Archaeomalacology Revisited

Non-dietary use of molluscs in archaeological settings

Canan Cakirlar

• Publisher: Oxbow Books
• Year: 2011
• ISBN:
  9781842176276
• Topic: Social Sciences
• Subtopic: Archaeology
• Index: Social Sciences

The past decade has witnessed a remarkable momentum in the advancement of archaeomalacological research but there is still a lot of room for progress. These ten papers are the second published proceedings of the archaeomalacology sessions organised by ICAZ (Mexico City, 2006). The contributions revisit important archaeological issues such as provenance of raw materials, dye production and the secondary uses of industrial shell waste, the role of shell artefacts in the symbolic world of diverse civilisations, technology and early cross-regional exchange networks. The papers testify to the merits of using state-of-the-art laboratory techniques to address archaeomalacological questions and demonstrate the interpretative value of integrating malacological expertise with experimental archaeology and detailed knowledge of archaeological context.

1

Personal Ornaments Made from Mollusc Shells in Europe during the Upper Palaeolithic and Mesolithic: News and Views

Esteban Álvarez-Fernández

Personal ornaments, mostly made of marine molluscs, have been recovered from many Upper Palaeolithic and Mesolithic sites in Europe. The present paper discusses the differential typology of pendants documented at the Upper Palaeolithic and Mesolithic sites. Also investigated are the taphonomical, technological and morphometrical features of these shell beads and pendants associated with settlements and burials. The presence of these perforated objects utilized as ornaments suggests a strongly interwoven social network, facilitated by communication routes along river valleys between distant territories, some situated over 600 kilometres apart.

Introduction

Within the research into prehistoric suspended objects of adornment in Europe, the types made from the shells of marine molluscs have been studied more often and in greater detail. The analysis of these objects from several points of view (archaeozoological, taphonomical, technological, morphometrical, stratigraphic, spatial, etc.) offers a wide range of possibilities for the reconstruction of behavioural patterns of the hunter-gatherers who made and used them.

The research by Y. Taborin in France, first with the perforated shells dated in the period from the Mesolithic to the Bronze Age (Taborin 1974), and later with those found at Upper Palaeolithic sites (Taborin 1993) has served as a reference point for later researchers, resulting in numerous site-based studies of mollusc artefacts. This has made it possible to produce regional summaries, based mainly on bibliographic research (cf. references in: Álvarez 2006). The present paper presents an up-to-date study on the recent mollusc shells used as suspended objects of adornment from Upper Palaeolithic and Mesolithic sites in Europe (c. 40,000–5000 cal BC; dates calibrated with CalPal_2007_HULU curve; Weninger et al. 2005). The data have been gathered from the published studies and from the direct study of archaeological material from sites in Cantabrian Spain and the Ebro Valley (Álvarez 2006).

Beginning of the Upper Palaeolithic (40/39,000–33,500/30,000 cal BC)

The earliest shells made into suspended objects of adornment in Europe come from the Aurignacian levels of a large number of archaeological sites. The nature of the oldest examples known to date (the perforated shells from El Ruso I, Cueva de los Aviones and La Grotta del Cavallo) have recently been challenged both in terms of their artefactual nature and their dating (Álvarez 2006; Álvarez and Jöris 2007). In France, perforated recent mollusc shells have been recorded in over thirty sites ascribed to the Aurignacian, while in the rest of Europe the number of archaeological sites with this type of objects is much smaller; for example only a total of ten sites are known in the Iberian Peninsula and the Italian Peninsula.

Objects made of marine gastropods which now live only on the Atlantic Coast have been found at sites distant from the ocean. They are present in the Aurignacian of western France, namely in Perigord, Charente and Gironde, in some cases at a distance over 300 km from the Atlantic Ocean (for example in Souquette). Some marine gastropods appear to be restricted to certain regions. The case of Littorina obtusata, for example, is such a case. This marine snail is known only from sites in the central western part of France (Blanchard I), the French Pyrenees (Tuto de Camalhot), and Cantabrian Spain (El Ruso I). The species was also found at sites on the French Mediterranean coast (e.g. Tournal), but these cases are rare. Outside France, the only example of a perforated L. obtusata comes from Riparo Fumane in the northern Italy. Other Atlantic species recorded outside of their present geographical distribution are, for example, Littorina littorea (La Combe), Littorina saxatilis (La Souquette) and Nucella lapillus (Pasquet).

No recent gastropods used as suspended objects of adornment have been found in central or eastern Europe, with the exception of Spy in Belgium, where the species Nassarius reticulatus has been cited.

Only a few examples of exclusively Mediterranean gastropods have been found at Aurignacian sites in Europe (mainly Nassarius gibbosulus, Nassarius mutabilis, Homalopoma sanguineum, Cyclope sp. and Columbella rustica). So far, no examples have been classified at Aurignacian sites in Cantabrian Spain. Such Mediterranean species are virtually absent in the Pyrenees, whereas they are more abundant in the French Midi. In the Dordogne, these shells have been recorded at the sites of Castanet and Blanchard I, which are located 250 km away from the Mediterranean Coast. In the rest of Mediterranean area (Spain, Italian Peninsula and Greece), the use of exclusively Mediterranean gastropods predominates throughout the Early Upper Palaeolithic. They are found, for example at Foradada on the Spanish Mediterranean Coast, at Mochi in Italy, and at Klisoura in Greece. Perforated examples of Cyclope sp. have also been recorded at the Russian site of Kostienki 14, located 800 km from the present Mediterranean coastline. But it is possible that the Kostienki 14 shells have been gathered on the shores of the Black Sea.

