Fishing together, fishing on its own: fish exploitation patterns at the Neolithic Alepotrypa cave (Diros, Greece) and Aegean prehistoric fishing traditions in perspective

AbstractVarious marine animal assemblages from prehistoric contexts across the Mediterranean suggest a focus on the exploitation of marine resources by coastal populations as early as the Mesolithic. Along with the harvesting of near shore coastal resources (fish and invertebrates), a more organised fishing activity that targeted pelagic species, traditionally considered migratory, is evident in several Mesolithic assemblages. With the advent of the Neolithic, marine ‐related subsistence activities seem to be gradually restricted to the exploitation of coastal year‐round resources. The cave of Alepotrypa in the Peloponnese, Greece, provides an opportunity to ascertain the exploitation practices of a coastal Late/Final Neolithic community in which a combinati on of fishing strategies and a diversified connection to the sea were apparent. The abundant shell assemblage demonstrates the importance of molluscs for consumption, as well as the various uses of their shell. This paper focuses on the fish remains from the cave, which are rather sparse for this pe riod in the Aegean. The study of the fish assemblage highlights the exploitation of pelagic fish species as well as the harvesting of a wide range of coastal fish species. A shift from pelagic to coastal resources and an intensification of fishing is also observed from the Late to Final Neolithic. T hese trends are discussed in the perspective of social organisation and technological adaptations, with an emphasis on the en...

Source: International Journal of Osteoarchaeology - June 26, 2019 Category: Science Authors: Tatiana Theodoropoulou Tags: SPECIAL ISSUE PAPER Source Type: research