Shellfish feeders, carrion eaters, and the archaeology of aquatic adaptations

Numerous taphonomic studies show that archaeologists should carefully evalu ate the origins of faunal remains found in archaeological sites. Although e xtensive research has been done on natural sources of terrestrial faunal re mains in archaeological sites, much less has been devoted to potential soul ces of aquatic fauna. aquatic fauna. Hundreds of animal species feed on sh ellfish, fish, and other aquatic fauna, and many transport food to terrestr ial landforms where they may be mixed or confused with faunal remains left by humans. In this paper; we illustrate the problem by summarizing the habi ts of a number of animals known to Seed on and transport shellfish and othe r aquatic animals. We also discuss examples where the remains of aquatic an imals of non-human non-human origin may have been confused with archaeologi cal materials. Such biological imprints may be most pronounced on early sit es, where questions about the antiquity of aquatic adaptations are paramoun t.