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Book Section: Luff, R.M. and Bailey, G. orcid.org/0000-0003-2656-830X (2000) The aquatic basis of ancient civilisations: the case of Synodontis schall and the Nile Valley. In: Bailey, G., Charles, R. and Winder, N., (eds.) Human Ecodynamics. Symposia of the Association for Environmental Archaeology . Oxbow Books , pp. 100-113.
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[email protected] https://eprints.whiterose.ac.uk/ 12. The Aquatic Basis of Ancient Civilisaticlns: the case of Synodontis schal2 and the Nile Valley
Rosemary M. Luff and Geoff Bailey
This chapter focuses on the role of aquatic resources in the ancient economies of the Nile Valley. We suggest that these resources have been overlooked in traditional interpretations because ofa reliance on wall paintings and carvings in tombs, assumptions about the dominance of cereal crops, and U dearth of well-excavated fauna1 assemblages from settlement sites. We focus on the fauna1 material from Tell el- Amarna and in particular thefish remains, which are dominated by the catfish, Synodontis schall. We show that, in conjunctiun with the study ofrnoder~zcontrol samples, we can obtain reliable estimates of age-at- death and size from growth increments in the pectoral spines, and thus analyse the age and size distribution oflsh caught and their growth rates. As might be expected, the modern schall populations show evidence for mom intensive fishing pressure than the ancient populutions. Unexpectedly, however, the Roman material suggests that schall were exploited more intensively than in the preceding Dynastic period, and that the})suffered lower growth mtes. We argue that the slower growth rates are the result of climatic deterioration in the 6''' century AD, and that the increased pressure on schall may reflect a decline in food supplies from other sources and a need for greater reliance on the fish resources of the river.
Keywords: Frsa; GROWTHINCREMENTS; DYNASTIC:ROMAN; AMARNA; CLIMATIC CHANGE.
INTRODUCTION we believe that it greatly over-emphasises the signiscance It is widely assumed that the economic basis for the rise of cereal crops and may even be fundamentally wrong. of the great riverhe civilisations of the Old World was It makes no allowance for the possibility that aquatic crop agriculture, and that their achievements in popu- resources couId have underwritten indigenous foun- lation growth, urbanisation, trade, socio-political organ- dations of early social developments, and that these may isation, monumental architecture and religion had to already have been in place or in process before the depend on the invention of 3.griculture and its subsequent diffusion or development of crop cultivation. Nor does diffusion outwards from a centre of orign in the Fertile it allow for the complementary role of aquatic resources Crescent. Livestock are taken for granted as complements alongside the domesticated crops and animals. Certainly, to arable agriculture, whiIe hunting, fishing and fowling apart from isolated claims for the importance of marine are treated as incidental supplements. This is nowhere resources in the growth of earIy civilisations, notably in more so than in the case of Ancient Egypt, where the Peru (Moseley 1975, 1992) and the Arabian peninsula annual inundation of the Nile and its effect on soil fertility (Tosi 1986), there has been little systematic investigation and crop productivity has dominated palaeoeconomic of alternative economic pathways to the development of interpretations and resulted in an emphasis on bread and ancient civilisations. beer as the traditional economic staples. It is not our intention to discount the importance of This view of the origins of civilisations as a ladder- storable surpluses supplied by cereals or the impact of the of-e~onomic-progress supported by crop agriculture is annual Nile flood on soil fertility. Our aim is rather to so deeply embedded that it is aImost unchallenged. Yet examine some of the biases of existing views on the The Aquatic Bosis of Ancient Civilisations: the case of Synodontis schall and the Nile Valley 101
ancient Egyptian economy, to highlight the role of other (Greenwood 1976). Many of the 47 commercial taxa resources that could have been of at least equivalent which inhabited the river in Egypt in 1948 have dis- importance, and to demonstrate the value of carefuIIy appeared (Said 1994). PoIIution is a problem and lead- 1 recovered archaeozoological material. We concentrate in contaminated fish from the Nile near Assiut in Middle I particular on the fish remains from the site of Tell el- Egypt have been shown to exceed the maximum recom- l Arnarna, and on the incremental. growth structures mended safe levels for daily human consumption (Seddek preserved in the pectoral spines of the African catfish, et al. 1996; WHO 1972). Some 17 taxa are now caught Synodontis schull, or schaII, which is the most abundant in Upper Egypt today. Tilapia nilotica accounts for about fish taxon represented in the Amadeposits. We demon- 60 per cent of the totaI commercial catch, which aIso strate that growth increments combined with size measure- includes catfish of the genera Synodontis (S. schall), ments aIIow estimates of age structure and growth rates Bagrus and Clarias, the elephant-snout fish, Mormyrus, of the exploited fish populations at different periods, and and the Nile perch, Lates niloticus. that these are a potentially sensitive indicator of wider An ecologically important distinction can be made economic conditions and of environmenta1 and climatic between broadly two major groups (Welcomme 1979, change. 