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Phocid seal skeleton (modified after Boyle 2005) showing location of possible cuts indicating skinning (green), dismemberment (red) and filleting (blue) (Image credit: A. Glykou)
Source publication
This article explores the economic significance of marine resources in the south-western Baltic Sea during the transition to agriculture. Faunal remains are used in order to explain subsistence patterns, including preferred prey, exploitation of specific ecozones, hunting methods and techniques, butchering and dietary patterns. Seasonality can be l...
Contexts in source publication
Context 1
... marks were recorded on 14.8% of the seal bones ( Figure 2 and Figure 3), which is a very high percentage, if one considers that this includes only the visible butchery marks in an archaeological context (Lyman 1992, 248). All three species, harp, grey and ringed seals, disclosed no differences in the position and kind of cut marks on the skeleton, showing that hunters followed a common method for all marine mammals. Cut marks were observed on bones from all ages including the younger age group of 0-3 month old seals (Figure 4, Figure 5 and Figure 6). Frequencies and the type/position of cut marks on the bones reveal their origin during skinning, disarticulation and filleting, showing that hunters took full advantage of the seal carcasses (Binford1981; Trolle-Lassen 1992). Cut marks referable to skinning (Figure 3, Figure 5) were observed on the skull (calvaria, maxilla and frontal), the mandible, the phalanges and metapodials. After removing the skin from the prey, hunters proceeded with the butchering which included disarticulation, filleting and eventually portioning. Cut marks referable to disarticulation occur while cutting through the articulations and appear regularly on the occiput, the majority of vertebrae, scapula, humerus, radius, ulna, acetabulum of the pelvis, femur, talus, calcaneus and lower epiphyses of metapiodials (Figure 3). They appear as short cuts around the articulations and are therefore easily distinguishable from filleting and/or scraping marks, which are commonly evident on skeletal elements rich in flesh. Such cuts appear on the scapula (Figure 6), humerus, femur, ulna, pelvis, on vertebra and the medial side of the costae. In these cases the cuts are more longitudinal and shallower than the ones originating during disarticulation, and often appear as a group of extended cuts. According to the meat utility index for phocid seals (Lyman et al . 1992) the absolute and relative frequencies of the different parts of the skeleton as well as the frequencies of skeletal elements with cut marks illustrate that in Neustadt bones with high meat utility value, such as ribs, and the upper limb bones, are well represented while the pelvis, second in the rank of meat rich body parts, seems to be under-represented. Interestingly, bones with lower (vertebrae) or low meat utility values (lower limb bones (flippers)) are frequently represented as well (Figure 2). The significance of these observations for the butchering methods used by prehistoric hunters will be discussed ...
Context 2
... marks were recorded on 14.8% of the seal bones ( Figure 2 and Figure 3), which is a very high percentage, if one considers that this includes only the visible butchery marks in an archaeological context (Lyman 1992, 248). All three species, harp, grey and ringed seals, disclosed no differences in the position and kind of cut marks on the skeleton, showing that hunters followed a common method for all marine mammals. Cut marks were observed on bones from all ages including the younger age group of 0-3 month old seals (Figure 4, Figure 5 and Figure 6). Frequencies and the type/position of cut marks on the bones reveal their origin during skinning, disarticulation and filleting, showing that hunters took full advantage of the seal carcasses (Binford1981; Trolle-Lassen 1992). Cut marks referable to skinning (Figure 3, Figure 5) were observed on the skull (calvaria, maxilla and frontal), the mandible, the phalanges and metapodials. After removing the skin from the prey, hunters proceeded with the butchering which included disarticulation, filleting and eventually portioning. Cut marks referable to disarticulation occur while cutting through the articulations and appear regularly on the occiput, the majority of vertebrae, scapula, humerus, radius, ulna, acetabulum of the pelvis, femur, talus, calcaneus and lower epiphyses of metapiodials (Figure 3). They appear as short cuts around the articulations and are therefore easily distinguishable from filleting and/or scraping marks, which are commonly evident on skeletal elements rich in flesh. Such cuts appear on the scapula (Figure 6), humerus, femur, ulna, pelvis, on vertebra and the medial side of the costae. In these cases the cuts are more longitudinal and shallower than the ones originating during disarticulation, and often appear as a group of extended cuts. According to the meat utility index for phocid seals (Lyman et al . 1992) the absolute and relative frequencies of the different parts of the skeleton as well as the frequencies of skeletal elements with cut marks illustrate that in Neustadt bones with high meat utility value, such as ribs, and the upper limb bones, are well represented while the pelvis, second in the rank of meat rich body parts, seems to be under-represented. Interestingly, bones with lower (vertebrae) or low meat utility values (lower limb bones (flippers)) are frequently represented as well (Figure 2). The significance of these observations for the butchering methods used by prehistoric hunters will be discussed ...
