Scales of analysis : evidence of fish and fish processing at Star Carr

This contribution directly relates to the paper published by Wheeler in 1978 entitled ‘Why were there no fish re- mains at Star Carr?’. Star Carr is arguably the richest, most studied and re-interpreted Mesolithic site in Europe but the lack of fish remains has continued to vex scholars. Judging from other materials, the preservation conditions at the site in the late 1940s/early 1950s should have been good enough to permit the survival of fish remains, and particularly dentaries of the northern pike (Esox lucius L., 1758) as found on other European sites of this age. The lack of evidence has therefore been attributed to a paucity of fish in the lake. However, new research has provided multiple lines of evidence, which not only demonstrate the presence of fish, but also provide evidence for the species present, data on how and where fish were being processed on site, and interpretations for the fishing methods that might have been used. This study demonstrates that an integrated approach using a range of methods at landscape, site and microscopic scales of analysis can elucidate such questions. In addition, it demonstrates that in future studies, even in cases where physical remains are lacking, forensic techniques hold significant potential

Interview: Hans Horreus de Haas

December 2010, Hans de Haas turned 75 and this seemed a fitting occasion for an in depth interview with this Nestor of Dutch living prehistory and experimental archeology. In SPT Bulletin nr. 23 David Wescott and Steve Watts already published an interview with Hans, but there is more to say about this extraordinary man

Hunting for Use-wear: Investigating use-wear traces on antler and bone harpoon heads from the Dorset cultures using experimental archaeology

Harpoons are an essential part of the hunting toolkit amongst Inuit and have been integral to the material culture assemblage of Arctic groups for thousands of years. The pre-Inuit population known as the Dorset cultures (app. 800 BC–1300 AD) - also sometimes referred to as Tuniit - were highly dependent on a maritime subsistence with harpoon heads as one of the dominant artefact categories at Dorset sites. Although the use of these harpoons is known from historic ethnographic reports observing Inuit hunting techniques and comparison with modern harpoon styles, a preliminary study by Siebrecht suggests there is little evidence of this use found on the surface of archaeological harpoon heads in terms as microscopic use-wear. This contrasts with other studies investigating bone projectiles, which did identify traces of use after experimentation with replica objects. The present study therefore aims to investigate this disparity using several replica harpoon heads made of bone and antler to experimentally harpoon a seal carcass to determine the extent to which use-wear is formed when harpooning a marine mammal

Hunting for Use-Wear

Investigating use-wear traces on antler and bone harpoon heads from the Dorset cultures using experimental archaeology. Harpoons are an essential part of the hunting toolkit amongst Inuit and have been integral to the material culture assemblage of Arctic groups for thousands of years. The pre-Inuit population known as the Dorset cultures (app. 800 BC–1300 AD) - also sometimes referred to as Tuniit - were highly dependent on a maritime subsistence with harpoon heads as one of the dominant artefact categories at Dorset sites. Although the use of these harpoons is known from historic ethnographic reports observing Inuit hunting techniques and comparison with modern harpoon styles, a preliminary study by Siebrecht suggests there is little evidence of this use found on the surface of archaeological harpoon heads in terms as microscopic use-wear. This contrasts with other studies investigating bone projectiles, which did identify traces of use after experimentation with replica objects. The present study therefore aims to investigate this disparity using several replica harpoon heads made of bone and antler to experimentally harpoon a seal carcass to determine the extent to which use-wear is formed when harpooning a marine mammal

Hunting for Use-wear:Investigating use-wear traces on antler and bone harpoon heads from the Dorset cultures using experimental archaeology

Harpoons are an essential part of the hunting toolkit amongst Inuit and have been integral to the material culture assemblage of Arctic groups for thousands of years. The pre-Inuit population known as the Dorset cultures (app. 800 BC–1300 AD) - also sometimes referred to as Tuniit - were highly dependent on a maritime subsistence with harpoon heads as one of the dominant artefact categories at Dorset sites. Although the use of these harpoons is known from historic ethnographic reports observing Inuit hunting techniques and comparison with modern harpoon styles, a preliminary study by Siebrecht suggests there is little evidence of this use found on the surface of archaeological harpoon heads in terms as microscopic use-wear. This contrasts with other studies investigating bone projectiles, which did identify traces of use after experimentation with replica objects. The present study therefore aims to investigate this disparity using several replica harpoon heads made of bone and antler to experimentally harpoon a seal carcass to determine the extent to which use-wear is formed when harpooning a marine mammal

Scraping Seal Skins with Mineral Additives

Neolithic scrapers from the Vlaardingen Culture (3400-2500 BC) display a variety of hide-working traces, amongst which traces interpreted as being the result of contact with dry hide. It has been suggested that, potentially, some of these implements were used to scrape fatty hides with mineral additives. Therefore, a series of experiments were set up to better understand the use-wear traces resulting from scraping fatty hides with mineral additives. For these experiments two skins of common seals (Phoca vitulina) were scraped using either sand or clay. The use-wear traces on the scrapers were well developed and easy to distinguish. The ‘dry hide’ scrapers from the Vlaardingen Culture site Hekelingen III were reanalysed. It was suggested that the use-wear traces on these scrapers might be related to the scraping of fatty hides with additives. We concluded that the wear-traces on these scrapers did not match the experimentally observed traces. They most closely resemble traces resulting from the softening of dry hides. In one instance the traces resembled those of previously conducted dehairing experiments. Although the traces from these experiments could not be matched to those found on Vlaardingen Culture scrapers, the traces resembled those found on a retouched blade from the Middle Neolithic site of Schipluiden (3600-3400 BC). We concluded that the traces resulting from scraping fatty hides with mineral additives are distinctive enough to be recognised archaeologically. Nevertheless, the experiments should be extended to terrestrial animals with fatty hides, to fully understand the variation in traces resulting from the scraping of fatty hides with mineral additives