174). Whitefish migrate into the main channel of [the river at seasons of low water, in order to avoid unfavourable conditions on the floodpIain, for example Cyprinidae (carp) and Characidae (tiger-fishes), some Siluridae ASSUMPTIONS AND BIASES (catfishes), incIuding Synodontis schall and mormyrids Conventional views of the Ancient Egyptian economy (elephant-snout fish). A few species are confined to the are influenced both by assumptions about the nature of river channel at all times and never move onto the the subsistence economy, and by reliance on inadequate floodplain during the seasonal floods. In contrast, blaclg5sh or biased archaeological records. demonstrate remarkable resistance to deoxygenated conditions and quite often stay on the floodplain after the seasonal floods have subsided, where they can benefit The potential of aquatic resources from the food supplied by terrestrial detritus, for example Large rivers, like coastlines, can produce a concentrated polypterids (lung fish), some silurids, notably Clarias, abundance and variety of food resources, including fish, some mormyrids, and some cichlids, notably Tilapia. birds and molluscs to complement pIants and animals on Small and immature Synodoatis may be found on the land, and the conventional emphasis on crop agriculture floodplain during the flood season, but adults usually stay and livestock rearing pays insufficient regard to the in the main channel. importance of this point. This distinction is important because it affects issues Aquatic resources occur at varying times of year, pose of palatability, and the accessibility and ease of capture variable technical constraints on capture, and are subject of different fish species. For example, the Nile perch, to different sorts of environmental constraints, compared Lates is more palatable than catfish of the Clarias genus to terrestrial resources. Thus, they not only provide an (Boessneck 1988). On the other hand, Clarias is easier to additional suppIy of food that can raise the human carrying catch, because the fish are stranded in shallow pools on capacity of an area, but also pIay an important comple- the flood plain as the flood waters recede and can easily mentary role to plants and animaIs on land. Many are also be caught by spearing, netting or clubbing. In contrast, amenabIe to sirnpIe techniques of food storage by drying, perch have to be netted from deep water, and are thus a salting or fermentation and can easily be transported. more risky proposition, particularly if crocodiIes are in They add variety to the diet, and additionaI supplies of the vicinity. These two groups of fish may aIso respond essential nutrients. Adequate nutrition under intensifying differently to environmental changes. Channel fish are crop-agriculture regimes in particular depends on a likely to be less vulnerable to changes that affect the compIementary supply of animaI protein, whether from terrestrial food chain than the blackfish group. It should the meat and secondary products of domestic livestock or be noted, however, that the feeding behaviour of some from fish or other natural sources of protein (Armelagos species varies with age. Young schall, for example, are et al. 1984; Haas and Hamison 1977; Martin et al. 1989; more dependent on food at the base of the trophic pyramid' Santley and Rose 1979). Fish inparticuIar are an important (diatoms, algae and insect larvae) than the older fish, source of protein, calcium, phosphorus and vitamins A which are mainly fish-eating (Bishai & Gideiri 1965b). and D, and vitamin A occurs in higher quantities in fish The palaeoenvironmental significance of taxonomic than in terrestrial animals (Borgstrom 196 1,412).Aquatic representations in archaeological deposits thus needs to resources aIso play a vitally important role in tiding over take account of accessibiIity and methods of capture as periods of food shortage caused by such factors as harvest well as habitat preferences and feeding behaviour. failure, spoilage of grain stores and livestock disease. Egypt is aIso Iocated on the major migratory route for The fish fauna of the Nile drainage is one of the birds of the Pdearctic region. During autumn and spring, largest in Africa with 115 taxa, of which 26 are endemic huge numbers of birds pass through on route between 102 Rosemary M. Luff 'and Gee# Bailey
Europe and central and southern Africa, such as the and assumptions of animal usage are cyeping into the common crane, quail and gIossy ibis. In addition, the literature. Bagnall 1993,271, for example, has suggested Nile also provides a winter haven for thousands of that cereals and legumes were more important in the migratory ducks, waders and many others from practically monastic diet than meat or dairy products on the basis the whole of the Palearctic region. that there was no refrigeration. This is a fallacy since This fish and bird fauna provides a potential cornu- fish and meat from terrestrial animals ca3 be preserved copia of food. Environments such as these, even at a through salting, drying and fermentatcn. Milk preserves hunter-gatherer Ievel of organisation, can support seden- well in the form of fermented dairy products such as tary communities with many of the characteristics of yoghurt, while domestic stock need only be slaughtered storage and social complexity attributed to farming when wanted. Milk, meat and fish are all preserved at societies and sometimes at higher population densities the present day in the Sudan through fermentation (Dirar than neighbouring farmers (Baumhoff 1963; Rowley- 1993). Conwy 1983). Indeed, such a precocious development With regard to the anaIysis of archaeological fish of sedentism and social complexity may already have bones, most work in Egypt has concentrated on the been in place in parts of the Nile Valley far back in prehistoric period (Brewer 1987; Gautier and Van Neer prehistory as early as 18,000 years ago (Close 1996; 1989; Van Neer 1986 and 1989; Vermeersch et a1 1989). Hillman 1988). In the Predynastic period, the most detailed information has been obtained from the extensive settlement at Hierakonpolis, 80 km south of Thebes. Here it has been Archaeological biases claimed that domestic plants and animals predominate More detailed archaeological examination of the economic over riverine and desert resources, in spite of the fact basis is hampered in the Egyptian case by a reliance on