Context 3
... marks were recorded on 14.8% of the seal bones ( Figure 2 and Figure 3), which is a very high percentage, if one considers that this includes only the visible butchery marks in an archaeological context (Lyman 1992, 248). All three species, harp, grey and ringed seals, disclosed no differences in the position and kind of cut marks on the skeleton, showing that hunters followed a common method for all marine mammals. Cut marks were observed on bones from all ages including the younger age group of 0-3 month old seals (Figure 4, Figure 5 and Figure 6). Frequencies and the type/position of cut marks on the bones reveal their origin during skinning, disarticulation and filleting, showing that hunters took full advantage of the seal carcasses (Binford1981; Trolle-Lassen 1992). Cut marks referable to skinning (Figure 3, Figure 5) were observed on the skull (calvaria, maxilla and frontal), the mandible, the phalanges and metapodials. After removing the skin from the prey, hunters proceeded with the butchering which included disarticulation, filleting and eventually portioning. Cut marks referable to disarticulation occur while cutting through the articulations and appear regularly on the occiput, the majority of vertebrae, scapula, humerus, radius, ulna, acetabulum of the pelvis, femur, talus, calcaneus and lower epiphyses of metapiodials (Figure 3). They appear as short cuts around the articulations and are therefore easily distinguishable from filleting and/or scraping marks, which are commonly evident on skeletal elements rich in flesh. Such cuts appear on the scapula (Figure 6), humerus, femur, ulna, pelvis, on vertebra and the medial side of the costae. In these cases the cuts are more longitudinal and shallower than the ones originating during disarticulation, and often appear as a group of extended cuts. According to the meat utility index for phocid seals (Lyman et al . 1992) the absolute and relative frequencies of the different parts of the skeleton as well as the frequencies of skeletal elements with cut marks illustrate that in Neustadt bones with high meat utility value, such as ribs, and the upper limb bones, are well represented while the pelvis, second in the rank of meat rich body parts, seems to be under-represented. Interestingly, bones with lower (vertebrae) or low meat utility values (lower limb bones (flippers)) are frequently represented as well (Figure 2). The significance of these observations for the butchering methods used by prehistoric hunters will be discussed ...
Citations
... Besides various terrestrial mammals (e.g. Cervus elaphus, Capreolus capreolus, Bos primigenius, Sus scrofa), marine mammals like seals, porpoise or dolphins supplied valuable resources, in the Mesolithic as well as in Neolithic times (Glykou, 2014). Domesticated cattle and sheep/goat are represented by few specimens only. ...
... Domesticated plants have not been detected. While pottery, animal (Glykou, 2014), and wooden artefacts (Klooß 2011) have been thoroughly investigated, stone artefacts have not been considered yet. ...
... Additional experiments were conducted to account for the specific sandstone varieties used in Neustadt. They were designed according to the results of zooarchaeological (Glykou, 2014) and archaeobotanical analyses (Rickert, 2007) that provide information on materials potentially processed in Neustadt. The experimental program included the processing of acorn (shelling and grinding of cooked, roasted and fresh fruits, stone and wood as active tools), grinding of hazelnut (raw and roasted nuts), pounding of nettle string, softening of hide, bone polishing and the pounding of tendons. ...
... En las falanges terceras el porcentaje de restos fracturados ronda el 40%. Un patrón similar se observa en el trata- especies de focas (arpa, gris y anillada), que eran transportadas enteras (Glykou 2014). La sobredimensión de dentición, maxilares y mandíbulas está atestiguada en colecciones con un número reducido de restos para las que se apunta como causa discriminante la elección de estos elementos para ser transformados en objetos de adorno (Pétillon 2018). ...
