Fish for the city: Meta-analysis of archaeological cod remains and the growth of London's northern trade

TY - JOUR

T1 - Fish for the city

T2 - Meta-analysis of archaeological cod remains and the growth of London's northern trade

AU - Orton, David C.

AU - Morris, James

AU - Locker, Alison

AU - Barrett, James H.

N1 - © Antiquity Publications Ltd. This content is made available by the publisher under a Creative Commons CC-BY Licence

PY - 2014/6

Y1 - 2014/6

N2 - The growth of medieval cities in Northern Europe placed new demands on food supply, and led to the import of fish from increasingly distant fishing grounds. Quantitative analysis of cod remains from London provides revealing insight into the changing patterns of supply that can be related to known historical events and circumstances. In particular it identifies a marked increase in imported cod from the thirteenth century AD. That trend continued into the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, after a short downturn, perhaps attributable to the impact of the Black Death, in the mid fourteenth century. The detailed pattern of fluctuating abundance illustrates the potential of archaeological information that is now available from the high-quality urban excavations conducted in London and similar centres during recent decades.

AB - The growth of medieval cities in Northern Europe placed new demands on food supply, and led to the import of fish from increasingly distant fishing grounds. Quantitative analysis of cod remains from London provides revealing insight into the changing patterns of supply that can be related to known historical events and circumstances. In particular it identifies a marked increase in imported cod from the thirteenth century AD. That trend continued into the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, after a short downturn, perhaps attributable to the impact of the Black Death, in the mid fourteenth century. The detailed pattern of fluctuating abundance illustrates the potential of archaeological information that is now available from the high-quality urban excavations conducted in London and similar centres during recent decades.

KW - Cod

KW - Fish Event Horizon

KW - London

KW - Marine fisheries

KW - Medieval trade

KW - Meta-analysis

KW - Stable isotopes

KW - Zooarchaeology

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84902174251&partnerID=8YFLogxK

U2 - 10.1017/S0003598X00101152

DO - 10.1017/S0003598X00101152

M3 - Article

AN - SCOPUS:84902174251

SN - 0003-598X

VL - 88

SP - 516

EP - 530

JO - Antiquity

JF - Antiquity

IS - 340

ER -