Dear Dr Wigen: I personally am interested in
any references with a method of recovery included elsewhere in the same report,
from anywhere in the world. I have a vague memeory of fragmentary urchins
from a Phoenecian colony in Spain (Cadiz, perhaps?) which I would like help in
tracking down. There are also some whispers of urchins in Jomon mounds, so
help from researchers working in or around Japanese material would also be
great.
Species/wieghts reports are fine for now, and
likely to be all there is in most cases. Since urchin tests are not
solid but made up of plates, they fragment into pieces typically less than
6mm (1/4 inch). Since there has been little chance
of identifying such fragments reliably, or using them to
reconstruct urchin sizes, until now, weight and species data would be all
that could be in the literature. Species i.d. may be questionable,
since it may be based on direct analogy with modern species in the
vicinity, and it is often impossible to get to species within a genus; genera
and species within genera have different sea temperature tolerances, so the
ranges of species will not be the same through a given
interglacial stage. This is the case in the North Atlantic.
I am especially interested in the Pacific
northwest; there is a sequence of different dominant urchins as one proceeds
southwards from Alaska to warmer waters, but these overlap in southern BC and
Washington state and are mostly species in a single genus,
Stronglyocentrotus. My 'next big thing' is to refine my method to get to
species within this genus, so fine-sieved material from along this coast (and
help from a friendly local marine biologist) would be hugely
helpful.
The eminent professor of sea urchinology would
probably prefer a more general summary text, and similar ethnography. But
for me, any info will be gratefully received.
----- Original Message -----
Sent: Monday, July 25, 2005 4:27 PM
Subject: Re: [ZOOARCH] sea urchin
references
Hi Greg
Are you interested in NW coast
information? There is ethnographic info as well as some archaeological
information. The archaeological information is pretty much just weight
and species data.
Becky Wigen
Senior Lab Instructor,
Dept. of
Anthropology,
University of Victoria
Victoria, BC Canada
----- Original Message -----
Sent: Monday, July 25, 2005 7:40
AM
Subject: [ZOOARCH] sea urchin
references
Dear Zooarchers: A couple of years ago I
posted a request for some info on sea urchin remains in archaeology, having
been landed with a sackful by an Oxford professor from his Breton site who
expected me to know all about them because they were shells... Many of you
were kind enough to offer suggestions and lines of inquiry. The
problem of minimum numbers of individuals, size range collected, species
identification, and point on the shore exploited were all solved even though
the tests were all very fragmentary. Results coming out soon.
Must sieve to at least 2mm to get results that will allow size
reconstruction and hence shore position!
Now one of the great men of sea urchin studies
has asked for info about sea urchins used for food (tests and not
just loose spines), and I would dearly appreciate any published references
or forthcoming results for my own uses. Prehistoric especially, but I
seem to remember some remains from dark age Scottish Isles.
Many thanks.
Greg
Campbell