... Los animales no fueron transportados enteros al asentamiento desde los lugares de matanza, en los que se habría procedido al desollado y desmembramiento de las piezas. Las partes trasladadas no coinciden con las más nutritivas y, en contraposición a lo observado en las especies de ungulados, las falanges de foca no se encuentran fracturadas para acceder a la médula que, por otra parte, es escasa y de difícil consecución (Glykou 2014;Morales-Pérez et al. 2019). ...
... Here, we develop an approach that relies upon readily obtained metric data on cranial and mandibles to assess Baikal seal body size. Many zooarchaeological projects utilize osteometric data to make inferences about human interactions with pinnipeds (Ericson and Storå 1999;Storå 2000Storå , 2001Etnier 2002Etnier , 2004Etnier , 2007Storå and Ericson 2004;Borella et al. 2016a, b;Gifford-Gonzalez 2011;Glykou 2014). The strongest such studies rely on large and well-documented modern skeletal collections that act as reference points for interpreting patterning in archaeological specimens. ...
Baikal seals (Pusa sibirica) are a unique freshwater pinniped that inhabits Lake Baikal in the interior of Eastern Siberia. These seals were critical resources for human groups living along the lake through at least the Holocene. This study develops osteometric methods for assessing Baikal seal body size, including body mass and nose-tail length. This was accomplished through the analysis of biometric and osteometric data for 354 modern Baikal seals. The resulting methods can be expediently used to estimate seal body mass and length. Using these methods, we explore seal use at Sagan-Zaba II, a habitation site on Lake Baikal with deposits spanning much of the past 9000 years. These analyses reveal a general preference for smaller-bodied seals, particularly during the Middle Holocene, and a paucity of larger individuals in the assemblage. Previous ageing of seal remains from Sagan-Zaba II based on incremental structures in seal canines suggested a very similar pattern of seal use. These methods provide useful insights on seal use that complement those already developed for estimating seal age and season of death.
... Sandstone slabs from the late Mesolithic (Ertebølle culture)/ early Neolithic (Funnelbeaker culture) site of Neustadt LA156 (Northern Germany) (Table 1, Fig. 1; 2) were chosen for this study due to the excellent preservation of the find material (Hartz, 2004). Thus, it allows for a high-resolution analysis that supplies information on subsistence and land use (Glykou, 2014;2016;2020;Klooß, 2011) including evidence for cooking (Courel et al., 2020;Craig et al., 2011;Heron et al., 2013) and thus provides sufficient background for a study on heating and fire use. Furthermore, reconstructions of fire technology and heating economy are most interesting for this time period due to the intensified land use strategies and a more sedentary lifeway at the transition from the Mesolithic to the Neolithic. ...
FTIR analyses were tested as reliable for the fast identification of heated sandstones from archaeological contexts and the differentiation of thermal activities. FTIR spectra of experimentally heated sandstone samples reveal distinctive peak changes depending on heating intensity. The method was applied to stone slabs from the late Mesolithic/ early Neolithic site of Neustadt LA 156 (Northern Germany), in order to reconstruct their individual functions in relation to fire and with this, hearth activities and hearth constructions. FTIR analyses prove different heat exposures of the individual stones that point to diverse functions in relation to fire and partly contradict assumptions from visual inspection. Most stones have been slightly to moderately heated, often from one side only, potentially taking advantage of the good heat capacity of sandstone. This case study for the identification of heated sandstones from archaeological contexts builds a basis for reconstructions of fire use, hearth constructions and thermal energy management in the late Mesolithic and early Neolithic, which played an important role in the intensified land use systems.
https://authors.elsevier.com/a/1giUa,rVDBfl1T
... In the Gulf of Riga, the probable season for harp seal and porpoise hunting is late summer to early autumn, when both species would have entered the gulf to feed on fish such as herring (Clupea harengus) and sprat (Sprattus sprattus) (Lõugas and Tomek 2013). Ringed and gray seals could also have been hunted on the ice in winter (Glykou 2014;Lepiksaar 1986;Lõugas and Tomek 2013, and references therein). ...
