Applications of vertebral morphometrics in <scp>P</scp>acific <scp>I</scp>sland archaeological fishing studies

Lambrides, Ariana B. J.; Weisler, Marshall I.

doi:10.1002/arco.5059

Cited by 24 publications

(14 citation statements)

References 62 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…; Grealy et al . ) paired with analyses of fish size that discriminate between juvenile and adult fish (see discussions in Lambrides and Weisler ; Weisler and Green ). Adoption of analytical guidelines that incorporate reliable data on fish ecology and behaviour would also streamline reconstructions and foster appropriate comparison of results between sites.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Because fish habitat data can ultimately influence interpretations about seafaring ability and the sophistication of fishing and boating technologies available to people in the past -including instances where the antiquity of these adaptations may be at issue (e.g. Béarez et al 2016;O'Connor et al 2011;Pickard & Bonsall 2004) -we suggest that researchers interested in past marine habitat use would benefit from pursuing lower-level taxonomic identifications (potentially facilitated by aDNA analysis; e.g., Cannon and Yang 2006;Grier et al 2013;Grealy et al 2016) paired with analyses of fish size that discriminate between juvenile and adult fish (see discussions in Lambrides and Weisler 2015;Weisler and Green 2013). Adoption of analytical guidelines that incorporate reliable data on fish ecology and behaviour would also streamline reconstructions and foster appropriate comparison of results between sites.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Reconstructing prehistoric fishing zones in Palau, Micronesia using fish remains: A blind test of inter‐analyst correspondence

Giovas

Lambrides

Fitzpatrick

et al. 2016

Archaeology in Oceania

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Archaeologists routinely reconstruct the types of marine environments fished by past human societies in order to understand economic systems, foraging behaviour, maritime technology and seafaring abilities. These reconstructions are based on ecological data provided by archaeofish identifications, but can be problematic where coarse‐grained designations, such as inshore or pelagic, are used, or the influence of fish behaviour and life history traits on movement between habitats is overlooked. In tropical waters, intra‐family diversity complicates habitat reconstruction by precluding lower‐level taxonomic identifications that provide precise habitat information (e.g. surge channels, dropoffs). Consequently, a single generalised habitat may be imposed on fishes that could be caught in multiple environments, thereby eroding the reliability of fishing zone reconstructions. This study employs the archaeofish assemblage from Chelechol ra Orrak (c. 3000–0 BP), Palau to examine the analytical impact of these variables on fishing habitat reconstruction based on a blind assessment of taxon‐derived environmental data by two analysts. We assesses how analysts’ variable decision protocols for the handling of imprecise environmental data impact resulting habitat exploitation profiles. Our results address the issue of spatial resolution in habitat information gleaned from fish assemblages like Orrak's, with important implications for the interpretation of foraging practices and maritime adaptations.

show abstract

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Reconstructing prehistoric fishing zones in Palau, Micronesia using fish remains: A blind test of inter‐analyst correspondence

Giovas

Lambrides

Fitzpatrick

et al. 2016

Archaeology in Oceania

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Because even small sharks have more than 150 vertebrae, a single shark can have dozens of teeth, and hundreds of bony tubercles may comprise an individual ray, an MNI of 1 was recorded for these taxa within an excavation square. Vertebrae of elasmobranchs and finfish were measured with digital callipers to two decimal places to provide a general indication of fish size (Lambrides and Weisler, 2015). A summary of the bone recovered from the six study sites is presented in Table 1.…”

Section: Methods Of Faunal Analysismentioning

confidence: 99%

Four thousand years of western Torres Strait fishing in the Pacific-wide context

Weisler

McNiven

2016

Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

“…Due to variability in vertebra diameter across the vertebral column of an individual specimen, it is problematic to consider vertebrae as a single and uniform element category, an issue often compounded by the difficulties of distinguishing between shark vertebrae types. Further analysis completed by Lambrides and Weisler (2015) demonstrated that archaeological fish vertebrae should be identified to taxon and type (e.g., atlas, precaudal) and, prior to fish size reconstructions, the position of each vertebra along the vertebral column should be determined (Desse and Desse-Berset 1996c;Makowiecki and Van Neer 1996).…”

Section: Metric Reconstructions Sustainability and Resource Depressionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Sustained prehistoric exploitation of a Marshall Islands fishery: ichthyoarchaeological approaches, marine resource use, and human-environment interactions on Ebon Atoll

Lambrides¹

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Atolls are often characterised in terms of the environmental constraints and challenges these landscapes impose on sustained habitation, including: nutrient-poor soils and salt laden winds that impede plant growth, lack of perennial surface fresh water, limited terrestrial biodiversity, and vulnerability to extreme weather events and inundation since most atolls are only 2-3 m above sea level. Yet, on Ebon Atoll, Republic of the Marshall Islands in eastern Micronesia, the oceanside and lagoonside intertidal marine environments are expansive, with the reef area four times larger than the land area, supporting a diverse range of taxa. Given the importance of finfish resources in the Pacific, and specifically Ebon, this provided an ideal context for evaluating methods and methodological approaches for conducting Pacific ichthyoarchaeological analyses, and based on this assessment, implement high resolution and globally recognised approaches to investigate the spatial and temporal variation in the Ebon marine fishery. Variability in landscape use, alterations in the range of taxa captured, archaeological proxies of past climate stability, and the comparability of archaeological and ecological datasets were considered. Utilising a historical ecology approach, this thesis provides an analysis of the exploitation of the Ebon marine fishery from initial settlement to the historic period-two millennia of continuous occupation.The thesis demonstrated the importance of implementing high resolution methods and methodologies when considering long-term human interactions with marine fisheries. Improving methods and data quality of Pacific fishing studies included using vertebral morphometrics for fish size reconstructions and the utilisation of all cranial and postcranial remains for taxonomic identifications. Spatial analysis of habitation sites spread across three islets representing the windward-leeward gradient indicated that marine environments local to each site were not influencing taxonomic composition, but the variability in richness and evenness identified is likely a reflection of fishing technology and site function. There was no indication of significant human impact to the inshore reef taxa, which may be a reflection of the flexible foraging strategies implemented and the resilience and structure of these marine environments. As such, the shifts in the relative abundance of skipjack (K. pelamis) in the archaeological sites were attributed to the potential influence of ENSO variability over the last two millennia.With the implementation of these comprehensive methods and the use of historical ecology as a conceptual framework the range of research questions that could be explored was expanded.Consequently, this thesis was able to address some of these questions, including: the identification of variability in foraging practices across small spatial scales, the usefulness of ichthyoarchaeological data for tracking environmental stability, and distinguishing between changes ii in resource availability and s...

show abstract

Applications of vertebral morphometrics in Pacific Island archaeological fishing studies

Abstract: Significant differences between fish bone identification protocols in Pacific Island

Cited by 24 publications

References 62 publications

Reconstructing prehistoric fishing zones in Palau, Micronesia using fish remains: A blind test of inter‐analyst correspondence

Reconstructing prehistoric fishing zones in Palau, Micronesia using fish remains: A blind test of inter‐analyst correspondence

Four thousand years of western Torres Strait fishing in the Pacific-wide context

Sustained prehistoric exploitation of a Marshall Islands fishery: ichthyoarchaeological approaches, marine resource use, and human-environment interactions on Ebon Atoll

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About