that there are large quantities of Nile perch, some well inadequate, biased or anecdotaI evidence, and above all over one metre in Iength, and large amounts of turtle and by the lack of well-excavated samples of archaeo- crocodile bone (McArdle 1482, I 16-12 1; Brewer 1987, zoological material from settlement sites that would allow 4547). a systematic empirical investigation. Fauna1 material from settlement sires in dynastic Egypt The overwhelming majority of excavated Egyptian is poorly represented with the exception of the 18th- sites are tombs rather than settlements. What fauna1 Dynasty site of Tell el-Amarna described below. It is, material there is has usuaIIy been recovered haphazardly, however, worth noting the recent discovery of a large and the analysis has been confined to species lists as at fish processing plant attached to the bakeries in the Elephantine, the necropolis and the Temple of Satet, pyramid workers' settlement on the Giza plateau (Lehner Tell eI-Dab'a, Tell el-Maskhuta and Karnak (Boessneck 1997,237). Also, documentary evidence from the village 1986; Boessneck and von den Driesch 1982; von den of Deir el-Medina, Thebes, relates that four times a month Driesch 1983 and 1986a). the villagers received great quantities of fish, which were In the Pharaonic period, the main evidence used in their principal source of nourishment. Twenty fishermen discussions of hunting, fishing, diet and animal hus- were contracted to supply the workmen and the fish was bandry is pictorial representations in aristocratic tombs distributed by rank to forty individuals. The fish supplied and temples (Darby et al. 1977; Daumas 1964; Gaillard included Tilapia, Synodontis, Mormyncs and possibly 1923; Janssen and Janssen 1989; Keimer 1948; Rzoska Alestes (Helck 1963, 226-8; Garner-WaIIert 1970, 24- 1976; Strouhal 1992; Wilson 1988). These sources of 46; Brewer and Friedman 1989, 16). evidence may be misleading as a guide to the subsistence Fishing is claimed to have played an important role in of the population at large as well as being inaccurate or the Iocal food supply of Roman Egypt (Bowman 1986, difficult to interpret with respect to taxonomic identifi- 15), although few fish bones have been retrieved from cation. Recent major publications which have con- archaeological sites. Scarcely any work has been under- centrated on the taxa depicted in wall carvings and taken on monastic bone in Egypt. Some 8 fish-bone speci- paintings are vulnerable to subjective and ambiguous mens were excavated at the monastery of Phoebammon at accounts of animal usage without benefit of archaeo- Thebes, but no extensive sampling programme was zoological data (Baines and Malek 1984, 16-17; Brewer employed (Bachatly 1961). Fishing nets were found at et al. 1994; Houlihan 1956; 1996; Osborn and 0s- Epiphanius and many fish hooks at Medinet Habu {Terry bornova 1998). Wilfong, Michigan State University, pers. corn.). Animal For the Roman period, Greek and Coptic papyri bones have rarely been recovered from archaeoIogica1 provide an important source of information, but here too settlement sites, due to lack of excavation, but numerous there are potential biases, since the papyri tend to concern pig bones along with small amounts of cattle, fish and the major taxed crops (Bagnall 1993). Moreover, the other animals were recovered from the village of Karanis Greek papyri refer mainly to the propertied classes, while in the Faiyum (Boak 1933, 88-92). thp Coptic ones refer to the Christian monasteries. There is, then, good reason to suppose chat fish as a Detailed accounts of animal exploitation do not exist, resource and fish-bone material as a source of evidence The Aquatic Basis of Ancient Civilisations: the case of Synodontis schalI and the Nile Valley 103
have been neglected, and an opportunity to examine that continuity of settlement location and marking this area l proposition more cIoseIy exists at TeII eI-Amarna. as exceptionaIly vaIuable in interpreting settlement distributions and understanding land-use patterns (Barry Kemp, pers comm). : ! TELL EL-AMARNA Both animal bone and plant remains are well preserved
TeIl el-Amarna is situated on the east bank of the Nile in MiddIe Egypt near the town of Minya, approximately 304 km south of Cairo in Upper Egypt, halfway between Memphis and Thebes (Fig. 12.1). The pIain of Amarna forms a semi-circular bay on the Nile, ringed by limestone cliffs. The site was chosen by the pharaoh Akhenaten for the construction of his cult city, Akhetaten, dedicated to the worship of the Aten, in 1350 BC. There was little arabIe land on the east bank to sustain the city but crops could be grown on the west bank and supplies could be brought in from beyond. Excavations carried out since 1977 (Kemp 1987, 1984-1989) have yielded large assemblages of bioarchaeological material from a variety of sites and contexts. These incIude the Pharaonic city (Main City) of the 14t1-century BC, the contemporaneous Workmen's Village, and a late Roman monastery (Kom el-Nana) of the 5th to 6th-centuries AD. The Amarna bone assemblages are of outstanding importance because of the well-preserved bone, the incorporation of a systematic and in depth sampling programme across the excavations ensuring excellent recovery, the short occupation of the archaeological sites set in a virtually unchanged landscape, and a diversity of archaeologica1 deposits covering a time span of nearly 2000 years. In particular, the Pharaonic sites are single- period sites of approximately 30 years duration, and thus bypass the problems, comrnonIy encountered on historical sites, of comp1e.x stratigraphic palimpsests spanning centuries or even millennia and posing major problems of residuality. Elsewhere, there have been shifts in the course of the Nile by as much as 3 km since dynastic times, thus obIiterating many settlement sites (Bagnall 1993, 6-7; Said 1994, 63). But the Nile in Figure 12.1 L,ocation map of Egypt, showing places Middle Egypt has barely changed course, ensuring greater mentioned in the text.