This article presents the first general treatment of the material from the 1954 and 1988–1989 excavations at the fourth millennium BC site of Siliņupe, examined within a broad framework of food and non-food resource use on the Baltic Sea’s Gulf of Riga coast, present-day Latvia. Located at the boundary of marine, freshwater, and terrestrial biotopes, the site offered a high abundance and diversity of wild food resources: marine and terrestrial mammals, birds, and fish. The aquatic environment of the gulf was enriched with nutrients from a wide drainage basin, ensuring very high biological productivity and a rich food chain, while also receiving marine water inflows that promoted the seasonal ingress of marine species. The spectrum of marine and freshwater resources would have permitted year-round habitation, while pottery vessels enabled food processing on a large scale, possibly for delayed consumption. Amber, collected from the beaches and made into jewelry on the site, circulated in an exchange network reaching far into the continental interior, where the major rivers flowing into the gulf served as traffic arteries. Conversely, flint brought from present-day southern Lithuania or Belarus provided the main lithic material for toolmaking.
... The different Baltic Sea phases were driven by deglaciation, isostatic rebound and climatic changes, and the Baltic Sea attained its current form some 8000 years ago (Andrén et al., 2011). Five marine mammal species have been recovered from the Baltic Sea zooarchaeological record, grey seal, harbour seal (Phoca vitulina), ringed seal (Pusa hispida), harp seal (Pagophilus groenlandicus) and harbour porpoise (Phocoena phocoena) (Glykou, 2014;Glykou et al., 2021;Olsen et al., 2010Olsen et al., , 2016Schmölcke, 2008;Sommer and Benecke, 2003;Sommer et al., 2008;Storå and Lõugas, 2005). Of these, the harp seal is now extirpated and the Baltic harbour porpoise and harbour seal are threatened species. ...
... The zoological finds at the site show a focus on the exploitation of marine resources, mainly seals and fish. The most common seal species found here is the harp seal, followed by the grey seal (Glykou, 2014;Glykou et al., 2021). According to the Minimum Number of Individuals, grey seals are represented by seven individuals. ...
... According to the Minimum Number of Individuals, grey seals are represented by seven individuals. Age determination show the presence of yearlings and adult grey seals (Glykou, 2014). ...
The grey seal ( Halichoerus grypus) has been part of the Baltic Sea fauna for more than 9000 years and has ever since been subjected to extensive human hunting, particularly during the early phases of its presence in the Baltic Sea, but also in the early 20th century. In order to study their temporal genetic structure and to investigate whether there has been a genetically continuous grey seal population in the Baltic, we generated mitochondrial control region data from skeletal remains from ancient grey seals from the archaeological sites Stora Förvar (Sweden) and Neustadt (Germany) and compared these with modern grey seal data. We found that the majority of the Mesolithic grey seals represent haplotypes that is not found in contemporary grey seals, indicating that the Baltic Sea population went extinct, likely due to human overexploitation and environmental change. We hypothesize that grey seals recolonised the Baltic Sea from the North Sea. during the Bronze Age or Iron Age, and that the contemporary Baltic grey seal population is direct descendants of this recolonisation. Our study highlights the power of biomolecular archaeology to understand the factors that shape contemporary marine diversity.
... Subadult as well as fully grown individuals are represented, but no newborn pups. The seals could have been approached when hauling out at sandbanks and killed with e.g., clubs (Møhl, 1970;Glykou, 2014). They may also have been harpooned while swimming (Andersen, 1997;Ukkonen, 2002). ...
The Rødhals kitchen midden was located on a tiny stretch of land 18 km from the nearest major landmass in present-day Denmark. It dates to the Mesolithic-Neolithic transition, roughly 4300 to 3700 cal BC. Its inhabitants practiced a remarkably broad-scale exploitation of marine resources spanning from the collecting of mollusks on the seashore , over open-sea fowling and deep-water angling to the killing of small whales. The sparse traces of terrestrial diet are mainly from cattle, sheep, pig and cereals dating to a late stage of the habitation. Strategic raw materials of bone and antler from large forest game were only occasionally imported from across the sea. In terms of artefact types and production modes, the material culture of Rødhals represents the ultimate stage of the local fisher-hunter-gatherer Ertebølle Culture and an initial stage of the farming-based Funnel Beaker Culture. The extreme marine adaptation seen at this site may reflect a historically extraordinary situation, where an indigenous population of foragers had lost major parts of its territory to immigrant farmers.
