Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-rcrh6 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-25T06:21:13.858Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Learning from Experiment: Unio Freshwater Mussel Shells in Fifth-millennium bc Romania

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  11 December 2020

Monica Mărgărit Open the ORCID record for Monica Mărgărit [Opens in a new window] ,
Valentin Radu Open the ORCID record for Valentin Radu [Opens in a new window]  and
Valentina Voinea Open the ORCID record for Valentina Voinea [Opens in a new window]
Monica Mărgărit
Affiliation:
Valahia University of Târgoviște and Vasile Pârvan Institute of Archaeology, Bucharest, Romania
Valentin Radu
Affiliation:
National Museum of Romanian History, Bucharest, Romania
Valentina Voinea
Affiliation:
Museum of National History and Archaeology, Constanța, Romania
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Raw materials from aquatic environments were systematically used for domestic activities even before the appearance of modern humans. Here, the authors analyse the possible use of freshwater mussel valves of the Unio species, whose surfaces preserve marks resulting from their use. They consider the ways in which wear develops on these valves, starting from the comparison between archaeological exemplars and experimental pieces. An experimental programme was developed to record variables such as the procurement of the raw material, the processing of various materials, and the time needed for each operation. Experimental pieces were assessed to document how use-wear develops. The archaeological assemblage from the site of Cheia in Romania (Hamangia culture, fifth millennium cal bc) served as a case study to illustrate the relevance of the results.

L'utilisation systématique de matières premières provenant de milieux aquatiques à des fins domestiques remonte à même avant l’émergence des hommes modernes. Les auteurs de cet article présentent une analyse des usages possibles de coquilles de bivalves d'eau douce du genre Unio dont les surfaces exhibent des marques dues à leur utilisation. Ils considèrent les différentes traces d'usure sur ces valves en comparant des exemplaires provenant de contextes archéologiques avec des pièces obtenues par expérimentation. Un projet d'archéologie expérimentale fut mis sur pied afin d’étudier une série de variables, telles l'obtention de la matière première, les résultats obtenus sur différents matériaux ou la duration des opérations. Les pièces expérimentales furent évaluées afin de documenter l’évolution des traces d'usure. Le mobilier provenant du site d'habitat de Cheia en Roumanie (culture Humangia, Ve millénaire av. J.-C.) a servi à valider les résultats. Translation by Madeleine Hummler

Menschen haben seit sehr langem, schon bevor dem Auftreten von Homo sapiens, Rohstoffe aus der aquatischen Umwelt für Haushaltsbedürfnisse systematisch gebraucht. Die Autoren dieses Artikel untersuchen hier die verschiedenen Verwendungsmöglichkeiten von Unio Süßwassermuschelschalen, deren Oberflächen Gebrauchsspuren aufweisen. Sie analysieren, auf der Basis eines Vergleiches zwischen archäologischen und experimentellen Stücken, auf welcher Weise solche Abnutzungsspuren entstanden sind. Ein experimentelles Programm wurde entwickelt, um verschiedene Variablen zu prüfen; zu diesen gehören die Beschaffung des Rohstoffs, die Bearbeitung von verschiedenen Materialien und die Dauer jeder Operation. Die experimentellen Stücke wurden bewertet, um die Entwicklung der Abnutzungsspuren zu dokumentieren. Ein Befund aus der Siedlung von Cheia in Rumänien (Hamangia Kultur, fünftes Jahrtausend v. Chr.) diente als Fallstudie, um die Relevanz der Ergebnisse zu prüfen. Translation by Madeleine Hummler

Keywords

prehistoryHamangia culturefreshwater musselexperimental replicationuse-wear tracespréhistoireculture Humangiamoules d'eau doucearchéologie expérimentaletraces d'usureUrgeschichteHamangia KulturSüßwassermuschelnexperimentelle Archäologie Nutzugsspuren
Type
Article
Information
European Journal of Archaeology , Volume 24 , Issue 2 , May 2021 , pp. 180 - 203
Copyright
Copyright © European Association of Archaeologists 2020

