1: The most basic level involves collecting specimens for
comparative collections in various laboratories, and macerating these, and cataloguing items for display or
boxed storage, ultimately to be used in identifying archaeological remains.
Research in Archaeozoology is mainly focussed on projects relating to faunal analysis. Projects are formulated at various levels of research.
1: The most basic level involves collecting specimens for
comparative collections in various laboratories, and macerating these, and cataloguing items for display or
boxed storage, ultimately to be used in identifying archaeological remains.
2: At the next level up, multiple specimens (100 - 200 specimens) are collected and
measured for size and weight reconstruction using archaeological bones and regression
techniques. This is very time consuming research, and at most only two or three species are processed
per year.
3: When the basic osteology and allometry of a species has been fully studied it is
usual to embark on a pilot research project examining that species from one or more
archaeological sites in the Pacific or New Zealand. Since a special focus in New Zealand
concerns prehistoric fishing, this step usually involves studying a large assemblage
of one species to examine changes through time in size-frequency diagrams, to assess human impact on
marine resources.
4: Coupled with this ongoing basic research on comparative material, studies are always
underway on specific assemblages of faunal remains from archaeological sites. Some
of those currently being worked on are listed below.
5: Finally, various projects are formulated from time to time on issues relating to
human diet and economy.
Any inquiries about these projects should be directed to Foss.Leach@xtra.co.nz
In the Pacific Islands, fishing with a baited hook and line for demersal species is particularly dominant in Polynesia, and museums around the world display collections gathered in this region from the 18th century to the present day. They are made of a rich variety of materials, such as shell and bone, and some are exquistely made, qualifying as works of art. Such superb specimens were not intended for catching fish, but served as amulets or magico-religious objects.
However, the boundary line between amulet and functional fish- hook is not at all clear. Indeed, many hooks, including those which by their very abundance must have been functional, are shaped in a manner which makes it very difficult to imagine could ever be effective in catching a fish. In this respect, one especially notable characteristic is the narrow gap between fish- hook point and leg on one-piece rotating hooks with incurved point.
A project is underway examining the functional characteristics of such hooks. Replicas are being made of bone and shell hooks from an archaeological site in Palliser Bay (New Zealand), occupied in the 13th century. The faunal remains were studied some years ago, and quality information is available of the relative abundance of fish species taken by this prehistoric community.
The replica hooks are baited in various ways and observed underwater while attempting to catch various fish species. Several Large acquaria are being used, after being stocked with fish. Previous studies on hook selectivity in Norway and Japan suggest that open water studies are more effective than those carried out in an acquarium, and open water research is also part of this project. Two scuba divers are located beside a concrete mooring, which, with a pulley system is used for lowering the baited hooks to the sea bed from the surface. Burley is used to attract fish to the vicinity, and records are made as to how each species attacks the bait, and caught by the hook. Underwater video is also used. The first part of this project will be completed by July 1996.
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Gretta Burnside carried out research on faunal remains from the site of Fa'ahia on the island of Huahine in the Society Islands. There have been two large excavations on this site which is spread over two land districts, known as Vaito'otia and Fa'ahia. Much of the site is waterlogged, and important wooden artefacts have been recovered, including patu hand clubs, parts of canoes, and adze helves. The faunal material from the first excavation was studied by Leach et al. (1984). The faunal material from the second excavation has not been studied before, and was the focus of recent work in the Laboratory. A paper is in preparation reporting the findings. We have found notable differences between the faunal assemblages recovered during the two series of excavations.
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Leach, B.F., Intoh,M. and Smith,I.W.G. 1984. Fishing, turtle hunting, and mammal exploitation at Fa'ahia, Huahine, French Polynesia. Journal de la Societe des Oceanistes 40(79):183-197.
