taphonomic factors of post-depositional degradation and destruction, rates of shell accumulation, the influence on site location of factors other than shell food supply, and the relative distance of deposits from their nearest palaeoshorelines as key variables in the interpretation of shell quantities. Failure to take these variables into account when investigating shells and shell-matrix deposits in late Pleistocene and early Holocene contexts is likely to compromise interpretations of the role and significance of shell food in human evolutionary and socio-cultural development.
Journal Article
New research at Riņņukalns, a Neolithic freshwater shell midden in northern Latvia
The prehistoric shell middens of Atlantic Europe consist of marine molluscs, but the eastern Baltic did not have exploitable marine species. Here the sole recorded shell midden, at Riņņukalns in Latvia, is on an inland lake and is formed of massive dumps of freshwater shells. Recent excavations indicate that they are the product of a small number of seasonal events during the later fourth millennium BC. The thickness of the shell deposits suggests that this was a special multi-purpose residential site visited for seasonal aggregations by pottery-using hunter-gatherer communities on the northern margin of Neolithic Europe.
Journal Article
Feasting on fore-limbs: conspicuous consumption and identity in later prehistoric Britain
The discovery in Llanmaes, South Wales, of a large midden dating from the Early Iron Age provided an opportunity to deepen our understanding of feasting in late prehistoric Britain. But the dominance of right fore-limbs of pigs in the faunal assemblage has raised questions about the social processes represented by this activity. The evidence suggests a move away from conspicuous consumption by an Early Iron Age elite towards a more community-focused event designed to galvanise social relations at a time when the breakdown of bronze exchange networks was challenging the social order.
Journal Article