Forskningsemne
Arctic

Forhistorisk skalldyrbruk i Finnmark -- Prehistoric Use of Shellfish in Finnmark

Deltaker(e):
Bryan Hood

Several Stone Age sites in Finnmark are known for their small shell midden deposits. These middens contain well preserved bone and antler tools and large quantities of animal bones, both of which have been the subject of research. On the other hand, the shells have been largely ignored-- indeed, very little of the material excavated since the 1970s has even been identified to shellfish species. It is clear, however, that most of the material consists of shells from two species: Arctic islandica (kuskjell) and Littorina littorea (strandsnegl).

Littorina littorea

Arctica islandica

This under-appreciated resource can be used to address the following problem areas:

1) The role of shellfish in household economies

2) Studies of Littorina littorea growth layer sequences to determine site seasonality. I am currently collecting modern control samples to monitor growth patterns. A petrographic-style thin-sectioning technique is used to observe growth microstructures.

3) Studies of Arctica islandica growth-layer sequences using sclerochronology techniques (mollusc "dendrochronology") may permit an estimation of midden accumulation rates and thereby, indirectly, house longevity. In principle, it may also be possible to evaluate house contemporaneity.

4) Analysis of the oxygen isotope content of the shells may provide paleoenvironmental data on changes in sea-surface temperatures that can be compared with high-resolution data on terrestrial climate (dendroclimatology, speleothem 18-O isotopes).