WV MC RM 45 % 8 Mormyridae elephant-snout fish 13.8 7.1 0.4 Characidae tiger-fish 14 8.5 1.3 Citharinidae moon-fish 0.1 - Cyprinidae carp 10.1 7.7 2.5 Clariidae catfish (CIarias) 4.8 14.5 1.6 0.3 SchiIbeidae catfish - - Bagridae catfish (Bagrus) 1.4 6.2 5.8 Mochokidae catfish (Synodoittis schall) 31 33 84 Mugilidac mullet (Mugii) 14.2 7.4 - Centropomidae Lates nibticus 0.2 0.8 0.8 Cichlidac Tilapia 10.5 14.8 3.3 Total 2007 352 3006
Table 12.1 Percentage representation offish at Amarna according fo number of identfied bone fragmenfs. WV: Workmen's Village; MC: Main City; M: Roman Monastery. 1 04 Rosemary M. Lufl 'and GeoX Bailey
and have been subjected to careful sampling and recovery (Fig. 12.2). In addition to its important&? as food, the procedures including wet sieving and flotation. A pectoral spines of schall were valued asarrow or spear preliminary analysis of the domestic mammalian bone heads in the Predynastic period and were traded as far from the 1979 to 1983 excavations of the Workmen's afield as the Gaza Strip (Rizkana and4eeher 1989,73). Village was undertaken by Hecker 1984), while Luff One isolated specimen has been recorded in a Rornano- examined the butchery of the main domesticates (Luff British deposit (Wheeler and Jones 1989 129), but the 1994). The villagers were involved in raising mainly use of pectoral spines as spear tips is%otrecorded in the pigs with some goats and cattle, but most of the beef was Dynastic period. The pectoral spine is a robust and we11 supplied from the city, most likely from sacrifice in the represented element in the Amarna assemblages and is temples. The use of ernmer and barley for cake and easiIy identifiable (Fig. 12.2). It is often complete and bread making is widely documented both by archaeo- can be measured, and also contains a clear record of logical features and pIant remains (Kemp 1994; Samuel growth increments that can indicate the age at death of the 1994). fish. The mammalian bone assemblages from the Monas- In order to maximise the recovery of fish bone, 15 to tery and the Workmen's Village comprise several 20 litres of soil residue were wet sieved through lmrn hundred thousand fragments. In addition to bone of the mesh from sealed and stratified contexts. One hundred domestic mammals, there are several thousand well- residues were examined from rubbish deposits outside preserved fragments of fish and bird bone, together with the Workmen's Village and 150 residues from midden several hundred fragments of eggshell and a small deposits in the Late Roman monastery. In addition, midden quantity of feathers. The main fish identified so far deposits in the Main City excavations produced bone include the Mochokidae, notably Syaodontis schall, recovered by hand from the trench and by dry-sieving of which dominates both the Workmen's Village and 20 soiI residues through I mm mesh. Monastery assemblages (Table 12.1). Mormyridae, In a preliminary study, we have selected 3 17 pectoral Characidae and Mugilidae are also strongly represented at the Workmen's Village but are low in number at the Monastery, where the second most important family' represented is the Bagridae. The Main City contrasts with both the other sites in that CIariidae and Cichlidae, especially Tilapia, are the second most important groups represented after S. schall. The main bulk of the Workmen's Village bird bone is comprised of a variety of ducks and cormorants which were winter visitors. It is no coincidence that the Great
Cormorant, Phalocrocorax carbo, figures so predomin- Pectoral spine
" antly in the avian sample of the Workmen's Village, since one if its favouredprey is mullet, which forms a significant fraction of the fish born. Butchery marks on the cormorant bones indicate that it was part of the Ancient Egyptian diet. In contrast, the monks were soIely reliant on chickens (c) (Gallus gallus dom.), rock pigeons (Colurnbus livia) and I.umeo width quail (Coturnixcotunrix), augmented with the occasional duck and turtle dove. Here we concentrate on remains of the schall @no- dontis schall). This is one of the commonest fish in the Nile today and a popular food fish (Boulenger 1907; Burgess 1989; Poll 1971), and has been the subject of a number of studies of biology and behaviour (Bishai & Gideiri 1965a, 1965b and 1968;Halim and Guma'a 1989; Nawar 1959; Ofori-Danson 1992; Oni et al. 1983; Willoughby 1974). It has also been recorded, sometimes in large numbers, from many archaeological sites in the Figwe 12.2 (a)Modern sclza EL showing general appear- Egyptian Nile Valley and Delta which date from the ance and location of right-hand pectoml spine (asecond Predynastic to late Roman periods (Boessneck and von is located on fhe left-hand side); (b) pectoral spiae den Driesch 1982; Boessneck etal. 1989; Katzman 1990; showing measurement of the mmimum width of the von den Driesch 1983: 1986a; 1986b; von den Driesch articulation (ARW);(c) cross-section