Dear all,
More on sharks!
When I get around to looking at the use of marine animals in different
bits of medieval Europe (including Britain) next year I should have some
more info for you Jen (hopefully not too late), but in the meantime
something on fossil sharks' teeth to keep the thread alive. A paper in
Melita Historica (1978, 7, 3, 211-224) entitled 'Handbills extolling the
virtues of fossil shark's teeth' can be found in pdf format here:
http://www.xs4all.nl/~nizaar/Melita%20Historica/MH.07.03/Handbills%20extolling%20the%20Virtues%20of%20Fossil%20Sharks%20Teeth.pdf
When St Paul converted the inhabitants of Malta to Christianity, he also
deprived all local snakes of their poison, and infused local rocks and
their 'products' (such as fossil sharks' teeth, aka "St Paul's tongues)
with protective and curative powers against poisoning.
So goes the story extolled by a range of late medieval/early modern
sources. In order to take advantage of these powers, one could hang the
tongues from the arms or neck, or drink liquids in which the tongues
(and other products such as 'eyes') had been infused. An interesting
example can be found in the Schatzkammer des Deutschen Ordens in Vienna.
This is called a 'Natternzungenkredenz' - an ornamental salt cellar
consisting of a red coral twig standing in a hexagonal vessel with an
open top, from which are suspended 13 fossil sharks' teeth, 2 rubies and
2 sapphires. The object appears in the inventory of the Teutonic Order
in 1526 but the base has been dated to c. 1400 of West German or
Burgundian origin, and the various mounts to the 15th, 16th and 19th
centuries; the teeth vary in shape and size, and three of them are very
white (a result of the fossilisation process?). Other examples of late
medieval artefacts incorporating sharks' teeth can be found in the
Vienna Kunsthistorische Museum (dated to the 15th century, for a couple
of images see http://www.kunstkammer.at/nattern.htm) and in Dresden
(dated to the early 16th century). Presumably there was a perceived
difference between 'real' sharks' teeth and fossilised sharks' teeth?
And aside from Malta, are there any other 'sources' of fossil sharks'
teeth in Europe?
Best from here,
Aleks
---------------------------------
Research Fellow:
Clare College
Trinity Lane,
Cambridge CB2 1TL
Affiliated to:
Department of Archaeology
University of Cambridge
Downing Street
Cambridge CB2 3DZ
UK
Clare College,
Cambridge
Email: [log in to unmask]
Web: www.beasts-in-the-woods.org
Thomas H. McGovern wrote:
> Dear Folks
>
> Below you will see a query just in from Gavin Lucas (Archaeological
> Inst. Iceland) on identification of bird feathers, including those
> made into writing quills. The source is the bishop’s manor at Skalholt
> in S Iceland, now under excavation. The layers are so far mainly 18th
> c , and relate to the famous school run there until its destruction in
> the great earthquake and eruptions of the 1780’s. Our lot are doing
> the bones (and finding lots of cattle, some of whom seem suspiciously
> large (contemporary Icelandic cows are still Viking-Medieval size, ca
> 100-110 cm reconstructed withers hts). Anyone who does feathers and
> would like some material from the site please contact us or Gavin
> directly.
>
> Also, just to keep the shark theme going a bit longer, we do have
> teeth of the Greenland shark (S. microceph.) from the 18th c site of
> Finnbogastaðir in NW Iceland. These are in deposits associated with a
> farm known to have been involved in an extensive basking shark fishery
> (aimed at the liver oil). Only two teeth out of a collection of 6500
> NISP ( 4 mm and 1 mm mesh sieve, mainly fish), which suggests that we
> are mostly missing our sharks locally.
>
> Great thread!
>
> Best
>
> Tom
>
> Thomas H McGovern
>
> Professor,
>
> Dept of Anthropology Hunter College CUNY
>
> Archaeology Coordinator,
>
> CUNY Doctoral Program in Anthropology
>
> Coordinator, North Atlantic Biocultural Organization
>
> Address:
>
> Anthropology Dept.
>
> Hunter College
>
> 695 Park Ave. NYC 10021 USA
>
> tel. 212 772 5410 fax. 212 772 5423
>
> [log in to unmask]
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Gavin Lucas [mailto:[log in to unmask]]
> Sent: Thursday, April 01, 2004 12:16 PM
> To: Thomas H. McGovern
> Subject: query
>
> Dear Tom,
>
> Just a quick query - we have quite a lot of quills (pens) and a few
> feathers from Skalholt, and I was wondering if or how they could be
> identified (to bird species) - and therefore perhaps whether they are
> home made or imported. When you get the chance, look forward to
> hearing from you,
>
> Gav
>
> Dr Gavin Lucas
> Fornleifastofnun Íslands
> Barugötu 3
> 101 Reykjavík
> Iceland
>
> [log in to unmask] <mailto:[log in to unmask]>
>
>
> Please note that this e-mail and its attachments
> are intended for the named addressee only and may
> contain information that is confidential and privileged.
> Further information:
> http://raduneyti.is/interpro/stjr/stjr.nsf/pages/postur
>
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