Archaeological Investigations of the Maldives in the Medieval Islamic Period

Haour, Anne; Christie, Annalisa

doi:10.4324/9781003166221

Cited by 2 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 6 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…The shells were harvested in different places in the Indian Ocean. One such place is the Maldives, off the tip of India, where we know from historical accounts and archaeological research that Monetaria moneta cowries were harvested in large quantities for exchange (Haour & Christie, 2022). Back in the twelfth century CE (Common Era, sometimes also "AD"), communities of people harvested cowries by wading kneedeep into the water at specific tides and collecting them from the underside of rocks.…”

Section: Story 1: the Indian Ocean Tradermentioning

confidence: 99%

Global Connections and Connected Communities in the African Past: Stories from Cowrie Shells

Haour,

Moffett

2023

Afr Archaeol Rev

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Through the stories of four people who carried or traded cowrie shells, this article examines the connections between various parts of the world from a thousand years ago to the present. These connections spanned great distances, linking communities in West Africa and the Indian Ocean islands of the Maldives, and they bring to light the vast land and sea links that connected different regions of the African continent to the wider world in this period. We use cowrie shells to explore how objects participate in creating social relations, shaping senses of self and identity. When viewed in relation to the theme of connections, this offers a springboard for thinking about how things and their biographies fit within our lives today.

show abstract

Section: Story 1: the Indian Ocean Tradermentioning

confidence: 99%

Global Connections and Connected Communities in the African Past: Stories from Cowrie Shells

Haour,

Moffett

2023

Afr Archaeol Rev

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Their fossil skeletons, shells and other biostructures are common in the archaeological and geological record because they preserve relatively well and therefore play an important role as archives for past climates (Lough and Barnes, 2000;Pages 2k consortium, 2017;Henkes et al, 2018;Marchegiano et al, 2019;Moss et al, 2021;Agterhuis et al, 2022) and environments (Sampei et al, 2005;Song et al, 2014;Auderset et al, 2022). Carbonate skeletons also preserve information about life histories (Gerringer et al, 2018;Mat et al, 2020;Posenato et al, 2022), ecological relationships between organisms (Fagerstrom, 1987;Mourguiart and Carbonel, 1994;Valchev, 2003), and past human interrelations (Gutieŕrez-Zugasti, 2011;Haour et al, 2016;Burchell et al, 2018). Furthermore, the contribution of calcifiers (organisms that mineralize calcium carbonate) to the rock record is of great commercial interest, for example for the extraction of building materials, as source rocks for water and hydrocarbons and as a storage rock for CO 2 (Hanshaw and Back, 1979;Izgec et al, 2008;Benavente et al, 2018;Tran et al, 2020).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Tracing timing of growth in cultured molluscs using strontium spiking

et al. 2023

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

IntroductionGrowth experiments present a powerful tool for determining the effect of environmental parameters on growth and carbonate composition in biogenic calcifiers. For successful proxy calibration and biomineralization studies, it is vital to identify volumes of carbonate precipitated by these organisms at precise intervals during the experiment. Here, we investigate the use of strontium labelling in mollusc growth experiments.MethodsThree bivalve species (Cerastoderma edule, Mytilus edulis and Ostrea edulis) were grown under monitored field conditions. The bivalves were regularly exposed to seawater with elevated concentrations of dissolved strontium chloride (SrCl2). In addition, the size of their shells was determined at various stages during the experiment using calliper measurements and digital photography. Trace element profiles were measured in cross sections through the shells of these molluscs using laser ablation ICPMS and XRF techniques.ResultsOur results show that doses of dissolved strontium equivalent to 7-8 times the background marine value (~0.6 mmol/L) are sufficient to cause reproducible peaks in shell-incorporated strontium in C. edule and M. edulis shells. No negative effects were observed on shell calcification rates. Lower doses (3-5 times background values) resulted in less clearly identifiable peaks, especially in M. edulis. Strontium spiking labels in shells of O. edulis are more difficult to detect, likely due to their irregular growth.DiscussionStrontium spiking is a useful technique for creating time marks in cultured shells and a reproducible way to monitor shell size during the growing season while limiting physical disturbance of the animals. However, accurate reconstructions of growth rates at high temporal resolution require frequent spiking with high doses of strontium.

show abstract

Archaeological Investigations of the Maldives in the Medieval Islamic Period

Cited by 2 publications

References 6 publications

Global Connections and Connected Communities in the African Past: Stories from Cowrie Shells

Global Connections and Connected Communities in the African Past: Stories from Cowrie Shells

Tracing timing of growth in cultured molluscs using strontium spiking

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About