... There is now clear evidence of a breeding harp seal population in the Baltic Sea (Storå & Ericson 2004;Storå & Lõugas 2005). The oldest breeding ground was located in the south-western Baltic Sea, and is assumed to have existed not far from the Neustadt archaeological site, dated to between 4,400 and 3,800 cal BC (Glykou 2014(Glykou , 2016, but the species was present in the Baltic some time before that (Bennike et al. 2008;Glykou et al. 2021). The archaeological record shows that harp seals were hunted extensively during the late Mesolithic and Neolithic periods, until they seem to disappear at the end of the Neolithic period (Lõugas 1997;Storå & Ericson 2004;Storå & Lõugas 2005;. ...
This thesis aims to study the interactions of pre-agricultural societies in Scandinavia with wild mammals, for example in terms of hunting and translocation. More specifically, the aim is to investigate the possibility of identifying examples of overexploitation, targeted hunting or translocation of wild mammals in prehistoric Scandinavia, and to discuss the implications this could have had for both the wild animals and the humans. The thesis also studies translocation to evaluate the feasibility of using it as a proxy for prehistoric human mobility, and to understand the motivation for this action.
Although the focus is on the animals in this thesis, the ultimate purpose is to study humans and their interactions with animals in prehistory. The thesis applies genetic analyses to zooarchaeological material of various mammalian species from different Scandinavian sites, in order to study whether the genetic structures have changed in these species over time, and to assess whether these changes were induced by different human actions. The species studied in this thesis were selected on the basis of the importance they are considered to have had for prehistoric people.
The dissertation comprises five studies. The first study investigates the occurrence of mountain hares on the island of Gotland, and discusses how they got there and where they came from. The second study explores the temporal genetic structure of the grey seal in the Baltic Sea, and discusses whether humans and/or climate were the drivers for the sudden disappearance of grey seals from the island of Stora Karlsö. The third study concerns a shift where moose apparently became less important as prey in northern Sweden at the end of the Neolithic period, and discusses whether humans targeted female moose in hunting. The fourth study analyses and discusses the history of the harp seal in the Baltic Sea. The fifth study is a methodological paper which involves identifying seals according to sex, using the dog genome.
The overall result of the different case studies shows that there were major population fluctuations over time in all the species studied, and that in some cases, humans are likely to have contributed to this, e.g. through overhunting and translocation. The study also shows that the population fluctuations often occurred in connection with certain climatic events, though it was not possible to separate climatic effects from human impact in terms of the cause.
... Sex ratios in zooarchaeological assemblages do not necessarily reflect the sex ratio of the ancient populations themselves, but could also reflect various ecological and anthropological parameters. These could include the extent of seasonal and regional prey availability or accessibility, the specific ecology and breeding patterns of the prey, the cultural context, hunting methods and subsistence of human hunters (Grønnow et al., 1983;Gotfredsen and Møbjerg 2004;Glykou, 2014). For human hunters with a relatively opportunistic subsistence strategy, the sex ratios of the hunted prey are likely to be fairly representative of wild populations (Rivals et al., 2004). ...
... Hunting during the breeding season may also have allowed pups to be caught alongside females together, as suggested for the hunter-gatherers who exploited breeding colonies of harp seals in the Baltic Sea during the Mesolithic. However, this pattern would not be expected to be the case for harp seals outside the breeding areas or season (Glykou, 2014). In this study, we found close to an equal proportion of males and females for grey seal and harp seal zooarchaeological samples, suggesting an opportunistic hunting strategy. ...
