Forgotten Mediterranean calving grounds of gray and North Atlantic right whales : evidence from Roman archaeological records

International audienceRight whales (Eubalaena glacialis) were extirpated from the eastern North Atlantic by commercial whaling. Grey whales (Eschrichtius robustus) disappeared from the entire North Atlantic in still-mysterious circumstances. Here, we test the hypotheses that both species previously occurred in the Mediterranean Sea, an area not currently considered part of their historical range. We used ancient DNA barcoding and collagen fingerprinting methods to taxonomically identify a rare set of 10 presumed whale bones from Roman and pre-Roman archaeological sites in the Strait of Gibraltar region, plus an additional bone from the Asturian coast. We identified three right whales, and three grey whales, demonstrating that the ranges of both of these species historically encompassed the Gibraltar region, probably including the Mediterranean Sea as calving grounds. Our results significantly extend the known range of the Atlantic grey whale, and suggest that 2000 years ago, right and grey whales were common when compared with other whale species. The disappearance of right and grey whales from the Mediterranean region is likely to have been accompanied by broader ecosystem impacts, including the disappearance of their predators (killer whales) and a reduction in marine primary productivity. The evidence that these two coastal and highly accessible species were present along the shores of the Roman Empire raises the hypothesis that they may have formed the basis of a forgotten whaling industry

Las Vallinas (Teverga, Asturias). An Iron Age and roman farmsteas in northern Spain

[ES] Los obstáculos para la prospección a lo largo del paisaje costero del Golfo de Vizcaya, las limitaciones estructurales y materiales de las unidades de asentamiento más pequeñas, y la falta de un control exhaustivo de las alteraciones actuales del terreno, han ocasionado un vacío en el conocimiento sobre la posible presencia de granjas o caseríos en espacios abiertos durante la Edad del Hierro en la región cantábrica. Presentamos por primera vez la existencia de estas granjas, con los hallazgos en Las Vallinas que confirman el uso agrícola del terreno. Al comparar la información de esta alquería con la de castros habitados de la misma época, aportamos una visión más amplia del desarrollo económico de los antiguos Astures desde finales de la Prehistoria hasta el inicio de la ocupación romana. El impacto de la romanización provocó una alteración sin precedentes de las antiguas estructuras sociales y económicas de los Astures en esta zona, dando lugar a una lenta y continua recuperación de la economía rural a partir de finales del siglo I d.C[EN] Obstacles to prospection along the coastal landscape of the Bay of Biscay, structural and material limitations in smaller settlement units, and a lack of comprehensive monitoring of current alterations to the terrain, have all left a dearth of knowledge about the possible presence of open Iron Age farms or hamlets in the Cantabrian region. Presented here for the first time, we demonstrate the existence of these farms with findings verifying agricultural land use at Las Vallinas. In comparing information from this farm with that from inhabited hillforts of the same period, we are also given a wider picture of the economic development of the ancient Astures from the end of prehistory to the beginning of Roman occupation. The impact of Romanization caused an unprecedented upheaval of the old social and economic structures of the Asturs in the area, instigating a slow and steady recovery of a rural economy from the late 1st century AD

The prelude to industrial whaling:Identifying the targets of ancient European whaling using zooarchaeology and collagen mass-peptide fingerprinting

Taxonomic identification of whale bones found during archaeological excavations is problematic due to their typically fragmented state. This difficulty limits understanding of both the past spatio-temporal distributions of whale populations and of possible early whaling activities. To overcome this challenge, we performed zooarchaeology by mass spectrometry on an unprecedented 719 archaeological and palaeontological specimens of probable whale bone from Atlantic European contexts, predominantly dating from ca 3500 BCE to the eighteenth century CE. The results show high numbers of Balaenidae (many probably North Atlantic right whale (Eubalaena glacialis)) and grey whale (Eschrichtius robustus) specimens, two taxa no longer present in the eastern North Atlantic. This discovery matches expectations regarding the past utilization of North Atlantic right whales, but was unanticipated for grey whales, which have hitherto rarely been identified in the European zooarchaeological record. Many of these specimens derive from contexts associated with mediaeval cultures frequently linked to whaling: the Basques, northern Spaniards, Normans, Flemish, Frisians, Anglo-Saxons and Scandinavians. This association raises the likelihood that early whaling impacted these taxa, contributing to their extirpation and extinction. Much lower numbers of other large cetacean taxa were identified, suggesting that what are now the most depleted whales were once those most frequently used.</p

Hypertrophic osteopathy in a common dolphin (Delphinus delphis) with concurrent pulmonary Halocercus delphini infestation

