Scientists from the Leibniz Zentrum für Archäologie and Durham School have examined a bunch of 406 engraved schist plaquettes found on the Magdalenian site of Gönnersdorf in Germany. The standard engravings current worthwhile insights into the fishing methods and devices utilized by Paleolithic peoples, and the way in which these practices have been translated into seen custom by the depiction of nets characterised by interlaced diamond-shaped and sq. meshes.
Plaquette 341 from the Magdalenian site of Gönnersdorf, Germany. Image credit score rating: Robitaille et al., doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0311302.
“Prehistoric fishing deployed a varied range of utilized sciences and techniques, along with quite a few strategies for buying fish which may be summarised as full of life fishing, which requires direct human involvement with or near the fishing instruments, passive fishing, involving trapping methods, or a mix of every,” acknowledged Dr. Jérôme Robitaille of the Leibniz Zentrum für Archäologie and colleagues.
“Some methods have been developed for specific particular person catches, akin to angling, whereas others have been refined to maximise yields by utilizing collective nets and traps.”
“The gathering of a selected methodology was influenced by the aim fish species, along with the distinct habitats and terrains the place specific aquatic sources thrived.”
“Although proof for fishing throughout the Greater Plaeolithic (20,000 to 14,500 years up to now) is not ample, there could also be sporadic direct and indirect proof of quite a few fishing methods, akin to barbed elements or harpoons, bows and arrows, traps, and fishing nets.”
Of their evaluation, the authors analyzed the engravings on 406 schist (metamorphic rock) plaquettes from the Magdalenian site of Gönnersdorf on the northern monetary establishment of the river Rhine in western central Germany.
These plaquettes are characterised by their distinctive inventive varieties and iconographic themes depicting every terrestrial and aquatic animals and folks.
New imaging methods allowed the researchers to see intricate engravings of fish, accompanied by grid-like patterns which is likely to be interpreted as depictions of fishing nets or traps.
The findings advocate that fishing might need held symbolic significance contained in the Greater Paleolithic.
They develop the recognized repertoire of Ice Age paintings and provide distinctive insights into the symbolic and social practices of early hunter-gatherer societies.
“Our comparative analysis along with totally different archaeological web sites from the equivalent interval, akin to Altamira and Lascaux, highlights Gönnersdorf’s contribution to our understanding of Paleolithic paintings and subsistence strategies,” the scientists concluded.
“In distinction to the additional celebrated web sites recognized for his or her vivid fish depictions, Gönnersdorf’s abstract and minimalist kind gives a recent perspective on the socio-cultural dynamics of Magdalenian communities.”
“Fishing with nets, deriving from a broad spectrum monetary system, reveals the range, adaptability and creativity of prehistoric communities, showcasing their proficiency in utilizing a variety of fishing methods to sustainably exploit aquatic sources.”
“This evaluation not solely enhances our understanding of the various subsistence strategies of Paleolithic societies however as well as contributes to the broader discourse on the complexity and richness of their cultural practices.”
“By inserting a spotlight on the often-overlooked side of the observe of fishing and the illustration of that observe in paintings, our analysis gives to a further full and dynamic picture of subsistence all through the Greater Paleolithic, opening new pathways for future evaluation on this topic.”
“Evidently fishing carried out a further necessary place in shaping social and cultural practices than beforehand acknowledged, as evidenced by the aggregation patterns spherical bountiful fishing web sites, and is because of this reality a problem value of further investigation.”
The analysis was printed on-line throughout the journal PLoS ONE.
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J. Robitaille et al. 2024. Greater Palaeolithic fishing methods: Insights from the engraved plaquettes of the Magdalenian site of Gönnersdorf, Germany. PLoS ONE 19 (11): e0311302; doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0311302