The prelude to industrial whaling: identifying the targets of ancient European whaling using zooarchaeology and collagen mass-peptide fingerprinting

Taxonomic identification of whale bones found during archaeological excavations is problematic due to their typically fragmented state. This difficulty limits understanding of both the past spatio-temporal distributions of whale populations and of possible early whaling activities. To overcome this...

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Autores: van den Hurk, Youri, Sikström, Fanny, Amkreutz, Luc, Nores Quesada, Carlos Ignacio|||0000-0002-3042-1960
Tipo de documento: artigo
Data de publicação:2023
País:España
Recursos:Universidad de Oviedo (UNIOVI)
Repositório:RUO. Repositorio Institucional de la Universidad de Oviedo
Idioma:inglês
OAI Identifier:oai:digibuo.uniovi.es:10651/69670
Acesso em linha:https://hdl.handle.net/10651/69670
https://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rsos.230741
Access Level:Acceso aberto
Palavra-chave:whaling
Ecology
zooarchaeology
historical ecology
whales
zooarchaeology by mass spectrometry
ballenas
caza de ballenas
zooarqueología
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oai_identifier_str oai:digibuo.uniovi.es:10651/69670
network_acronym_str ES
network_name_str España
repository_id_str
dc.title.none.fl_str_mv The prelude to industrial whaling: identifying the targets of ancient European whaling using zooarchaeology and collagen mass-peptide fingerprinting
title The prelude to industrial whaling: identifying the targets of ancient European whaling using zooarchaeology and collagen mass-peptide fingerprinting
spellingShingle The prelude to industrial whaling: identifying the targets of ancient European whaling using zooarchaeology and collagen mass-peptide fingerprinting
van den Hurk, Youri
whaling
Ecology
zooarchaeology
historical ecology
whales
zooarchaeology by mass spectrometry
ballenas
caza de ballenas
zooarqueología
title_short The prelude to industrial whaling: identifying the targets of ancient European whaling using zooarchaeology and collagen mass-peptide fingerprinting
title_full The prelude to industrial whaling: identifying the targets of ancient European whaling using zooarchaeology and collagen mass-peptide fingerprinting
title_fullStr The prelude to industrial whaling: identifying the targets of ancient European whaling using zooarchaeology and collagen mass-peptide fingerprinting
title_full_unstemmed The prelude to industrial whaling: identifying the targets of ancient European whaling using zooarchaeology and collagen mass-peptide fingerprinting
title_sort The prelude to industrial whaling: identifying the targets of ancient European whaling using zooarchaeology and collagen mass-peptide fingerprinting
dc.creator.none.fl_str_mv van den Hurk, Youri
Sikström, Fanny
Amkreutz, Luc
Nores Quesada, Carlos Ignacio|||0000-0002-3042-1960
author van den Hurk, Youri
author_facet van den Hurk, Youri
Sikström, Fanny
Amkreutz, Luc
Nores Quesada, Carlos Ignacio|||0000-0002-3042-1960
author_role author
author2 Sikström, Fanny
Amkreutz, Luc
Nores Quesada, Carlos Ignacio|||0000-0002-3042-1960
author2_role author
author
author
dc.subject.none.fl_str_mv whaling
Ecology
zooarchaeology
historical ecology
whales
zooarchaeology by mass spectrometry
ballenas
caza de ballenas
zooarqueología
topic whaling
Ecology
zooarchaeology
historical ecology
whales
zooarchaeology by mass spectrometry
ballenas
caza de ballenas
zooarqueología
description Taxonomic identification of whale bones found during archaeological excavations is problematic due to their typically fragmented state. This difficulty limits understanding of both the past spatio-temporal distributions of whale populations and of possible early whaling activities. To overcome this challenge, we performed zooarchaeology by mass spectrometry on an unprecedented 719 archaeological and palaeontological specimens of probable whale bone from Atlantic European contexts, predominantly dating from ca 3500 BCE to the eighteenth century CE. The results show high numbers of Balaenidae (many probably North Atlantic right whale (Eubalaena glacialis)) and grey whale (Eschrichtius robustus) specimens, two taxa no longer present in the eastern North Atlantic. This discovery matches expectations regarding the past utilization of North Atlantic right whales, but was unanticipated for grey whales, which have hitherto rarely been identified in the European zooarchaeological record. Many of these specimens derive from contexts associated with mediaeval cultures frequently linked to whaling: the Basques, northern Spaniards, Normans, Flemish, Frisians, Anglo-Saxons and Scandinavians. This association raises the likelihood that early whaling impacted these taxa, contributing to their extirpation and extinction. Much lower numbers of other large cetacean taxa were identified, suggesting that what are now the most depleted whales were once those most frequently used.