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Attenbrow, V. 2012. The Aboriginal Prehistory and Archaeology of Royal National Park and Environs: A Review. Proceedings of the Linnean Society of New South Wales, 134: B39–B64.Google Scholar
Bălăşescu, A. 2008. Considerații cu privire la exploatarea mamiferelor în așezarea Hamangia III de la Cheia. Pontica, 41: 49–56.Google Scholar
Bălăşescu, A. & Radu, V. 2004. Omul şi animalele. Strategii şi resurse la comunităţile Hamangia şi Boian. Târgoviște: Cetatea de Scaun.Google Scholar
Balasse, M., Tornero, C., Bréhard, S., Ughetto-Monfrin, J., Voinea, V. & Bălășescu, A. 2014. Cattle and Sheep Herding at Cheia, Romania, at the Turn of the Fifth Millennium cal bc: A View from Stable Isotope Analysis. In: Whittle, A. & Bickle, P., eds. Early Farmers: The View from Archaeology and Science. Oxford: Oxford University Press, pp. 115–42. https://doi.org/10.5871/bacad/9780197265758.003.0007Google Scholar
Bar-Yosef Mayer, D.E. 2013. Mollusc Exploitation at Çatalhöyük. In: Hodder, I., ed. Humans and Landscapes of Çatalhöyük: Reports from the 2000–2008 Seasons (Çatalhöyük Research Project Series Volume 8; BIAA Monograph 47). Ankara: British Institute at Ankara, pp. 329–38.Google Scholar
Becker, C. 1999. Le Néolithique Moyen et le site de Platia Magoula Zarkou. Le point sur les recherches archéozoologiques en Thessalie (Grèce). Anthropozoologica, 30: 3–22.Google Scholar
Beldiman, C. & Sztancs, D.-M. 2013. The Osseous Artefacts of the Starčevo-Criș Culture in Romania: An Overview. In: Comșa, A., Bonsall, C. & Nikolova, L., eds. Facets of the Past. The Challenge of the Balkan Neo-Eneolithic: Proceedings of the International Symposium Celebrating the 85th Birth Anniversary of Eugen Comșa, 6–12 October 2008. Bucharest: Editura Academiei Române, pp. 106–33.Google Scholar
Boessneck, J. & von den Driesch, A. 1976. Addendum II. Die Tierknochenfunde aus den Ausgrabungen von 1971 und 1972 auf dem Tülintepe. In: Keban Projesi 1972 Çalışmaları/Keban Project 1972 Activities (Keban Project Publications 1/5). Ankara: Orta Doğu Teknik Üniversitesi Keban Projesi Yayınları/Middle East Technical University, pp. 173–74.Google Scholar
Boessneck, J. & von den Driesch, A. 1981. Tierknochen vom Hassek-Höyük. Istanbuler Mitteilungen, 31: 88–90.Google Scholar
Clemente-Conte, I. & Cuenca-Solana, D. 2011. Instrumentos de trabajo de concha. In: Bosch, A., Chinchilla, J. & Tarrús, J., eds. El Poblat Lacustre del Neolític Antic de La Draga. Excavacions 2000–2005 (Monografies del CASC, 9). Girona: Museu d'Arqueologia de Catalunya, pp. 137–45.Google Scholar
Cuenca-Solana, D., Clemente-Conte, I. & Gutiérrez-Zugasti, I. 2010. Utilización de instrumentos de concha durante el Mesolítico y Neolítico inicial en contextos litorales de la region cantábrica: programa experimental para el análisis de huellas de uso en materiales malacológicos. Trabajos de Prehistoria, 67: 211–25. https://doi.org/10.3989/tp.2010.10037CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cuenca-Solana, D., Gutiérrez-Zugasti, I. & Clemente-Conte, I. 2011. The Use of Molluscs as Tools by Coastal Human Groups: Contribution of Ethnographical Studies to Research on Mesolithic and Early Neolithic Contexts in Northern Spain. Journal of Anthropological Research, 67: 77–102. https://doi.org/10.3998/jar.0521004.0067.105Google Scholar
Cuenca-Solana, D., Gutiérrez-Zugasti, F.I. & Clemente, I. 2014. Shell Tools in an Early Neolithic Coastal Site in the Cantabrian Region (Northern Spain): Experimental Program for Use-Wear Analysis at Santimamiñe Cave. In: Szabó, K., Dupont, C., Dimitrijevic, S., Gómez-Gastélun, L. & Serrand, N., eds. Archaeomalacology: Shells in the Archaeological Record (British Archaeological Reports International Series 266). Oxford: Archaeopress, pp. 101–10.Google Scholar