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Excavations in the Chatham Islands, carried out between 1972-1977
produced several large assemblages of faunal material of which
fish bone is an important component. The most abundant species is
blue cod (Parapercis colias), with smaller quantities of
greenbone (Odax pullus) and several species of labrids (Labridae
family). These assemblages have been studied by Sutton, and he
established the relative MNI abundances for the sites as follows
(Sutton, 1989 :120-121):
| Waihora | = | C240/283 |
|---|---|---|
| CHB | = | C240/680 |
| CHA | = | C240/681 |
| Pokiakio | = | C240/266 |
| Ohinimamao | = | C240/273 |
| Te Ngaio | = | C240/277 |
| Species | C240/283 | C240/680 | C240/681 | C240/266 | C240/273 | C240/277 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Blue cod | 1763 | 3066 | 602 | 1 | 2 | - |
| Butterfish | 1195 | 1288 | 147 | - | - | - |
| Labridae | 801 | 242 | 89 | - | 1 | 1 |
| Tarakihi | 73 | 183 | 21 | - | 1 | 1 |
| Moki | 68 | 22 | 9 | - | - | - |
| Black cod | 67 | 116 | 14 | - | - | - |
| Red cod | 60 | 5 | - | - | - | - |
| Barracouta | 39 | - | - | - | - | - |
| Ghost shark | 35 | - | - | - | - | - |
| Freshwater eel | 14 | 4 | 1 | - | - | - |
| Rough skate | 14 | - | - | - | - | - |
| Conger eel | 11 | 16 | - | - | - | - |
| Elephant fish | 11 | - | - | - | - | - |
| Mackerel | 9 | - | - | - | - | - |
| Hupuka | 8 | 2 | 1 | - | - | - |
| Ling | 8 | 4 | - | 1 | 1 | - |
| Latherjacket | 6 | 30 | - | - | - | - |
| Trumpeter | 6 | - | - | - | - | - |
| Sea perch | 3 | - | - | - | - | - |
| Dogfish | 3 | - | - | - | - | - |
| Marblefish | 2 | - | - | - | - | - |
| Gurnard | 1 | - | - | - | - | - |
| Totals | 4197 | 4978 | 884 | 2 | 5 | 2 |
The Waihora site produced a blue cod MNI of 1763 in the earlier study, and the re-analysis has yielded 8029 bone measurements for this species. The background work on regression relationships has not yet been finished, but when it is completed it will help to furnish some very useful information on prehistoric fish catches on this island.
References Cited
Leach, B.F. and Boocock, A. 1993. Prehistoric Fish Catches in New Zealand. British Archaeological Reports, International Series 584. 303 pp.
Sutton, D.G. 1989. Moriori fishing: Intensive exploitation of the inshore zone. pp 116-131 In: Sutton, D.G. (ed.) Saying so doesn't make it so: Papers in Honour of B.Foss Leach. New Zealand Archaeological Association Monograph 17.
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The New Zealand blue cod (Parapercis colias) is a demersal species which is very common in broken ground around New Zealand, increasingly common in more southern colder waters. A good sized specimen is 40 cm in length and has delicate white flesh. It is an important commercial species, with a large mouth and readily takes a baited hook. The species was of some importance to prehistoric Maori, attested by their presence in middens. A project is underway, studying the allometric relationship between bone size and fork length and body weight, to permit size and weight reconstruction of archaeological specimens. Most specimens for the comparative collection have been collected in the Marlborough Sounds, augmented by donations from MAF staff from Stewart Island where MAF is carrying out a study on the local blue cod population.
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The New Zealand barracouta (Thyrsityes atun) is a pelagic predator which is more common in southern New Zealand waters. It was a very important species for southern Maori in the pre-European period. A project is underway, studying the allometric relationship between bone size and fork length and body weight, to permit size and weight reconstruction of archaeological specimens. Specimens for the comparative collection have been collected from the Wellington area, and south of Stewart Island. Twenty four measurements were taken on 278 modern specimens. Regression analysis permits archaeological specimens to be estimated to +- 46 mm fork length and +- 390 g ungutted body weight.
In addition, archaeological bones are being studied from several sites. One which has now been completed is at Long Beach, near Dunedin, where 15,558 bone measurements were taken on barracouta with an MNI of 4,505. The mean fork length was 795 mm (SD=51), and mean body weight was 2347 g. The barracouta catch at Long Beach represents a useable meat weight of 7.4 metric tonnes.
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Press here if you want to see a graph of the size frequency distribution for barracouta at the Long Beach archaeological site.
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