The use of recent bivalves and scaphopods as personal ornaments is rare in the Aurignacian. Suspended objects of adornment made from the shells of these mollusc classes are so far unknown from the Aurignacian sites in Cantabrian Spain, whereas in the rest of Europe, one of the most commonly used bivalves during this period is Glycymeris sp. (e.g. at Beneito on the Spanish Mediterranean coast, Isturitz in the Western Pyrenees, and Castelcivita in the central Italy). Recent scaphopod species are recorded from more southerly lying sites such as L’Arbreda in Catalonia, Castanet in the Dordogne, and Klisoura in the Argolis.

Early phase of the Middle Upper Palaeolithic (33,500/30,000–21,500/21,000 cal BC)

For France, Y. Taborin (1993) informs us that the species most commonly used to make suspended objects of adornment in the Gravettian are recent molluscs (>85%), mainly L. obtusata, but also N. lapillus, N. reticulatus and L. littorea. Finds made of these species are concentrated in over ten sites in the Dordogne (La Gravette, Le Flageolet I, etc.). In the Pyrenean cave sites, the only Atlantic species that have been recorded occur at Isturitz and at Lespugue/Rideaux. In Cantabrian Spain, L. obtusata predominates the assemblages (c. 45%) and it is found at sites like La Garma A or Amalda. Trivia sp. is the second most commonly used species (La Fuente del Salín) and N. lapillus the third (Amalda).

The mollusc species found in the Gravettian of Cantabrian Spain were also found at French sites. Species like L. littorea and L. obtusata are present in the Dordogne (Pataud), whereas only the latter gastropod has also been documented in Portugal (burial at Lagar Velho) and in the British Isles (Paviland). The gastropod N. lapillus is present in the Central Pyrenees (Lespugue/Rideaux), as well as in the Dordogne (La Ferrassie). Other species, such as Trivia sp. and N. reticulatus, appear mainly at the Dordogne sites (Cromagnon), but have equally been cited near the Mediterranean Sea (Trivia sp. at the Italian burial of Ostuni I and N. reticulatus at the burial of Balzo della Torre 2).

Few sites are known with the presence of exclusively Mediterranean molluscs. They are generally located near the Mediterranean coast, but some are situated 200 km away (e.g. H. sanguineum at Pataud in the Dordogne). The Mediterranean species Cyclope sp. appears to be a somewhat special species. It is associated with an important number of Gravettian burials in the Italian Liguria (the “Prince” of Arene Candide). This same species has been also recorded at the Greek site of Kastritsa. It is also present at other sites over 400 km away from the Mediterranean, such as Mainz Linsenberg in the middle Rhine valley and at Krems-Hundsteig in Austria. Other Mediterranean species occurring in inland sites include the Turritella decipiens cited at the Pavlovian site of Pavlov 2 (Moravia). Finally, Cerithium sp., again a Mediterranean snail, was found at the Gravettian site of Climăuţi II in Romania. In Cantabrian Spain, the only Mediterranean species that has been recorded so far is an example of L. lurida at Bolinkoba. This Basque cave is located about 450 km away from the Mediterranean Sea.

A small number of bivalves have been recorded in France. The most frequent examples belong to families Cardiidae (Pataud) and Pectinidae (e.g. an affirmed Pecten maximus at Laraux). The number of bivalves found in the rest of Europe is equally small. Examples of Cerastoderma edule, which occurs today both in the Atlantic and in the western Mediterranean, have been cited from the Italian burial at Balzo della Torre I. The rare use of these mollusc shells is also observed in Cantabrian Spain (e.g. Cardiidae from Cueva Morín).

The shells of scaphopods, however, are quite common in France, where they are the most common mollusc used to manufacture suspended objects of adornment after L. obtusata. Recent specimens have been documented at both Atlantic (Le Flageolet I) and Mediterranean (Les Pêcheurs) sites. Examples have also been found in Gravettian deposits in Cantabrian Spain, e.g. at Alkerdi.

Late phase of the Middle Upper Palaeolithic (21,500/21,000–20,000/19,000 cal BC)

For the Solutrean, the data we have for France indicates that about 80% of the species used as suspended objects of adornment are made of recent species, i.e. gathered on the shores of the Mediterranean and the Atlantic. The most commonly used gastropod shells belong to L. obtusata, N. reticulatus, Turritella sp. and Littorina saxatilis. Artefacts made out of these species are found mainly in the Dordogne (e.g. at Fourneau du Diable). On the Cantabrian coast, the use of gastropods for object production predominates with 58%; the rest belonging to bivalves and scaphopods. The snail that was used most frequently to make suspended objects of adornment was L. obtusata (with a little over 50%), found at a large number of sites (La Riera). This species was followed in frequency by Trivia sp. (El Buxu) and N. lapillus (La Garma A). Another region in south-western Europe where recent gastropods have been documented in Solutrean deposits is southwest Portugal, where examples of L. obtusata tend to predominate (Vale Boi). Interestingly, some typically Atlantic gastropod species are present in deposits located closer to the Mediterranean coast (e.g. N. lapillus at Reclau Viver; L. obtusata, at L’Arbreda, L. saxatilis at Ambrosio).

