On the Hunt for Medieval Whales: Zooarchaeological, historical and social perspectives on cetacean exploitation in medieval northern and western Europe

Cover
Title Page
Copyright
Subseries
Of Related Interest
Contents
List of Figures
List of Tables
Acknowledgements
Abstract
	Samenvatting
	Zusammenfassung
	Resumen
	Résumé
Introduction
Material and Methods
1. Cetaceans and the North Atlantic Ocean
	1.1. Origin and Evolution of Cetaceans
		1.1.1. Marine Mammals
		1.1.2. Phylogenetics
		1.1.3. Evolution of Modern Cetaceans
	1.2. The North Atlantic Ocean
		1.2.1. Arctic Waters
		1.2.2. Greater North Sea
		1.2.3. Celtic Seas
		1.2.4. Wider Atlantic
		1.2.5. Bay of Biscay and Iberian Coast
		1.2.6. Baltic Sea
	1.3. Cetacean Species in the Northeast Atlantic
		1.3.1. Parvorder Mysticeti
			1.3.1.1. Family Balaenopteridae
				1.3.1.1.1. Blue whale (Balaenoptera musculus)
				1.3.1.1.2. Fin whale (Balaenoptera physalus)
				1.3.1.1.3. Sei whale (Balaenoptera borealis)
				1.3.1.1.4. Bryde’s Whale (Balaenoptera brydei)
				1.3.1.1.5. Common Minke whale (Balaenoptera acutorostrata)
				1.3.1.1.6. Humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae)
			1.3.1.2. Family Balaenidae
				1.3.1.2.1. North Atlantic Right whale (Eubalaena glacialis)
				1.3.1.2.2. Bowhead whale (Balaena mysticetus)
				1.3.1.3. Family Eschrichtiidae
				1.3.1.3.1. Grey Whale (Eschrichtius robustus)
		1.3.2. Parvorder Odontoceti
			1.3.2.1. Family Physeteridae
				1.3.2.1.1. Sperm Whale (Physeter macrocephalus)
			1.3.2.2. Family Kogiidae
				1.3.2.2.1. Pygmy Sperm Whale (Kogia breviceps)
				1.3.2.2.2. Dwarf Sperm Whale (Kogia sima)
			1.3.2.3. Family Ziphiidae
				1.3.2.3.1. Sowerby’s beaked whale (Mesoplodon bidens)
				1.3.2.3.2. True’s beaked whale (Mesoplodon mirus)
				1.3.2.3.3. Blainville’s beaked whale (Mesoplodon densirostris)
				1.3.2.3.4. Gervais’ Beaked whale (Mesoplodon europaeus)
				1.3.2.3.5. Cuvier’s beaked whale (Ziphius cavirostris)
				1.3.2.3.6. Northern bottlenose Whale (Hyperoodon ampullatus)
			1.3.2.4. Family Delphinidae
				1.3.2.4.1. Killer whale (Orcinus orca)
				1.3.2.4.2. False Killer Whale (Pseudorca crassidens)
				1.3.2.4.3. Long-finned pilot whale (Globicephala melas)
				1.3.2.4.4. Short-finned pilot whale (Globicephala macrorhynchus)
				1.3.2.4.5. Pygmy Killer Whale (Feresa attenuata)
				1.3.2.4.6. Risso’s dolphin (Grampus griseus)
				1.3.2.4.7. Common bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncates)
				1.3.2.4.8. White-beaked dolphins (Lagenorhynchus albirostris)
				1.3.2.4.9. Atlantic white-sided dolphin (Lagenorhynchus acutus)
				1.3.2.4.10. Striped dolphin (Stenella coeruleoalba)
				1.3.2.4.11. Atlantic Spotted dolphin (Stenella frontalis)
				1.3.2.4.12. Short Beaked common dolphin (Delphinus delphis)
				1.3.2.4.13. Rough Toothed dolphin (Steno bredanensis)
				1.3.2.4.14. Fraser’s Dolphin (Lagenodelphis hosei)
			1.3.2.5. Family Monodontidae
				1.3.2.5.1. Beluga/White Whale (Delphinapterus leucas)
				1.3.2.5.2. Narwhal (Monodon monoceros)
			1.3.2.6. Family Phocoenidae
				1.3.2.6.1. Harbour Porpoise (Phocoena phocoena)
	1.4. Cetaceans and Medieval Climate Variability
	1.5. Strandings
	1.6. Exploitable products
		1.6.1. Meat