Determining the proportion of males and females in zooarchaeological assemblages can be used to reconstruct the diversity and severity of past anthropogenic impacts on animal populations, and can also provide valuable biological insights into past animal life-histories, behaviour and demography, including the effects of environmental change. However, such inferences have often not been possible due to the fragmented nature of the zooarchaeological record and a lack of clear diagnostic skeletal markers. In this study, we test whether the dog (Canis lupus familiaris) nuclear genome is suitable for genetic sex identification in pinnipeds. We initially tested 72 contemporary ringed seal (Pusa hispida) genomes with known sex, using the proportion of X chromosome DNA reads to chromosome 1 DNA reads (i.e. chrX/chr1-ratio) to distinguish males from females. This method was found to be highly reliable, with the ratios clustering in two clearly distinguishable sex groups, allowing 69 of the 72 individuals to be correctly identified according to sex. Secondly, to determine the lower limit of DNA reads required for this method, a subset of the ringed seal genome data was randomly down-sampled. We found a lower threshold of as few as 5000 mapped DNA sequence reads required for reliable sex identification. Finally, applying this standard, sex identification was successfully carried out on a broad set of ancient pinniped samples, including walruses (Odobenus rosmarus), grey seals (Halichoerus grypus) and harp seals (Pagophilus groenlandicus). All three species showed clearly distinct male and female chrX/chr1 ratio groups, providing sex identification of 42–98% of the samples, depending on species and sample quality. The approach described in this study should aid in untangling the putative effects of human activities and environmental change on populations of pinnipeds and other animal species.
... The harp seal (Pagophilus groenlandicus, Erxleben 1777), today a subarctic species with breeding populations in the White Sea, the Jan Mayen Islands and around Newfoundland, was a common pinniped species in the Baltic Sea during prehistory and is now extinct. The species is the most common seal in refuse faunas from coastal hunter-gatherer sites dating from the late Atlantic to the early Subboreal climatic period ( Fig. 1; c. 4000-2000 cal BC) (Glykou, 2014(Glykou, , 2016Lõugas, 1997aLõugas, , 1997bSchm€ olcke, 2008;Storå, 2001a;Storå and Lõugas, 2005;Ukkonen et al., 2014). However, their presence in the Baltic Sea during the late Atlantic climatic period has been long debated, as it coincides with a warm phase of the Holocene, the so called Holocene Thermal Maximum (HTM) (Ekman, 1922;Lepiksaar, 1964;Lõugas, 1998;Møhl, 1971). ...
... However, harp seals appear in those assemblages in extremely low numbers, and there is no evidence of pups younger than 3 months which would indicate local breeding. The earliest evidence for a breeding ground of harp seals in the Baltic Sea derive from the faunal assemblage of Neustadt LA 156, a Late Mesolithic-Early Neolithic site in Germany at the Southwestern Baltic Sea which dates between 4400 and 3800 cal BC (Glykou, 2013(Glykou, , 2014(Glykou, , 2016. It is puzzling that this coincides in time with the warmest phase of the HTM, and it is therefore crucial to radiocarbon date the harp seal bones to clarify the exact dating of the oldest breeding colony. ...
... 2), situated at the Southwestern Baltic Sea in Northern Germany. The site represents the oldest evidence of an extensive exploitation of harp seals in the Baltic Sea and is linked to the presence of a harp seal breeding population close to the site (Glykou, 2013(Glykou, , 2014(Glykou, , 2016. According to a series of radiocarbon dates the site was used from 4400 to 3800 cal BC, i.e. during the Late Mesolithic Ertebølle culture and the Earliest Neolithic Funnel Beaker culture (Glykou, 2016). ...
The harp seal (Pagophilus groenlandicus), today a subarctic species with breeding populations in the White Sea, around the Jan Mayen Islands and Newfoundland, was a common pinniped species in the Baltic Sea during the mid-and late Holocene. It is puzzling how an ice dependent species could breed in the Baltic Sea during the Holocene Thermal Maximum (HTM), and it remains unclear for how long harp seals bred in the Baltic Sea and when the population became extirpated. We combined radiocarbon dating of harp seal bones with zooarchaeological, palaeoenvironmental and stable isotope data to reconstruct the harp seal occurrence in the Baltic Sea. Our study revealed two phases of harp seal presence and verifies that the first colonization and establishment of a local breeding population occurred within the HTM. We suggest that periods with very warm summers but cold winters allowed harp seals to breed on the ice. Human pressure, salinity fluctuations with consequent changes in prey availability and competition for food resources, mainly cod, resulted in physiological stress that ultimately led to a population decline and local extirpation during the first phase. The population reappeared after a long hiatus. Final extinction of the Baltic Sea harp seal coincided with the Medieval Warm Period. Our data provide insights for the first time on the combined effects of past climatic and environmental change and human pressure on seal populations and can contribute with new knowledge on ongoing discussions concerning the impacts of such effects on current arctic seal populations.
