Molluscs in Archaeology: Methods, Approaches and Applications(3 Studying Scientific Archaeology)

The subject of ‘Molluscs in Archaeology’ has not been dealt with collectively for several decades as most previous volumes in this subject area have been confined to studies of either land or marine molluscs, or mollusc shells as artefacts. The 23 specially commissioned papers presented here address many aspects of molluscs in archaeology. Marine molluscs are a common find on archaeological sites, where they may represent food waste or their shells having been utilised as tools, artefacts and ornaments. Land snails are also found as food waste in middens, but more commonly their microscopic remains are used to examine site environmental and land use histories. This comprehensive collection by most of the leading researchers in the field will give the reader an overview of the whole topic: methods of analysis and approaches to interpretation. It aims to be a broad-based textbook giving readers an insight into how to apply analysis to different present and past landscapes, and how to interpret those landscapes. Contributors present marine, freshwater and land snail studies, and examine topics such as diet, economy, climate, environment and land-use, isotopes and molluscs as artefacts, providing archaeologists and students with the first port of call regarding a) methods and principles, and b) the potential information molluscs can provide. Combining authoritative overviews with a range of case studies, Molluscs in Archaeology concentrates on analysis and interpretation that most archaeologists and students can undertake and understand, and reviews the ‘heavier’ science in terms of potential, application and interpretational value.

Table of Contents:
Preface List of contributors Acknowledgements   Molluscs in Archaeology; an introduction Michael J. Allen and Bas Payne   Part 1: Palaeo-environments; environment and land-use Terrestrial habitats, contexts and landscapes  1.  Land snails in archaeology  Michael J. Allen 2.  The geoarchaeology of context; sampling for land snails (on archaeological sites and colluvium) Michael J. Allen 3.  Numerical approaches to land snail palaeoecology Matt Law  4.  Molluscs and the palaeo-environment of coastal blown sand and dunes Thomas Walker  5.  Molluscs from machair-dune systems: archaeological site formation processes and environmental change  Matt Law and Nigel Thew  6.  Caves and molluscs  Chris O. Hunt and Evan A. Hill   Wetlands and Fresh- and Brackish-water  7.  Molluscs from the floodplain alluvial sediments in the Thames Valley Mark Robinson  8.  Wetlands; freshwater and slum communities Terry O’Connor   Palaeo-environmental reconstruction: Europe, the Mediterranean and Near East 9.  The southern English chalklands: molluscan evidence for the nature of the post-glacial woodland cover Michael J. Allen 10.  (Some thoughts on) using molluscs for landscape reconstruction and ecology in Malta  Michael J. Allen and Bri Eastabook 11.  Molluscan remains from Early to Middle Holocene sites in the Iron Gates reach of the Danube, Southeast Europe Catriona Pickard, Adina Boroneanț and Clive Bonsall 12.  Land Mollusc middens Victoria K. Taylor and Martin Bell   Marine and Food and Diet 13.  Marine molluscs from archaeological contexts; how they can inform interpretations of former economies and environments  Liz Somerville, Janice Light and Michael J. Allen 14.  Oysters in archaeology  Jessica Winder 15.  Shell middens Karen Hardy 16.  The collection, processing and curation of archaeological marine shells  Greg Campbell   Artefacts 17.  Shell ornaments, icons and other artefacts from the eastern Mediterranean and Levant Janet Ridout-Sharpe 18.  Molluscan shells as raw materials for artefact production  Katherine Szabó 19.  How strong is the evidence for purple dye extraction from the muricid gastropod Nucella lapillus (L. 1758), from archaeological sites in Britain and Ireland? Janice Light and Thomas Walker 20.  Marine shells as artefacts?; a cautionary tale of natural wear and tear as compared to resourceful anthropogenic modification processes  Janice Light   Science and Shells 21.  Bivalves and Radiocarbon  Ricardo Fernandes and Alexander Dreves 22.  Radiocarbon dating of marine and terrestrial shell  Katerina Douka 23.  Stable Isotope ecology of terrestrial gastropod shells André Carlo Colonese   Index

About the Author :
Mike Allen is one of the UK's leading environmental archaeologists. He has taught at Bournemouth University and was Environmental Manager at Wessex Archaeology for 19 years. He now runs his own company offering analysis, environmental and geoarchaeological services on field, assessment and post-excavation programmes. He is an experienced author and editor, is a series editor for Studying Scientific Archaeology and was President of the Conchological Society from 2012-2015.

Review :
Part of this book’s appeal is its extraordinary eclectic, but well-integrated mix of content… [its] success is a tribute to Mike Allen’s lifetime passion for this subject and his skill in recruiting such an excellent team of fellow contributors. ...an excellent, up to date, practical and useful reference book… ably demonstrates that this sub-discipline of palaeo-environmental scientific application and research is very healthy with a wide range of specialists currently available. Particular strengths of this volume are that it integrates studies of terrestrial and marine molluscs, each often pursued separately, and covers a wide range of themes ranging from palaeoenvironmental and palaeoeconomic topics to the use of molluscs as sources of information about technology, symbolism, dating and diet. …an interesting read for practitioners, and represents a significant contribution to the field. It is recommended for archaeological scientists, palaeoecologists, and conchologists alike.