Dolphins are marine mammals that often live in coastal habitats. Common causes of severe skeletal disorders among wild dolphins are congenital vertebral anomalities, collisions with sea vessels, trauma, hunting-related injury, infectious diseases, environmental pollution, and tumors.A free-ranging male, 3-year-old common dolphin (Delphinus delphis) was found dead in the coast of Asturias in northern Spain. Postmortem examination revealed lordosis in the caudal vertebral column, while X-ray imaging and computer tomography showed well-organized palisade-like periosteal proliferation, appearing as florid-like accretions, along the spinous apophysis of 26 lumbar-caudal vertebrae. The transverse apophysis was affected on only a few caudal vertebrae. The cortical layer remained intact. Histology of vertebra tissue showed periosteal proliferation of cancellous bone. The animal was diagnosed with hypertrophic osteopathy. The lungs showed diffuse parasitic granulomatous bronchointerstitial pneumonia caused by Halocercus delphini, consolidation of the pulmonary tissue, congestion, and alveolar edema. The animal was also afflicted by parasitic granulomatous gastritis caused by Anisakis simplex sensu lato and tattoo skin disease.The dolphin suffered from hypertrophic osteopathy associated with pulmonary Halocercus delphini infestation. This syndrome, known as hypertrophic pulmonary osteopathy, has been described in diverse terrestrial mammals, including domestic animals, wildlife and humans, but not in dolphins. This case reports the first description of hypertrophic osteopathy associated to a pulmonary disorder in dolphin, and it provides insights into factors that can induce column malformation in dolphins, suggesting the importance of taking thoracic lesions into account during differential diagnosis

Data from: Forgotten Mediterranean calving grounds of gray and North Atlantic right whales: evidence from Roman archaeological records

Right whales (Eubalaena glacialis) were extirpated from the eastern North Atlantic by commercial whaling. Gray whales (Eschrichtius robustus) disappeared from the entire North Atlantic in still-mysterious circumstances. Here we test the hypotheses that both of these species previously occurred in the Mediterranean Sea, an area not currently considered part of their historical range. We used ancient DNA barcoding and collagen fingerprinting methods to taxonomically identify a rare set of 10 presumed whale bones from Roman and pre-Roman archaeological sites in the Strait of Gibraltar region, plus an additional bone from the Asturian coast. We identified three right whales, and three gray whales, demonstrating that the ranges of both of these species historically encompassed the Gibraltar region, and likely including the Mediterranean Sea as calving grounds. Our results significantly extend the known range of the Atlantic gray whale, and suggest that 2,000 years ago right and gray whales were common when compared to other whale species. The disappearance of right and gray whales from the Mediterranean region is likely to have been accompanied by broader ecosystem impacts, including the disappearance of their predators (killer whales) and a reduction in marine primary productivity. The evidence that these two coastal and highly accessible species were present along the shores of the Roman Empire raises the hypotheses that they may have formed the basis of a forgotten whaling industry

Electronic supplementary materials from Forgotten Mediterranean calving grounds of grey and North Atlantic right whales: evidence from Roman archaeological records

Historical records of right whales and gray whales in the North Atlantic (Appendix 1); historical and archaeological context, molecular analyses and dating of the analysed specimens (Appendix 2); historical accounts mentioned in the main text (Appendix 3); and supplementary references

The prelude to industrial whaling: identifying the targets of ancient European whaling using zooarchaeology and collagen mass-peptide fingerprinting.

Peer reviewed: TrueTaxonomic identification of whale bones found during archaeological excavations is problematic due to their typically fragmented state. This difficulty limits understanding of both the past spatio-temporal distributions of whale populations and of possible early whaling activities. To overcome this challenge, we performed zooarchaeology by mass spectrometry on an unprecedented 719 archaeological and palaeontological specimens of probable whale bone from Atlantic European contexts, predominantly dating from ca 3500 BCE to the eighteenth century CE. The results show high numbers of Balaenidae (many probably North Atlantic right whale (Eubalaena glacialis)) and grey whale (Eschrichtius robustus) specimens, two taxa no longer present in the eastern North Atlantic. This discovery matches expectations regarding the past utilization of North Atlantic right whales, but was unanticipated for grey whales, which have hitherto rarely been identified in the European zooarchaeological record. Many of these specimens derive from contexts associated with mediaeval cultures frequently linked to whaling: the Basques, northern Spaniards, Normans, Flemish, Frisians, Anglo-Saxons and Scandinavians. This association raises the likelihood that early whaling impacted these taxa, contributing to their extirpation and extinction. Much lower numbers of other large cetacean taxa were identified, suggesting that what are now the most depleted whales were once those most frequently used

The prelude to industrial whaling: identifying the targets of ancient European whaling using zooarchaeology and collagen mass-peptide fingerprinting.

Taxonomic identification of whale bones found during archaeological excavations is problematic due to their typically fragmented state. This difficulty limits understanding of both the past spatio-temporal distributions of whale populations and of possible early whaling activities. To overcome this challenge, we performed zooarchaeology by mass spectrometry on an unprecedented 719 archaeological and palaeontological specimens of probable whale bone from Atlantic European contexts, predominantly dating from ca 3500 BCE to the eighteenth century CE. The results show high numbers of Balaenidae (many probably North Atlantic right whale (Eubalaena glacialis)) and grey whale (Eschrichtius robustus) specimens, two taxa no longer present in the eastern North Atlantic. This discovery matches expectations regarding the past utilization of North Atlantic right whales, but was unanticipated for grey whales, which have hitherto rarely been identified in the European zooarchaeological record. Many of these specimens derive from contexts associated with mediaeval cultures frequently linked to whaling: the Basques, northern Spaniards, Normans, Flemish, Frisians, Anglo-Saxons and Scandinavians. This association raises the likelihood that early whaling impacted these taxa, contributing to their extirpation and extinction. Much lower numbers of other large cetacean taxa were identified, suggesting that what are now the most depleted whales were once those most frequently used

Supplementary Table 2 from The prelude to industrial whaling: identifying the targets of ancient European whaling using Zooarchaeology and collagen mass-peptide fingerprinting

Overview ZooMS identifications for all 719 specimen