through pectoral and Boessneck 1985). The animal has distinctive bony spiae showing growth increments, lumen, and measure- hedplates and heaviIy serrated dorsal and pectoral spines ments wed 10 measure the lumen proportion. The Aquatic ~asiiisof Ancient Civilisations: the case of Synodontis schall and the Nile Valley I05 spines for detailed examination, 105 from the Workmen's this regard. Provided the bones are thoroughly degreased, Village, 192 from the Roman Monastery, and 19 from they produce very clear and easily visible structures, the Main City. These represent about half the total number and this is true both of archaeoIogica1 and modern of spines recovered and were selected so as to ensure a specimens (Figs. 12.3-12.5). representative sample of sizes and stratigraphic contexts. A second problem is the possible presence of false Measurements we.re taken on the maximum width of the annuli caused by spawning, injury or erratic temperature articulation (Fig. 12.2). From this sample, 115 specimens variation (Brewer 1987, 466; Hashem 1977, 228; were further selected for the production of thin sections Weatherley and Rogers 1973,561. Spawning takes place and anaIysis of growth increments. The spines were in April or May for most fish in the Egyptian Nile (Hassan sectioned transversely (500~)below the articulation using and elSalahy 1986) and Brewer (1987) has observed an Isomet saw. Details of measurements and thin- false annuli in specimens of Clarias laid down at about sectioning techniques are given elsewhere (Luff and this time of year. If these are not distinguished from Bailey, in press). The samples selected for measurement genuine annuli representing the winter period of reduced were necessarily those that have a complete articulation, growth, the result can be an overestimate of age at death. and we cannot be sure that these are a representative It is not clear whether the trigger for spawning is the sample of the fish originally caught. However, we note rise in temperature (Brewer 1987) or the improved food that the sample as a whole includes a wide range of sizes supplies as the river begins to rise and inundate the including spines from very small fish 15 cm in length as floodplain with its rich sources of decayed plant matter well as larger specimens. Spines selected for thin- (Van Weer 1993a and 1993b). Before the construction sectioning were chosen for their Iikely ease of examin- of the Aswan Darn, the river began to rise in May and ation rather than as an explicitly representative or random June, became fully dilated by the end of September, sample. These uncertainties need to be taken into account began subsiding in October and November, and reached in the interpretation of results. its minimum again in December and January (Said 1994, 97). Since water is released from the Aswan Dam in the summer months for agricultural and domestic purposes and for tourism, the NiIe continues to replicate the SCRALL GROWTH INCREMENTS tradition$ pattern of inundation, albeit in more moderate Incremental structures are discrete entities of growth commonly recorded in the scales, vertebrae and otoliths of fish. They consist of concentric circuli which vary in their width and are believed to reflect, for the most part, seasonal variations in food supply, with faster growth in the warmer months, and slower growth in the colder months, when fish are less active, feed less and grow more slowly. In principle this banding provides a means of estimating the age at death of a fish and even the season. However, explanations for the formation of growth rings are still subject to uncertainty (Weatherley and GiII 1987,216), while terminology varies between different workers (cf. Casselman et al. 1983; Castanet et al. 1993).Following (Castanet et al. 1993), we describe the period of fast growth as a zone, and that of reduced growth as an annulus. Zones appear as ralatively wide opaque bands and appear dark in transmitted light (or light in polarised light). AnnuIi consist of cIosely spaced circuli which are more translucent than zones and appear white in transmitted light (or dark in polarised light). At the outer edge of the annulus is a line of arrested growth (LAG), which is always very thin (a matter of microns). Four sorts of uncertainties need to be considered in the interpretation of schall growth increments as evidence of age. The first is the visibility or otherwise of annuli in schall pectoral spines. Some researchers have expressed doubts about the suitability of schaI1 pectoral spines for incremental analysis because of the extremely fatty nature Figure 12.3 Thin section of pectoral spine from a of the bones (Bishai and Gideiri 1965a; Willoughby modern schall showing clear alternation of zones 1974). However, we have experienced no difficulties in and annuli. 106 Rosemary M. Luff and Geoff Bailey
Figure I2.4 Thin section of pectoral spine from the Workmen's village.
