Shellfish Exploitation in the Western Canary Islands Over the Last Two Millennia

ABSTRACT

The residents of the Canary Archipelago consumed limpets since the arrival of humans ～2500 yrs. ago, and these harvested gastropods were deposited in large coastal shell middens. This work preliminarily explores shell margin oxygen isotope composition (δ¹⁸O) and body size of the black limpet (Patella candei d’Orbigny, 1840) from archaeological sites in the Canary Islands to assess possible seasonal variability and intensity of shellfish collection throughout the late Holocene. The shell margin δ¹⁸O values of 100 shells (radiocarbon dated between ～500 and ～1800 cal. yr BP) were analysed to estimate sea surface temperature (SST) at time of death. Paleotemperature estimates suggest shellfish harvesting was not year-round, and was avoided in the cooler months (when SST?<?20°C). This pattern differs from most higher latitude Mesolithic and Neolithic human groups, which gathered shellfish year-round, targeting winter more heavily. Preliminary body-size measurements suggest shell sizes have experienced a decline from aboriginal times to the present, which possibly resulted from increasing anthropogenic pressures. During aboriginal inhabitation, maximum adult shell size remained stable, suggesting that present-day harvesting practices are more intense than harvesting from aboriginal human groups. This intensive collection has likely diminished the average adult size of limpet populations in the islands by ～27%.     

The Emirate of Córdoba (756–929 AD) and the introduction of the Egyptian mongoose (Herpestes ichneumon) in Iberia: the remains from Muge,Portugal

We describe new finds of Herpestes ichneumon (Egyptian mongoose) from an archaeological context in Portugal, directly ¹⁴C dated to c. 800 AD. This is at least two centuries older than a previously reported find of this species from Andalusia (southern Spain; Riquelme-Cantal et al., 2008). Our finding provides further support to the hypothesis that the Muslims introduced this animal to the Iberian Peninsula. In particular, we suggest that Berber settlers might have brought it some time during the Umayyad conquest of Iberia or with the establishment of the Emirate of Córdoba.