Cuenca-Solana, D., Gutiérrez-Zugasti, F.I. & Gonzalez-Morales, M.R. 2017. Use-Wear Analysis: An Optimal Methodology for the Study of Shell Tools. Quaternary International, 427(A): 192–200. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quaint.2015.09.090CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Debruyne, S. 2010. Tools and Souvenirs: The Shells from Kilise Tepe (1994–1998). Anatolian Studies, 60: 149–60. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0066154600001071CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Harris, M., Faulkner, P. & Asmussen, B. 2017. Macroscopic Approaches to the Identification of Expedient Bivalve Tools: A Case Study Investigating Polymesoda (=Geloina) coaxans (Bivalvia: Corbiculidae) Shell Valves from Princess Charlotte Bay, Queensland, Australia. Quaternary International, 427: 201–15. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quaint.2015.08.020CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Manca, L. 2014. The Individuation of a New Type of Shell Tools during Early Chalcolithic in Sardinia: The Bevelled Tools on Oyster Valves. An Experimental Approach to Reconstruct the Operational Sequences. In: Mărgărit, M., Dosseur, G. & Averbouh, A., eds. An Overview of the Exploitation of Hard Animal Materials during the Neolithic and Chalcolithic. Târgoviște: Editura Cetatea de Scaun, pp. 155–82.Google Scholar
Manca, L. 2016. The Shell Industry in Final Neolithic Societies in Sardinia: Characterizing the Production and Utilization of Glycymeris da Costa, 1778 valves. Anthropozoologica, 51: 144–66. https://doi.org/10.5252/az2016n2a6CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Manca, L. 2018. La fracturation et la fragmentation des coquilles : une problématique partagée entre archéozoologie, taphonomie et technologie. In: Christensen, M. & Goutas, N., eds. « À coup d’éclats ! ». La fracturation des matières osseuses en Préhistoire : discussion autour d'une modalité d'exploitation en apparence simple et pourtant mal connue. Actes de la séance de la Société préhistorique française de Paris (25 avril 2017). Paris: Société préhistorique française, pp. 43–53.Google Scholar
Mărgărit, M. 2016. Testing the Endurance of Prehistoric Adornments: Raw Materials from the Aquatic Environment. Journal of Archaeological Science, 70: 66–81. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jas.2016.04.009Google Scholar
Mărgărit, M. 2017. Spatulas and Abraded Astragalus: Two Types of Tools Used to Process Ceramics? Examples from the Romanian Prehistory. Quaternary International, 438(B): 201–11. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quaint.2015.07.057CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mărgărit, M. & Radu, V. 2014. The Use of Autochthonous Aquatic Resources in the Technologies of Gumelniţa Communities. In: Mărgărit, M., Dosseur, G. & Averbouh, A., eds. An Overview of the Exploitation of Hard Animal Materials during the Neolithic and Chalcolithic. Târgoviște: Editura Cetatea de Scaun, pp. 221–40.Google Scholar
