Fishing in the Mesolithic of the Trans-Urals (original) (raw)
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Investigations of Stone Age waterlogged sites in eastern Europe pose a great scientific interest due to the excellent preservation of organic materials. Excavations of settlements like Sārnate, Zvidze (Latvia), Šventoji (Lithuania), Purkajasuo (Finland), and Okhta 1 (Russia) are among the best examples of such research. New investigations in 2010–2013 at the peat-bog site of Zamostje 2 (Sergiev Posad district, Moscow region, Russia) were of special interest thanks to the discovery of a specific fishery zone dated to the Late Mesolithic–Early Neolithic periods. Several constructions made of wood were found in this particular part of the settlement: among them two fish traps made of wooden splinters and bound by common reed tapes, mobile fish screens, and 150 wooden piles. These finds, along with wooden, bone, antler, and pine bark artefacts (fish hooks, harpoons, floats, fishnet knots, paddles, etc.) allow us to state that fishery was a basic economic activity at this site. This statement is further supported by a large number of finds, including fish bones and fish scales, found in relevant cultural layers. Similar fishing constructions have been found recently at other sites in European Russia, too. In this article, we present main elements of the fishing economy at Zamostje 2 and some newly-found materials from other sites in central and northwestern Russia. We also propose a typology for wooden fishing structures and outline some patterns of fishing strategies for this territory in the Mesolithic and Neolithic periods.
About 15 peat bog settlements were excavated in the area between Volga and Oka Rivers over the past several decades. The settlements contained cultural layers with well preserved organic material from the beginning (C'4 ca. 10,300) to the end (C14 ca. 7,000) of the Mesolithic [Zhilin 2001:23-38]. Among the finds in the sites were the faunal remains, stone, bone and wooden hunting and fishing tools, household utensils. The studies performed by 1. V. Kirillova, A. A. Karkhu, E. K. Sychevskaya, V. P. Danilchenko, V. E. Tsepkin and E. A. Antipina allowed to determine a set of the game and the fish catch of the Mesolithic population of this territory. The data of palynological analysis by E. A. Spiridonova and A. S. Aleshinskaya formed the basis for the reconstruction of the flora of the region in the studied period. A series of radiocarbon dates (over 100) obtained by N. E. Zaretskaya and L. D. Sulerzhitsky in the laboratory of Gl allowed to determine the chronology of the Mesolithic sites in the Volga-Oka interfluve.
Fifteen peat bog settlements have been excavated in the area between the Volga and Oka Rivers in Central Russia over the last few decades. These wetland sites contained cultural layers with well-preserved organic materials from the beginning to the end of the Mesolithic. Faunal assemblages, hunting and fishing tools from the main early Mesolithic sites of the region are described in this article. The data from wetland sites indicates that the economic and cultural model of hunters-fishers-gatherers characteristic of the boreal forests zone was applicable in the Volga-Oka area by the very beginning of the Holocene, or probably earlier. The Mesolithic boreal-culture was perfectly adapted to the forest and lake environment and had gradually developed in the region during early Mesolithic and then over several millennia. This subsistence strategy proved to be flexible and sustainable. It is noted, however, that the natural environmental factors, which caused the emergence of this cultural and economic model in the Upper Volga area at the beginning of the Mesolithic, did not induce significant effects on its subsequent development.
The Neolithic site Riņņukalns in the Lake Burtnieks/River Salaca area in northern Latvia is the only freshwater shell midden in the eastern Baltic Sea area. An excavation carried out in 2011 revealed an intact stratigraphy with alternating layers of unburnt and burnt mussel shells and yielded various kinds of archaeological finds, among them several thousand fish remains. To get an impression of the fish species and specimens caught by the Neolithic settlers, and to look for a temporal development in the fish species composition, we analysed fish remains from different sections and layers. The results, both archaeozoological and stable isotope data, give evidence for a change in the relevance of fish species during the period of use, and they also provide an impression of the former river and lake hydrology in the vicinity of the midden. The Stone Age landscape seems to have been very similar to the present situation, so that the study area has been an extraordinarily stable ecosystem for more than 5000 years. Comparisons with the results of recent monitoring programmes, with long-term changes since Medieval times, as well as with written sources from the 18th century, show that the fish species community is almost unchanged since the Stone Age. This underlines the importance of the region in nature conservation.
Neolithic fish remains from the freshwater shell midden Riņņukalns in northern Latvia
Environmental Archaeology, 2015
The Neolithic site Riņ ņ ukalns in the Lake Burtnieks/River Salaca area in northern Latvia is the only freshwater shell midden in the eastern Baltic Sea area. An excavation carried out in 2011 revealed an intact stratigraphy with alternating layers of unburnt and burnt mussel shells and yielded various kinds of archaeological finds, among them several thousand fish remains. To gain an understanding of the fish species and specimens caught by the Neolithic settlers, and to discern any temporal development in the fish species composition, we analysed fish remains from different sections and layers. Results from both the archaeozoological and stable isotope data, give evidence for a change in the relevance of fish species during the period of use, and they also provide information for reconstructing the former river and lake hydrology in the vicinity of the midden. The Stone Age landscape seems to have been very similar to the present situation, so that the study area has been an extraordinarily stable ecosystem for more than 5000 years. Comparisons with the results of recent monitoring programmes, long-term changes since Medieval times, and written sources from the 18th century, show that the fish species community is almost unchanged since the Stone Age. This underlines the importance of the region in nature conservation.
Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences, 2020
In 2015, professional diver and amateur archaeologist A. Matiukas discovered an extraordinarily rich and well-preserved underwater multiperiod archaeological site, Kaltanėnai, at the point where the Žeimenys Lake feeds into the Žeimena River in East Lithuania. Over the duration of 3 years of multiple diving expeditions, he collected ca. 800 archaeological finds made of wood, bone, antler, flint, stone, iron and glass. Moreover, in eroded places of the river bed, he observed numerous wooden piles of potential constructions. These initial finds attested the newly discovered site's great scientific value and potential, and therefore a scientific investigation of the site was initiated. This paper presents the first results of underwater survey at this site and analyses of its various finds. These include the site's plan with a mapping of stationary fishing gear, a geological profile made from boreholes, 23 14 C dates of various artefacts and wooden constructions, wood and animal taxa determinations including ZooMS, and traceological analysis of osseous tools. Our research demonstrates that the site was intensively used for fishing via various methods starting from the Late Mesolithic to the modern era, while most of the finds date to the Subneolithic and the Bronze Age. Further research at the site, including underwater excavations of stratified archaeological layers, will shed even more light onto the history of inland fishing in the East Baltic.
Open Archaeology
The site Zamostje 2, located in Sergiev-Posad district of Moscow (Russia) on the west bank of the Dubna River, has provided two Mesolithic and one Early Neolithic occupations dated from 7000 to 5400 cal BC. Thanks to the waterlogged environment, the site has an exceptional preservation. The site has yielded fishing screens, fishing fences, wooden fishing traps, and several small cordage remains elaborated with plant fibres, pine bark floats, fragments of paddles, and other wooden objects. In this work, we present the study of the fragments of cordage and fishing nets with the objective of providing new insights into the production and use of implements made of plant fibres. We have characterized the production process by analysing the morphological and technical characteristics by carrying out experimentation with plant fibres in order to obtain reference material to recognize them at an archaeological level. The analysis of 82 knots and 23 fragments of strings has allowed to determ...