publishDate 2023
dc.date.none.fl_str_mv 2023
2023-01-01
dc.type.none.fl_str_mv journal article
http://purl.org/coar/resource_type/c_6501
VoR
http://purl.org/coar/version/c_970fb48d4fbd8a85
dc.type.openaire.fl_str_mv info:eu-repo/semantics/article
format article
dc.identifier.none.fl_str_mv https://hdl.handle.net/10651/69670
https://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rsos.230741
url https://hdl.handle.net/10651/69670
https://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rsos.230741
dc.language.none.fl_str_mv Inglés
eng
language_invalid_str_mv Inglés
language eng
dc.relation.none.fl_str_mv European Commission http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/501100000780 Horizon 2020 Framework Programme 101025598
European Commission http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/501100000780 Horizon 2020 Framework Programme 951649
European Commission http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/501100000780 Horizon 2020 Framework Programme 834087
dc.rights.none.fl_str_mv open access
http://purl.org/coar/access_right/c_abf2
Attribution 4.0 International
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
dc.rights.openaire.fl_str_mv info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess
rights_invalid_str_mv open access
http://purl.org/coar/access_right/c_abf2
Attribution 4.0 International
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
eu_rights_str_mv openAccess
dc.publisher.none.fl_str_mv Royal Society
publisher.none.fl_str_mv Royal Society
dc.source.none.fl_str_mv reponame:RUO. Repositorio Institucional de la Universidad de Oviedo
instname:Universidad de Oviedo (UNIOVI)
instname_str Universidad de Oviedo (UNIOVI)
reponame_str RUO. Repositorio Institucional de la Universidad de Oviedo
collection RUO. Repositorio Institucional de la Universidad de Oviedo
repository.name.fl_str_mv
repository.mail.fl_str_mv
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spelling The prelude to industrial whaling: identifying the targets of ancient European whaling using zooarchaeology and collagen mass-peptide fingerprintingvan den Hurk, YouriSikström, FannyAmkreutz, LucNores Quesada, Carlos Ignacio|||0000-0002-3042-1960whalingEcologyzooarchaeologyhistorical ecologywhaleszooarchaeology by mass spectrometryballenascaza de ballenaszooarqueologíaTaxonomic identification of whale bones found during archaeological excavations is problematic due to their typically fragmented state. This difficulty limits understanding of both the past spatio-temporal distributions of whale populations and of possible early whaling activities. To overcome this challenge, we performed zooarchaeology by mass spectrometry on an unprecedented 719 archaeological and palaeontological specimens of probable whale bone from Atlantic European contexts, predominantly dating from ca 3500 BCE to the eighteenth century CE. The results show high numbers of Balaenidae (many probably North Atlantic right whale (Eubalaena glacialis)) and grey whale (Eschrichtius robustus) specimens, two taxa no longer present in the eastern North Atlantic. This discovery matches expectations regarding the past utilization of North Atlantic right whales, but was unanticipated for grey whales, which have hitherto rarely been identified in the European zooarchaeological record. Many of these specimens derive from contexts associated with mediaeval cultures frequently linked to whaling: the Basques, northern Spaniards, Normans, Flemish, Frisians, Anglo-Saxons and Scandinavians. This association raises the likelihood that early whaling impacted these taxa, contributing to their extirpation and extinction. Much lower numbers of other large cetacean taxa were identified, suggesting that what are now the most depleted whales were once those most frequently used.This paper is funded by the MSCA-IF project Demise of the Atlantic Grey whale (DAG) under the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme (grant agreement no. 101025598) and under the Ecology Grant of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences (KNAW) under grant agreement KNAWWF/747/ECO2021-13. The study received funding from the European Research Council (ERC) Synergy Project 4-OCEANS under the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme (grant agreement no. 951649). One sample was analysed using funding received from the European Research Council (ERC) under the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement no 834087 (COMMIOS). The samples from Galicia provided by CEMMA were collected as part of the ‘Galicia no Lombo da Balea II’ project, financed by the Grupo de Acción Costeria GAC-7 Ria de Vigo-A Guarda.van den Hurk, Youri; Sikström, Fanny; Amkreutz, Luc; Bleasdale, Madeleine; Borvon, Aurélia; Ephrem, Brice; Fernández- Rodríguez, Carlos; Gibbs, Hannah M. B.; Jonsson, Leif; Lehouck, Alexander; Martínez Cedeira, Jose; Meng, Stefan; Monge, Rui; Moreno, Marta; Nabais, Mariana; Nores, Carlos; Pis-Millán, José Antonio; Riddler, Ian; Schmölcke, Ulrich; Segschneider, Martin; Speller, Camilla; Vretemark, Maria; Wickler, Stephen; Collins, Matthew; Nadeau, Marie-Josée; Barrett, James H.Royal Society20232023-01-01journal articlehttp://purl.org/coar/resource_type/c_6501VoRhttp://purl.org/coar/version/c_970fb48d4fbd8a85info:eu-repo/semantics/articlehttps://hdl.handle.net/10651/69670https://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rsos.230741reponame:RUO. Repositorio Institucional de la Universidad de Oviedoinstname:Universidad de Oviedo (UNIOVI)InglésengEuropean Commission http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/501100000780 Horizon 2020 Framework Programme 101025598European Commission http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/501100000780 Horizon 2020 Framework Programme 951649European Commission http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/501100000780 Horizon 2020 Framework Programme 834087open accesshttp://purl.org/coar/access_right/c_abf2Attribution 4.0 Internationalhttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccessoai:digibuo.uniovi.es:10651/696702026-06-07T06:38:51Z
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