Mărgărit, M., Mirea, P. & Radu, V. 2018. Exploitation of Aquatic Resources for Adornment and Tool Processing at Măgura ‘Buduiasca’ (‘Boldul lui Moș Ivănuș’) Neolithic Settlement (Southern Romania). Quaternary International, 472: 49–59. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quaint.2017.10.032CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mărgărit, M., Popovici, D.N., Radu, V. & Cernea, C. 2017. The Experiment in the Service of Archaeology: Pieces of Osseous Materials Processed in the Experimental Workshop Developed on the Archaeological Site from Bordușani-Popină (Romania). In: Alonso, R., Canales, D. & Baena, J., eds. Playing with the Time: Experimental Archeology and the Study of the Past. Madrid: Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, pp. 67–72.Google Scholar
Mihail, F. & Provenzano, N. 2014. Experimental Processing of the Red Deer Metapodial Points. In: Mărgărit, M., Dosseur, G. & Averbouh, A., eds. An Overview of the Exploitation of Hard Animal Materials during the Neolithic and Chalcolithic. Târgoviște: Editura Cetatea de Scaun, pp. 201–20.Google Scholar
Necrasov, O. 1973. Studiul resturilor de faună din așezarea neolitică de la Radovanu, Jud. Ilfov. Materiale și Cercetări Arheologice, 10: 39–46.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Pickard, C., Boroneanț, A. & Bonsall, C. 2017. Molluscan Remains from Early to Middle Holocene Sites in the Iron Gates Reach of the Danube, Southeast Europe. In: Allen, M.J., ed. Molluscs in Archaeology: Methods, Approaches and Applications. Oxford & Philadelphia: Oxbow Books, pp. 179–94.Google Scholar
Radu, V. 2008. Studiul materialului faunistic (moluște, pești, țestoase și păsări) prelevat din nivelul Hamangia III de la Cheia (jud. Constanța). Pontica, 41: 57–64.Google Scholar
Radu, V. 2011. Le Néolithique de la Roumanie méridionale: Exploitation des ressources aquatiques dans les cultures Boian et Gumelnița. Sarrebruck: Edition Universitaires Européennes.Google Scholar
Szabó, K. & Koppel, B. 2015. Limpet Shells as Unmodified Tools in Pleistocene Southeast Asia: An Experimental Approach to Assessing Fracture and Modification. Journal of Archaeological Science, 54: 64–76. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jas.2014.11.022Google Scholar
Todorova, H. 2002. Die Mollusken in den Gräberfeldern von Durankulak. In: Todorova, H., ed. Durankulak, Band II: Die prähistorischen Gräberfelder von Durankulak, Teil 1. Sofia: Anubis, pp. 177–86.Google Scholar
Tornero, C., Bălășescu, A., Ughetto-Monfrin, J., Voinea, V. & Balasse, M. 2013. Seasonality and Season of Birth in Early Eneolithic Sheep from Cheia (Romania): Methodological Advances and Implications for Animal Economy. Journal of Archaeological Science, 40: 4039–55. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jas.2013.05.013CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Tumung, L., Bazgir, B., Ahmadi, K. & Shadmehr, A. 2012. Understanding the Use-Wears on Nonretouched Shells Mytilus galloprovincialis and Ruditapes decussatus by Performing Wood Working Experiment: An Experimental Approach. In: International Conference on the Use of X-ray (and related) Techniques in Arts and Cultural Heritage (XTACH 11) 7–8 December 2011, Sharjah, United Arab Emirates. Bristol: Institute of Physics, pp. 106–15.Google Scholar
Tumung, L., Bazgir, B. & Ollé, A. 2015. Applying SEM to the Study of Use-Wear on Unmodified Shell Tools: An Experimental Approach. Journal of Archaeological Science, 59: 179–96. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jas.2015.04.017Google Scholar
Voinea, V. & Neagu, G. 2008. Archaeological Research at Hamangia III Settlement from Cheia (2004–2008). Pontica, 41: 9–34.Google Scholar
Voinea, V., Neagu, G. & Radu, V. 2009. Spondylus Shell Artefacts in Hamangia Culture. Pontica, 42: 9–25.Google Scholar
Supplementary material: File

Mărgărit et al. supplementary material

Mărgărit et al. supplementary material

Download Mărgărit et al. supplementary material(File)
File 4.4 MB