Hi Colin,
I've studied fish butchery in Viking Age and medieval Scottish sites
which might provide some useful parallels. A few references are pasted
below. These observations may be a little obvious, but the cuts I've
seen on bones of the mouth (dentary, premaxilla, maxilla, palatine)
often look like the product of hook removal - or sometimes if cut from
the ventral aspect, tongue removal as you suggest. Cuts on the
posttemporal and supracleithra are typically from decapitation. Which of
the two is likely to be cut depends on how far forward the knife is
held.
In broader terms, I've seen both remarkable intra-site consistency and
marked inter-site variability in butchery pattern. At Robert's Haven (in
Caithness, Scotland) for example, identical (right-handed) butchery
practices are evident from the 11th to 14th centuries. It's a classic
'klipfisk' style pattern, which also shows up at Earl's Bu (in Orkney)
which Jen Harland is working on. Conversely, there is a completely
different pattern, involving clipping the ventral tips of cod cleithra,
in what may be an early Viking Age fish drying hut elsewhere in Orkney
(the Knowe of Skea). Certainly there are definable traditions visible.
Whether these represent familial, temporal or ethnic patterns is an open
question.
All the best,
James
www.fishlab.org
References:
Barrett, J. H. 1997. Fish trade in Norse Orkney and Caithness: A
zooarchaeological approach. Antiquity 71:616-638.
Barrett, J. H., R. A. Nicholson, and R. Cerón-Carrasco. 1999.
Archaeo-ichthyological evidence for long-term socioeconomic trends in
northern Scotland: 3500 BC to AD 1500. Journal of Archaeological Science
26:353-388.
There is also more detail on the Robert's Haven butchery (perhaps more
than you would like!) in:
Barrett, J. H. 1995. "Few know an earl in fishing-clothes." Fish middens
and the economy of the Viking Age and Late Norse earldoms of Orkney and
Caithness, northern Scotland. Ph.D., University of Glasgow.
-----Original Message-----
From: Analysis of animal remains from archaeological sites
[mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Colin P. Amundsen
Sent: 11 November 2004 13:52
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: [ZOOARCH] Fish butchery from the far north.
Hi All,
I have some interesting butchery marks coming out of a late
medieval/early modern site from northern Norway. There are two phases
where two separate butchery patterns appear exclusively on cod (Gadus
morhua). I’ll do my best to describe them to you. In the earliest
phase I am finding cut marks only on the supracleithrum. These are
sometimes in pairs, but for the most part these are single cut marks. I
have been describing these as “whittle marks” because they resemble the
first cut one might make when they are about to whittle a piece of wood
(if this makes sense). The second phase I am finding something entirely
different. Here I am finding slicing of several bone elements. (In this
context slicing refers to the bone being cut all the way through).
Specifically the dentary, premaxilla, maxilla, subopercle, palatine,
posttemporal and ribs all have what is best described as an angled slice
(ca. 45 degrees). (In terms of the lateral skull bones this might be
possible tongue extraction, but the slicing of the other bones is a
mystery.).
I’m curious if anyone has ever come across anything like the above
patterns? The latter pattern is quite intriguing and has created some
interesting discussion up here as far as a possible indicator of
ethnicity.
I apologize if my descriptions are not the best, but for those who are
interested I would be happy to send you images.
Best, Colin
-- Colin P. AmundsenAnthropology, City University of New York (Ph.D.
program)c\o Tromsø University, Institute of Archaeology Tromsø 9037
Norway
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