In the Mediterranean region, a wide range of gastropod species were gathered on the beaches near the sites by the Solutrean hunter-gatherers. For example, specimens of H. sanguineum have been cited at Reclau Viver and Cyclope sp. at L’Arbreda. Perforated examples of typically Mediterranean species have been found at sites in Liguria, such as the early Epigravettian deposit at Riparo Mochi and at the Epigravettian sites of Kastritsa (Greece). However, marine shells exclusively of Mediterranean origin have also been found at sites in the Dordogne (e.g. Cyclope sp. at Lachaud, Zonaria pyrum at Lacave), at some 250 km away from the Mediterranean coast and at Cosăuţi (Moldavia) at some 300 km away from the Mediterranean, in the Dnieper river valley. Examples of Cyclope sp., on the other hand, have been recorded at all of these locations.

Regarding bivalves, the most common species used to make suspended objects of adornment in France were Glycymeris sp. and the Cardiidae. The former were found, for example, at Badegoule, and the latter both at Badegoule and at Le Placard. Some Mediterranean bivalves are present in sites distant from the coast, such as the perforated example of Glycymeris pilosus at Fourneau du Diablo. C. edule and Glycymeris sp. have been documented in Mediterranean Spain as well (L’Arbreda). These occur rarely in Cantabrian Spain, amounting to a mere c. 5% of the shell assemblages. They are present, e.g, at Cueto de la Mina.

In France, scaphopods were the most frequently used molluscs in making suspended objects of adornment during the Solutrean. They have been found at sites in the Dordogne (e.g. Badegoule). Examples of the scaphopod Antalis sp. have been documented at sites in Mediterranean Spain (e.g. Cendres). In the Solutrean sites in Cantabrian Spain they make up 36.2% of the total number of molluscs used as suspended objects of adornment and are present in two deposits, at El Mirón and Amalda.

Late Upper Palaeolithic (20,000/19,000–12,000 cal BC)

The information available for Late Upper Palaeolithic in France comes mainly from the research carried out by Y. Taborin (1993). However, instead of providing generalised data about the different mollusc shells used during the Magdalenian sensu lato, Taborin (1993) divides the period into three phases: early, middle and late-final. However, the archaeological contexts of an important portion of the objects she discusses have not been securely ascribed to any cultural phase of the Late Upper Palaeolithic. The nature of many archaeological deposits of the Late Upper Palaeolithic are still under debate, e.g. whether they should be described as Solutrean or early Magdalenian, early or middle Magdalenian or Magdalenian IV, middle or late Magdalenian, late Magdalenian or Azilian, etc. It is therefore preferred here to summarise her research following a chronological order rather than a taxonomic order, in contrast to the outline of discussions in this paper so far. In addition, following Álvarez 2006, only those molluscs which stem from securely defined archaeological deposits (early, middle, and late-final Magdalenian senso stricto) and those which have been classified down to the species level have been selected for the discussion on the Late Upper Palaeolithic.

In the same way as for earlier periods, during the Magdalenian molluscs were used that had been gathered on the shores of the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea.

In the early Magdalenian (20,000/19,000–15,000 cal BC), among the gastropods found at French sites, the most commonly used species are N. reticulates, followed by Nassarius incrassatus. This can be compared with the information obtained from sites in Cantabrian Spain, where the use of gastropods predominates (91.7%) over bivalves and scaphopods. The most common snail used to manufacture suspended objects of adornment was L. obtusata (83.1%), with a large difference over Trivia sp. (4.9%) and Turritella sp. (4.9%). These three species have been recorded at El Juyo.

The use of shells corresponding to exclusively Mediterranean species was far more limited: Cyclope sp. at the burial at Saint-Germain-La-Rivière and at Hohle Fels; H. sanguineum at El Mirón and at Munzingen; sites located over 500 km from the Mediterranean shore.

When it comes to bivalves, Cerastoderma sp. (Lascaux), with seven valves, is the most common species, followed by Glycymerididae (Laugerie Haute-Est) and P. maximus (Angles-sur-Anglin). Bivalves are also rare at sites in Cantabrian Spain, where they compile less than 3% of perforated shell assemblages. Perforated examples of P. maximus have also been documented at Altamira.

Scaphopods, on the other hand, are the most frequently used molluscs in France during the early Magdalenian (Fritsch), with more than a hundred examples. Non-fossil scaphopods appear in Cantabria as well (e.g. El Juyo), albeit in a much lower percentage (5.6%) than gastropods.

In the middle Magdalenian (15,000–13,500 cal BC), the gastropod most often used as a suspended object of adornment was H. sa...