Interpreting the expansion of sea fishing in medieval Europe using stable isotope analysis of archaeological cod bones

James H. Barrett; David Orton; Cluny Johnstone; Jennifer Harland; Wim Van Neer; Anton Ervynck; Callum Roberts; Alison Locker; Colin Amundsen; Inge Bødker Enghoff; Sheila Hamilton-Dyer; Dirk Heinrich; Anne Karin Hufthammer; Andrew K G Jones; Leif Jonsson; Daniel Makowiecki; Peter Pope; Tamsin C. O'Connell; Tessa de Roo; Michael Richards

doi:10.1016/j.jas.2011.02.017

Interpreting the expansion of sea fishing in medieval Europe using stable isotope analysis of archaeological cod bones

James H. Barrett^*, David Orton, Cluny Johnstone, Jennifer Harland, Wim Van Neer, Anton Ervynck, Callum Roberts, Alison Locker, Colin Amundsen, Inge Bødker Enghoff, Sheila Hamilton-Dyer, Dirk Heinrich, Anne Karin Hufthammer, Andrew K G Jones, Leif Jonsson, Daniel Makowiecki, Peter Pope, Tamsin C. O'Connell, Tessa de Roo, Michael Richards

^*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

Abstract

Archaeological fish bones reveal increases in marine fish utilisation in Northern and Western Europe beginning in the 10th and 11th centuries AD. We use stable isotope signatures from 300 archaeological cod (Gadus morhua) bones to determine whether this sea fishing revolution resulted from increased local fishing or the introduction of preserved fish transported from distant waters such as Arctic Norway, Iceland and/or the Northern Isles of Scotland (Orkney and Shetland). Results from 12 settlements in England and Flanders (Belgium) indicate that catches were initially local. Between the 9th and 12th centuries most bones represented fish from the southern North Sea. Conversely, by the 13th to 14th centuries demand was increasingly met through long distance transport - signalling the onset of the globalisation of commercial fisheries and suggesting that cities such as London quickly outgrew the capacity of local fish supplies.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	1516-1524
Number of pages	9
Journal	Journal of archaeological science
Volume	38
Issue number	7
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jas.2011.02.017
Publication status	Published - 1 Jul 2011

Keywords

Cod
Economic intensification
Middle ages
Stable isotopes
Trade
Urbanism

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10.1016/j.jas.2011.02.017

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Barrett, J. H., Orton, D., Johnstone, C., Harland, J., Van Neer, W., Ervynck, A., Roberts, C., Locker, A., Amundsen, C., Enghoff, I. B., Hamilton-Dyer, S., Heinrich, D., Hufthammer, A. K., Jones, A. K. G., Jonsson, L., Makowiecki, D., Pope, P., O'Connell, T. C., de Roo, T., & Richards, M. (2011). Interpreting the expansion of sea fishing in medieval Europe using stable isotope analysis of archaeological cod bones. Journal of archaeological science, 38(7), 1516-1524. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jas.2011.02.017

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title = "Interpreting the expansion of sea fishing in medieval Europe using stable isotope analysis of archaeological cod bones",

abstract = "Archaeological fish bones reveal increases in marine fish utilisation in Northern and Western Europe beginning in the 10th and 11th centuries AD. We use stable isotope signatures from 300 archaeological cod (Gadus morhua) bones to determine whether this sea fishing revolution resulted from increased local fishing or the introduction of preserved fish transported from distant waters such as Arctic Norway, Iceland and/or the Northern Isles of Scotland (Orkney and Shetland). Results from 12 settlements in England and Flanders (Belgium) indicate that catches were initially local. Between the 9th and 12th centuries most bones represented fish from the southern North Sea. Conversely, by the 13th to 14th centuries demand was increasingly met through long distance transport - signalling the onset of the globalisation of commercial fisheries and suggesting that cities such as London quickly outgrew the capacity of local fish supplies.",

keywords = "Cod, Economic intensification, Middle ages, Stable isotopes, Trade, Urbanism",

author = "Barrett, {James H.} and David Orton and Cluny Johnstone and Jennifer Harland and {Van Neer}, Wim and Anton Ervynck and Callum Roberts and Alison Locker and Colin Amundsen and Enghoff, {Inge B{\o}dker} and Sheila Hamilton-Dyer and Dirk Heinrich and Hufthammer, {Anne Karin} and Jones, {Andrew K G} and Leif Jonsson and Daniel Makowiecki and Peter Pope and O'Connell, {Tamsin C.} and {de Roo}, Tessa and Michael Richards",

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doi = "10.1016/j.jas.2011.02.017",

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Barrett, JH, Orton, D , Johnstone, C , Harland, J, Van Neer, W, Ervynck, A, Roberts, C, Locker, A, Amundsen, C, Enghoff, IB, Hamilton-Dyer, S, Heinrich, D, Hufthammer, AK, Jones, AKG, Jonsson, L, Makowiecki, D, Pope, P, O'Connell, TC, de Roo, T & Richards, M 2011, 'Interpreting the expansion of sea fishing in medieval Europe using stable isotope analysis of archaeological cod bones', Journal of archaeological science, vol. 38, no. 7, pp. 1516-1524. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jas.2011.02.017

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AU - Ervynck, Anton

AU - Roberts, Callum

AU - Locker, Alison

AU - Amundsen, Colin

AU - Enghoff, Inge Bødker

AU - Hamilton-Dyer, Sheila

AU - Heinrich, Dirk

AU - Hufthammer, Anne Karin

AU - Jones, Andrew K G

AU - Jonsson, Leif

AU - Makowiecki, Daniel

AU - Pope, Peter

AU - O'Connell, Tamsin C.

AU - de Roo, Tessa

AU - Richards, Michael

PY - 2011/7/1

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AB - Archaeological fish bones reveal increases in marine fish utilisation in Northern and Western Europe beginning in the 10th and 11th centuries AD. We use stable isotope signatures from 300 archaeological cod (Gadus morhua) bones to determine whether this sea fishing revolution resulted from increased local fishing or the introduction of preserved fish transported from distant waters such as Arctic Norway, Iceland and/or the Northern Isles of Scotland (Orkney and Shetland). Results from 12 settlements in England and Flanders (Belgium) indicate that catches were initially local. Between the 9th and 12th centuries most bones represented fish from the southern North Sea. Conversely, by the 13th to 14th centuries demand was increasingly met through long distance transport - signalling the onset of the globalisation of commercial fisheries and suggesting that cities such as London quickly outgrew the capacity of local fish supplies.

KW - Cod

KW - Economic intensification

KW - Middle ages

KW - Stable isotopes

KW - Trade

KW - Urbanism

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JO - Journal of archaeological science

JF - Journal of archaeological science

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ER -

Interpreting the expansion of sea fishing in medieval Europe using stable isotope analysis of archaeological cod bones

Abstract

Keywords

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