The key to resolving these uncertainties lies in the examination of control sampIes of modern fish of known dates of capture. Twenty-eight samples of schall, compris- ing a total of 264 fish, were collected at regular intervals over a 12-month period (April 1996 to March 1997) from Minya, close to Amarna. In addition, 15 schall were col- lected from the Nile near Cairo close to the Delta Barrage during September 1995. Fish were distinguished by sex, weighed to the nearest gram, and measured by taking the standard length (SL) to the nearest cm. SkeIetons were prepared, and pectoral spines were measured and thin- sectioned for examination of the annuli. Resorption of the bone around the lumen (the hollow space which extends aIong the central axis of the spine) was observed in a number of cases of older-aged fish, especially in the males. The lumen is visible in cross-section as a hole (Figs. 12.2 and 12,3). Where resorption has occurred in modern Figure 12.5 Thin section of pectoral spine from the specimens, the width of the lumen relative to the width of Roman monastery. the pectoral bone (the lumen proportion), can be measured in cross-section and shown to be significantly higher than normal (Luff and BaiIey in press). Measurement of growth form. There is no reason to suppose that spawning rings in the precaudaI vertebrae of the same fish showed behaviour has been significantIy altered in timing or that the first year of growth had been removed from the frequency by recent changes in the flood regime, or that pectoral spines. Accordingly measurement of the lumen there is any change in the likelihood of encountering proportion lias been used to correct age estimates in the false annuli. archaeological specimens. The modern sample of pectoral A final problem is that in older fish there may be spines demonstrates the following features: partiaI resorption of the bone. This can result in the removal of the first annulus and consequent under- The annuli are clearIy visible and only one annulus is estimation of the true age. Marzolf has drawn attention to laid down each yem during the winter period. this problem with the ageing of Channel Cafish, Xctalurus Each annuIus is complete around the circumference lacustris putactatus, seven, eight and nine years of age of the spine. (MkzoIf 1955, 245), Calculations of age made for pectoral spines (and The Aquatic Basis of Ancient Civilisations: the case of Synodontis schalI and the Nile Valley 107
precaudaI vertebrae) from fish of similar lengths are form of environmental change has occurred that has comparable. resulted in reduced growth rates. False annuli appear lighter in colour and are in- Two important points emerge from this discussion. complete. The first is that it is vital in archaeozoological studies to Resorption of bone can be identified and corrected have independent data on age and size variation. Studies for. that use size as a proxy for age, or vice versa, cannot discriminate between the different causes of size variation We are therefore confident that we can obtain reliable and have to depend on an assumed correlation between age estimates from archaeoIogica1 specimens of schall age and size that is demonstrably misleading. The second pectoral spines and compare their size and age charac- point is that combined information on age and size vari- teristics with the modern sample. ation provides a potentially sensitive indicator of varying human pressures on the food supply, of environmenta1 changes, and indeed of possible links between the two, INTERPRETATION OF AGE STRUCTURE AND SIZE VARIATION Results from Amarna Theoretical considerations Analysis of the modem sample shows that right and left pectora1 spines and the spines of males and females are Fish continue to grow throughout their life span, and in almost identical in size, and that differential representation broad terms the larger the individual organism, the older of sides or sexes can be eliminated as a possibIe source of it is. In asimple theoretical model of fisheries exploitation, bias in the interpretation of archaeologica1material (Luff then, we might expect that a fish population subject to and Bailey in press). The size characteristics of the schall heavy Ievels of predation would show a relatively smalI in our archaeological and modem samples show clear average size compared to an unexploited population, since differences between the Pharaonic, Roman and modern most fish would be captured when reIatively young before periods (Figs. 12.6and 12.7). The archaeological samples they could attain their natural life span and maximum show a bimodal distribution (apart from the Main City size. Indeed, progressive reduction in the size of organisms sample, which is very small), with one group of tiny recorded at different periods of an archaeological sequence specimens (ARW <5 nun) and a second group of larger may be interpreted as evidence of increased pressure on fish. At the Roman monastery, these tiny fish are the main food resources by growing human populations (cf. Cohen component of rnidden W30. The skeletons are intact and 1977). The reality, however, is more complex. The size the fish had clearIy not been processed for food. It should attained by fish of a given age depends on their growth be noted that small numbers of minute fish spines were rate, and that in its turn depends on the abundance and recovered from the Workmen's Village (10) and Main availability of food, climatic factors that affect the food City (B), but: fragmentation of the articulations precluded supply or the feeding behaviour of the fish, and the density their measurement. It is thus possible that small specimens of the fish popuIation. Many fish are sensitive to density- are somewhat under-represented in the Pharaonic samples. dependent factors (Wooton 1990): crowded conditions We interpret these small specimens as incidental catches result in more competition for food and slower growth acquired, and later discarded, while scooping up Tilapia rates. It foIlows that fish populations that are subject to and Clarias with baskets or similar containers on the increased levels of predation may actually show an floodplain at the end of the flood season. In the statistical increase in growth rates. As numerous studies of modem comparison of samples we exclude the W30 midden fisheries have indicated (e.g. Nikolskii 1969), and as material from the Roman sample in order to avoid skewing Swadling (1976) has elegantIy demonstrated in an the comparisons. We also use box plots, which emphasise archaeological context, an unexploited population may median values and moderate the effect of outliers, and be expected to show a wide range of age and size classes, non-paramesic tests of significance (Mann-Whitney U a relatively high average size, and relatively slow growth and Kolrnogorov-Smirnov). rates. If that population comes under heavier predation The modern and Pharaonic sampIes have closely pressure, for example because of increased demand for similar size distributions, and this is apparent both from food by a human community, then we should expect to the general plot of size distributions (Fig, 12.6) and the see a narrower range of age classes dominated by younger comparison of median values (Fig. 12.7). The Roman individuals, a smaller average size for the population as a sample, however, stands apart with a median value that whole, and increased growth rates. Indeed, age for age, is significantIy Iower (0.01 level of probability), even fish in a heavily exploited population may actually be after exclusion of the W30 midden. The Roman sample larger than their counterparts in the unexptoited poPu- also shows a broader range of size classes, with a higher Iation. Conversely, if we find evidence for a reduction in coefficient of variation (V) of 18.5 (significant at 0.01 the average size of exploited organisms, but: without any level of probability), compared to 11.6 for the Pharaonic reduction in average age, we may hypothesise that some and 1 1.0 for the modern sample. Moreover the Pharaonic 108 Rosemaly M.Luff and Geoff Bailey
,l Modern N - 253
0 123 4 5 G 7 8 91011121? 141516 ARW (mm)
Figure 12.6 Comparison of size histograms of schall pectoral spines from modem samples, and from Pharaonic and Roman contexts at Tell el Amarna. The Roman sample excludes the specimens from the W30 midden.
