Fish bone sizes as estimators of standard lengths of three southern African freshwater species with application to archaeological samples: A preliminary investigation
No Thumbnail Available
Authors
Plug I.
Issue Date
2008
Type
Article
Language
en
Keywords
archaeology; bone; breeding; environmental conditions; estimation method; fish; freshwater; range size; Pisces
Alternative Title
Abstract
Estimating standard lengths (SL) from freshwater fish bones found in archaeological samples can provide information on the status of past fish populations, their exploitation and environmental conditions. The bones of three fish species were measured and tested against the SL to determine their accuracy as predictors. A limited number of bones proved useful to determine SL. The results were applied to the fish bones from an archaeological site in Lesotho, to determine the median and maximum size of the prehistoric fishes. Most of these were of breeding size, while the maximum sizes estimated appear to exceed those of current angling records. This study is limited by a small sample of modern fishes with a relatively restricted size range, but nonetheless provides useful insights into the size distribution of ancient fish populations in Lesotho.
Description
Citation
South African Journal of Science
104
02-Jan
104
02-Jan
Publisher
License
Journal
Volume
Issue
PubMed ID
DOI
ISSN
382353