TY - JOUR
T1 - Ancient DNA evidence for the ecological globalization of cod fishing in medieval and post-medieval Europe
AU - Martínez-García, Lourdes
AU - Ferrari, Giada
AU - Cuevas, Angélica
AU - Atmore, Lane M.
AU - López-Arias, Begoña
AU - Culling, Mark
AU - Llorente-Rodríguez, Laura
AU - Morales-Muñiz, Arturo
AU - Roselló-Izquierdo, Eufrasia
AU - Quirós, Juan Antonio
AU - Marlasca-Martín, Ricard
AU - Hänfling, Bernd
AU - Hutchinson, William F.
AU - Jakobsen, Kjetill S.
AU - Jentoft, Sissel
AU - Orton, David
AU - Star, Bastiaan
AU - Barrett, James H.
PY - 2022/10/26
Y1 - 2022/10/26
N2 - Understanding the historical emergence and growth of long-range fisheries can provide fundamental insights into the timing of ecological impacts and the development of coastal communities during the last millennium. Whole-genome sequencing approaches can improve such understanding by determining the origin of archaeological fish specimens that may have been obtained from historic trade or distant water. Here, we used genome-wide data to individually infer the biological source of 37 ancient Atlantic cod specimens (ca 1050-1950 CE) from England and Spain. Our findings provide novel genetic evidence that eleventh- to twelfth-century specimens from London were predominantly obtained from nearby populations, while thirteenth- to fourteenth-century specimens were derived from distant sources. Our results further suggest that Icelandic cod was indeed exported to London earlier than previously reported. Our observations confirm the chronology and geography of the trans-Atlantic cod trade from Newfoundland to Spain starting by the early sixteenth century. Our findings demonstrate the utility of whole-genome sequencing and ancient DNA approaches to describe the globalization of marine fisheries and increase our understanding regarding the extent of the North Atlantic fish trade and long-range fisheries in medieval and early modern times.
AB - Understanding the historical emergence and growth of long-range fisheries can provide fundamental insights into the timing of ecological impacts and the development of coastal communities during the last millennium. Whole-genome sequencing approaches can improve such understanding by determining the origin of archaeological fish specimens that may have been obtained from historic trade or distant water. Here, we used genome-wide data to individually infer the biological source of 37 ancient Atlantic cod specimens (ca 1050-1950 CE) from England and Spain. Our findings provide novel genetic evidence that eleventh- to twelfth-century specimens from London were predominantly obtained from nearby populations, while thirteenth- to fourteenth-century specimens were derived from distant sources. Our results further suggest that Icelandic cod was indeed exported to London earlier than previously reported. Our observations confirm the chronology and geography of the trans-Atlantic cod trade from Newfoundland to Spain starting by the early sixteenth century. Our findings demonstrate the utility of whole-genome sequencing and ancient DNA approaches to describe the globalization of marine fisheries and increase our understanding regarding the extent of the North Atlantic fish trade and long-range fisheries in medieval and early modern times.
KW - biological source
KW - cod trade
KW - genomics
KW - historical ecology
KW - marine fisheries
KW - zooarchaeology
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85140154692&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1098/rspb.2022.1107
DO - 10.1098/rspb.2022.1107
M3 - Article
C2 - 36259206
AN - SCOPUS:85140154692
SN - 0962-8452
VL - 289
JO - Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences
JF - Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences
IS - 1985
M1 - 20221107
ER -