I I l I I I I Phars~onic Plinmonic Roman tlornan Modern Modern Main City Workmen's Monastciy M itldcn W30 Minya Cairo Village
Figure 12.7 Comparison of size measurements of schall pectoral spines from modern, Phamonic and Roman samples using medians and box and whisker plots. The results from the W30 midden of the Roman monastery are shown for comparison. The Aquatic Basis of Ancient Civilisations: the case of Synodontis schall and the Nile Valley 109
and modern distributions both show a positive skew, rates than the other samples, a narrower range of ages, a whereas the Roman sample approximates a normal predominance of young age classes, and a relatively large distribution. All these indications are consistent with the average size for fish of a given age. It is conceivable that hypothesis that schaII in the Iate Roman period were the faster growth rates in the modern sampIe reflect exploited less intensively than in the Pharaonic or modern improved food supplies, but the other age and size period, resulting in slower growth rates and a more mature characteristics are consistent with heavy exploitation population with a wider range of age and size classes. In pressure, and we argue that the growth rates reflect the order to test this hypothesis further, however, we need density-dependent effects of competition for food. The to examine independent date on age and growth rates. Pharaonic samples also show characteristics of an The modern sample shows the youngest age distri- exploited population, though the older age classes and bution (Fig. 12.8) and the fastest growth rates (Fig. 12-91, slower growth rates suggest that the pressure of exploi- as might be expected for an intensively fished population, tation was lower than at the present day. while the Pharaonic sample shows an age structure The most interesting sample is the Roman material. dominated by older age classes and the longest tail of Here the fish show a lower average age and a slightly aged individuals. Fish of given ages are in general larger narrower range of age cIasses than the Pharaonic sample in the modem sample than the Pharaonic sample, in (Fig. 12.8). But the growth rates are also significantly particular the five, six and seven year old specimens lower than either Pharaonic or modern examples (Fig. (significant at 0.05 level of probability). The growth 12.9), which is why the Roman sample also shows a rates of the Roman fish are the slowest of all our samples smaller median size than the others. It could be argued and produce populations that ace smaller by age class that larger and older-aged specimens are under-repre- (significant at 0.05 level of probability) than their sented in he Roman sample because they were removed Pharaonic predecessors, in particular the four, five, six, elsewhere, but we cannot see any reason for supposing seven, eight and ten year olds (Fig. 12.9). However, if that such biases would have had a greater impact on the this were due to under-exploitation, as the size data Roman material in comparison with the other archaeo- initially led us to expect, we should also expect to find a Iogical samples. Certainly our own sampIing procedures predominance of old-aged individuals. This is clearly are likely to have selected for larger specimens for thin- not the case. The age distribution shows a greater sectioning rather than smaller ones. In any case the growth predominance of younger age classes, a longer tail of rates of the younger age classes that are present in the very young specimens and an absence of the very old Roman sample are clearly slower than for the other periods, individuals, compared to the Pharaonic ata. The slow quite independently of any sampling problems with larger growth rates must therefore be the result of some specimens. We conclude that schall populations in the environmental factor affecting the food supply. Roman period were subject to two effects, relatively heavy To summarise the combined size and age data, the exploitation pressure compared to the Pharaonic period, modern sample of schall shows all the characteristics we and reduced growth rates. The reduction in growth rates would expect of a fish population subject to heavy cannot be attributed to density-dependent effects, since exploitation pressure. It is characterised by faster growth this would be inconsistent with the evidence for intensive
Mrldern
Roman
I'hnraunic
Age (years)
Figure 12.8 Comparison of distributions by age from Pharaonic Roman and modem contexts. 110 Rosematy M.Lufland Geoff Bailey
Modern N = 167
Roi~inn N " 53
Phnraonic N = 62
Age (y (years)
Figure 12.9 Growth rates of schall from Pharaonic, Roman and modem contexts, displayed as size distributions by age class using median values and box and whisker plots. Sample size is indicated above or below each box plot. The Pharaonic plots are displaced to the right for ease of presentation.