		1.6.2. Baleen
		1.6.3. Bone
		1.6.4. Teeth and Ivory
		1.6.5. Blubber and Oil
		1.6.6. Spermaceti
		1.6.7. Ambergris
	1.7. Pre-whaling population size
2. Cetaceans in a Medieval Historical Context
	2.1. Methods
	2.2. Pre-Medieval and Medieval perception of cetaceans
	2.3. Whaling People
		2.3.1. Norse
		2.3.2. Norse-Gaels/Hiberno-Norse
		2.3.3. Normans
		2.3.4. Danes
		2.3.5. Sámi
		2.3.6. Basques
		2.3.7. Portuguese
		2.3.8. Anglo-Saxons and the English
		2.3.9. Flemish
		2.3.10. Frisians
		2.3.11. Dutch
		2.3.12. Polish
	2.4. Stranding Events in Historical Sources
	2.5. Cetaceans, Status, and Diet
		2.5.1. Ecclesiastical Diet
		2.5.2. Noble Diet
		2.5.3. Peasant Diet
	2.6. Medieval Marine Resources Exploitation in Context
	2.7. Conclusion
3. Cetaceans in Zooarchaeology
	3.1. Taphonomy
	3.2. Identification of Cetacean Remains
		3.2.1. Ancient DNA (aDNA)
		3.2.2. Zooarchaeology by Mass Spectrometry (ZooMS)
		3.2.3. Trace Element Analysis (TEA)
		3.2.4. Organic Residue Analysis
		3.2.5. Osteological Reference Collections
		3.2.6. Osteological Reference Manual
	3.3. Active whaling vs. Opportunistic Scavenging
		3.3.1. Species Composition
		3.3.2. Ethnographic Sources
		3.3.3. Hunting Tools
		3.3.4. Boats and Ships
	3.4. Zooarchaeology, Cetaceans, and the interpretation of socioeconomic status
	3.5. Conclusion
4. Zooarchaeological Research on Cetaceans from Medieval Northern and Western Europe
	4.1. Methods
	4.2. Results
		4.2.1. Results: Species
		4.2.2. Results: Skeletal elements
		4.2.3. Results: Artefacts and Butchery
			4.2.3.1. High Status Artefacts
				4.2.3.1.1. Gaming Pieces
				4.2.3.1.2. Plaques
				4.2.3.1.3. Weaving swords
				4.2.3.1.4. Cleavers
				4.2.3.1.5. Caskets
				4.2.3.1.6. Swords
				4.2.3.1.7. Combs
				4.2.3.1.8. “Forks”
			4.2.3.2. Non-High-Status Artefacts
				4.2.3.2.1. Chopping Blocks
				4.2.3.2.2. Architectural Features
			4.2.3.3. Other Artefacts
		4.2.4. Results: Contexts, Status, and Trends
	4.3. Conclusion
5. Case Studies
	5.1. Netherlands and Flanders: Zooarchaeological Analysis of Medieval Cetacean Remains from the Netherlands and Flanders
		Introduction
		Historical context
		Methodology
		Results ZooMS
		Results of morphological and osteometric analysis
		Comparison to modern stranding data
		Chronological results
		Discussion
		Conclusion
	5.2. England: “The Exploitation of Sea-Mammals in Medieval England: Bones and their Social Context”: >20 years on
		Introduction
		Methodology
		Historical Sources
		Zooarchaeology
		Discussion
		Conclusion
	5.3. Grey whale (Eschrichtius robustus):Greys in Grey Literature: The Demise of the North Atlantic Grey Whale (Eschrichtius robustus)
		Introduction
		Dispersal into the Atlantic
		Material and methods
		Results
		Discussion
			- Distribution
			- Killer whale predation on Atlantic grey whale?
			- Active whaling or opportunistic scavenging
		Conclusion
6. Social Implications of Cetacean Exploitation in Medieval Northern and Western Europe
	- Normans
	- Basques
	- Anglo-Saxons and the English
	- Danes
	- Polish
	- Portuguese
	- Sami
	- Norse
	- Norse-Gaels
	- Frisians
	- Dutch
	- Flemish
Conclusion
References
Appendix
References used in Appendix
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