Fishing for survival: The forgotten slaves of Tromelin Island (Indian Ocean)

International audienceBetween 2006 and 2013, the island of Tromelin (Indian Ocean) was surveyed and excavated within the framework of the UNESCO project "Forgotten Slaves." Archaeozoological studies evidenced the survival behaviours and subsistence strategies implemented by the l'Utile shipwreck victims abandoned on the island between 1761 and 1776. The ichthyoarchaeological analysis of 4,282 fish bones resulted in the identification of individuals belonging to 24 families of Teleostei and Chondrichthyes, among which Carangidae (jacks) largely dominate, followed by Serranidae (groupers), Acanthuridae (surgeonfishes), Balistidae (triggerfishes), Lutjanidae (snappers), and Pomacentridae (damselfishes). All of the cranial and post-cranial elements were examined, and the taxonomic determination led to genus and species level attributions whenever possible. The composition of the assemblage, the ecology of the taxa, the nature of the nearby marine biotopes, and the fishing gear unearthed on the site provided helpful data to characterise the probable fishing techniques used by the survivors. Although line fishing along the drop-off and offshore with a watercraft might have been practiced widely by the Malagasy slaves, spearing and/or harpooning on the sandbank and coral reef, as well as hand gathering in the tidal pools off the reef flat surrounding the island, could also have greatly contributed to the overall catch. The results of this study reveal that this broad-spectrum exploitation of marine resources was opportunist, though it required skill and knowledge. They also shed light on the adaptation of the castaways to survive extreme conditions

Exploitation of aquatic ecosystems by the pioneering human communities of Remote Oceania: the site of Teouma (3000-2500 B.P.), Vanuatu

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Exploitation of aquatic ecosystems by the pioneering human communities of Remote Oceania: the site of Teouma (3000-2500 B.P.), Vanuatu

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Freshwater fishing among Lapita people: The Sleepers (Teleostei: Eleotridae) of Teouma, Vanuatu

International audienceThe study of the ichthyofaunal corpus yielded by the archaeological site of Teouma, Efate Island, Vanuatu, has revealed the unexpected presence of a significant number of bones of Eleotridae (Sleepers) on the site, as early as 2920-2870 cal. B.P. Out of the 8560 identified fish remains associated with the Lapita layers, which document the period of initial settlement of the archipelago, 1368 have been determined as belonging to eleotrids, including species of the genera Giuris, Ophiocara and Eleotris. They represent 16% of the corpus and occupy second place among the dominant families in an assemblage composed otherwise of a wide-range of marine coastal and reef-associated taxa. Even though the Lapita economy is characterised by an intensive and broad-spectrum exploitation of all terrestrial and marine resources available and readily procurable, the eleotrids of Teouma are the first clear evidence thus far of the exploitation of freshwater environments by Lapita communities anywhere in their range. A river and a swamp are present in the vicinity of the site, and hooks and lines and/or multi-pronged spears could have been used. Passive gear such as weirs, fish-traps or nets might have been applied as well, enabling the capture of sleepers in larger quantities. The results presented here offer an original insight of an unknown facet of Lapita subsistence strategies and aim to highlight the antiquity of freshwater fishing at a regional scale

Fishing at Arapus-Mangaasi, Efate, Vanuatu (2800-2200 BP): New methodological approaches and results

The Arapus-Mangaasi site, located on the north-west coast of the island of Efate, Vanuatu, and first settled around 2800 BP, was excavated between 1999 and 2003 within the framework of a joint Australian National University-Vanuatu National Museum research and training program. The site yielded not only a range of cultural material that allowed the re-interpretation of the Central Vanuatu ceramic sequence but also well-preserved faunal remains, including a substantial number of fish bones. The present study focuses on the analysis of the ichthyofauna recovered in the area of Arapus and on the assessment of the most efficient identification protocol with a view to obtain precise faunal data leading to the characterisation of the fishing economy. Out of a total of 8080 fish remains, 2387 were taxonomically identified. The general assemblage is composed of 23 families of marine fishes, belonging to the Teleostei and Elasmobranchii groups, and dominated by surgeonfishes (Acanthuridae), parrotfishes (Scaridae), and groupers (Serranidae). The study of vertebrae allowed the identification of most acanthurids and hence proved to be essential in obtaining a detailed inventory of the fish spectrum. The assemblage composition highlights the presence of a large variety of inshore and reef-associated taxa, likely to have been caught by means of polyvalent and broad-spectrum fishing gear, possibly mass capturing devices, such as nets or traps, combined with angling and/or spearing. The results also suggest an opportunistic exploitation of ichthyofaunal resources during the Arapus period (2800 BP) and a probable decrease in the consumption of fish from the beginning of the Erueti period (2800–2200 BP) onwards