fishing, and must therefore be the result of other The other possibility is temperature change. Distur- environmental or climatic change. bances of a global nature have been well documented There are two principal possibilities for environmental for the 6th-century AD. In 536 AD the Praetorian change in the Roman period - we discuss and eliminate Prefect Cassiodorus wrote to his deputy describing a some other less plausible possibiIities ekewhere (Luff stupendous calamity whereby the sun was blotted out and BaiIey in press). The first is a failure of the annual for the better part of the year, all the crops failed, and flood because of reduced rainfall in Ethiopia. Low water the climate turned bitterly cold (Barnish 1992). This levels resulting from variations in the intensity and particular event has been identified in oaks from the duration of flooding can certainly result in poor growth peat bogs of Ireland and also in ice cores from the (Dudley 1974; Kapetsky 1974; WeIcomme 1975). Greenland ice-cap (BaiIlie 1991 and 19921, and has Bonneau (1971) has documented the heights of the Nile been interpreted as the result of a massive volcanic floods almost annuaIIy for the Graeco-Roman period eruption (Keys 1999), or of cometary activity (Asher from 261 BC to 299 AD and demonstrated that there and Clube 1993, 496; Baillie 1999). were indeed some years when the Nile did not inundate, A widespread climatic event of this nature would have for example from 168 to 170 AD. Unfortunately there is caused havoc with crops and livestock and perhaps also a dearth of records for the 4th to 6th centuries. High reduced the productivity of the floodplain blackfish such precipitation is claimed for Ethiopia during this period as Clarias and Tilapia, pIacing correspondingly greater (Fekri Rassan pers. comm;Umer 1992), and Procopius pressure on other resources such as the main channel aIso describes an unusually high Nile flood in the 6th- whitefish like schdl. In this regard it is interesting to century AD. Hence it is improbable that the Roman fish observe chat the proportion of schall in the Roman were affected by low Nile inundations. deposits at Arnarna rises to some 84% in relation to The Aquatic Basis of Ancient Civilisations: the case of Synodontis schall and the Nile Valley 111
other fish taxa, compared with about 31-33% in the together with the Egypt Exploration Society and the Pharaonic levels (Table 12.1). This suggests that the Egyptian Supreme Council of Antiquities for allowing Roman inhabitants were more dependent on schaI1 than this material to be analysed. In addition, we thank Bany their predecessors, and this in its turn would have Kemp for providing much vduable discussion and support increased the exposure of the schall populations to more for the project, 'we are indebted to Samir Ghoneim (Head intensive exploitation pressure. The normal size distri- of the Fish Research Centre, Suez Canal University, bution of the Roman schall is also consistent with heavy Ismailia), and Ahmed Korkor, who facilitated the reliance on this species. Positively skewed distributions collection of modem schall from Minya and enabled a are more common in expIoited populations, and suggest successful ethnographic survey in the area. We also thank a seIective approach to fishing which targets the largest Barry Kemp, Muzna Bailey and Marta Moreno-Garcia possible specimens above some minimum threshold. The (Department of Archaeology, University of Cambridge) Roman size distribution suggests a less selective targeting for assistance with the collection of the modern fish which took whatever was available, and this too is samples near Cairo. We especially thank Wim Van Neer consistent with increased pressure on food supplies. (Mude Royal de L' Afrique Centrale, Tervuren, Belgium), Bob Wootton (Institute of Biological Sciences,University of Wales, Aberystwyth) and Arturo MoraIes Muniz (Dpto Biologia, Universidad Aut6norna de Madrid) for critical CONCLUSION assessment of the arguments in this paper. We thank We have demonstrated that the pectoral spines of schall Oliver Crimmen of theFish Section, Zoology Department, contain a clear record of size and age variation and that British Museum Natural History, for advice and access to analysis of size and age structure in comparison with the comparative collections and library. We also thank modem samples can iIluminate arange of issues including Ian Chaplin (Buehler Krautkramer), Bob Jones (Ocemo- variations in fishing intensity and environmental factors. graphic Centre, University of Southampton), Jeremy One of the most interesting results from this analysis is Skepper (Multi-Imaging 'Centre, University of Cam- the evidence for an environmental deterioration in the bridge), Roy Julian (Department of Engineering, Uni- Roman period alongside increased pressure on fishing versity of Cambridge), Sandra Bond (Institute of Archae- resources. This in its turn suggests one way in which the , ology, University College, London) and Glynis Caruana aquatic and terrestrial components of the economy may (Earth Sciences, University of Cambridge) for technical be dynamically interlinked. Reductions in the supply of assistance. We are grateful to Peter Rowley-Conwy food from crops and livestock can be compensated for by (Department of Archaeology, University of Durham), intensifying fishing activities, and the fish populations in Tony Leahy (Department of Ancient History and Archae- their turn adapt to heavier IeveIs of fishing intensity by ology, University of Birmingham),Fekri Hassan (Institute adjustments in their age structure and growth rates. of Archaeology, University College, London), Martin Analysis of the growth and size characteristics of the fish Jones (Department of ArchaeoIogy, University of Cam- bone material from archaeological sites can thus throw bridge), Sarah Clackson (Christs College, University of light on wider economic interactions and environmenta1 Cambridge) and Graerne Lawson (McDonald Institute, conditions beyond statements about the fishing activity University of Cambridge) for their interest and suppoa. itself. We are still a long way from translating this sort of Photographic assistance was provided by Gwil Owen information into comprehensive statements about the role (FacuIty of Archaeology and Anthropology, University of fish and other aquatic resources in the wider economy. of Cambridge), Mike Neville (Institute of Archaeology, For one thing we need to examine larger samples of fish University CoIlege, London) and Audio Visual Aids bone from Amarna and to place them in the context of the (University of Cambridge). Last but not least we thank faunal material as a whole. For another, we need to see a Simon Goose of the Scientific Periodicals Library, similar quality of samples recovered and analysed from University of Cambridge, for heIp in locating references. other settlements in the Nile Valley and longer time spans before we can reliably generalise from Amarna to the BIBLIOGRAPHY wider geographical context, or place our results into a more complete long-term perspective. 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