Fishing at Arapus-Mangaasi, Efate, Vanuatu (2800–2200 BP): New methodological approaches and results

International audienceThe Arapus-Mangaasi site, located on the northwest coast of the island of Efate, Vanuatu, and first settled around 2800 BP, was excavated between 1999 and 2003 within the framework of a joint Australian National University-Vanuatu National Museum research and training program. The site yielded not only a range of cultural material that allowed the re-interpretation of the Central Vanuatu ceramic sequence but also well-preserved faunal remains, including a substantial number of fish bones. The present study focuses on the analysis of the ichthyofauna recovered in the area of Arapus and on the assessment of the most efficient identification protocol with a view to obtain precise faunal data leading to the characterisation of the fishing economy. Out of a total of 8080 fish remains, 2387 were taxonomically identified. The general assemblage is composed of 23 families of marine fishes, belonging to the Teleostei and Elasmobranchii groups, and dominated by surgeonfishes (Acanthuridae), parrotfishes (Scaridae), and groupers (Serranidae). The study of vertebrae allowed the identification of most acanthurids and hence proved to be essential in obtaining a detailed inventory of the fish spectrum. The assemblage composition highlights the presence of a large variety of inshore and reef-associated taxa, likely to have been caught by means of polyvalent and broad-spectrum fishing gear, possibly mass capturing devices, such as nets or traps, combined with angling and/or spearing. The results also suggest an op-portunistic exploitation of ichthyofaunal resources during the Arapus period (2800 BP) and a probable decrease in the consumption of fish from the beginning of the Erueti period (2800-2200 BP) onwards

Multi-isotopic analysis of first Polynesian diet as defined with Talasiu (Tongatapu, Kingdom of Tonga) funerary remains

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Multi-isotopic analysis of first Polynesian diet (Talasiu, Tongatapu, Kingdom of Tonga)

Both archaeological and isotopic data document dietary changes over the first five centuries of Western Pacific island settlement, a time period beginning with the Lapita expansion about 3000 years ago. This change is marked by a decrease in marine food intake and an increase in vegetal food intake occurring in the Late Lapita/immediately post-Lapita populations. The recent discovery of human burials at Talasiu (~2700–2600 cal. BP) in the Kingdom of Tonga opens new opportunities to assess this matter. We characterize the nature of the food items consumed by the Talasiu humans (n=21) using collagen and apatite carbon and nitrogen stable isotope ratios. We conducted an intra-Pacific comparison to examine the use of marine resources and the contribution of horticultural products and to look at the homogeneity of dietary practices within the Tongan group. Isotope results indicate a mixed diet of terrestrial and marine resources including a differential contribution of more specific marine foods (e.g., non-reef fish/inshore fish and shellfish). The Talasiu dietary pattern appears closer to that of the early Lapita population of Teouma than to other Late Lapita populations suggesting a different pattern of dietary change at the eastern end of the Lapita distribution. The slower rate of change may be due to the small size of both the island and the population, and also the additional potential role of social or cultural factors.This research including archaeological excavation and isotopic analysis was funded by the MAEDI and CNRS allocated to Frederique Valentin and an Australian Research Council grant to Geoffrey Clark (FT0990591)

Multi-isotopic analysis of first Polynesian diet as defined with Talasiu (Tongatapu, Kingdom of Tonga) funerary remains

International audienc

Multi-isotopic analysis of first Polynesian diet (Talasiu, Tongatapu, Kingdom of Tonga)

Both archaeological and isotopic data document dietary changes over the first five centuries of Western Pacific island settlement, a time period beginning with the Lapita expansion about 3000 years ago. This change is marked by a decrease in marine food intake and an increase in vegetal food intake occurring in the Late Lapita/immediately post-Lapita populations. The recent discovery of human burials at Talasiu (~2700–2600 cal. BP) in the Kingdom of Tonga opens new opportunities to assess this matter. We characterize the nature of the food items consumed by the Talasiu humans (n=21) using collagen and apatite carbon and nitrogen stable isotope ratios. We conducted an intra-Pacific comparison to examine the use of marine resources and the contribution of horticultural products and to look at the homogeneity of dietary practices within the Tongan group. Isotope results indicate a mixed diet of terrestrial and marine resources including a differential contribution of more specific marine foods (e.g., non-reef fish/inshore fish and shellfish). The Talasiu dietary pattern appears closer to that of the early Lapita population of Teouma than to other Late Lapita populations suggesting a different pattern of dietary change at the eastern end of the Lapita distribution. The slower rate of change may be due to the small size of both the island and the population, and also the additional potential role of social or cultural factors