Freshwater fish in England : a social and cultural history of coarse fish from prehistory to the present day /
Locker, Alisonauthor.
Much has been written on marine fishing and for the migratory eel and salmon. Less attention has focused on the obligate freshwater species, primarily the native pike, perch, cyprinids and introduced species of which the most significant is carp. Their exploitation by man has changed from food to sport more dramatically in England and the British Isles than in Europe. They have also been used as elite statements, symbols of lineage, in religion and art. Much of the early evidence is confined to fish bones from archaeological sites and indicators of diet from isotopic analyses of human bones. From the Medieval period these data sources are increasingly complemented and ultimately superseded by documentary sources and material culture. The bones are relatively few from prehistoric contexts and mostly food waste. In the Mesolithic the bones are largely marine from middens on Scottish coasts, while early farmers apparently ate few fish of any type. Examples from European prehistoric sites demonstrate other cultural attitudes to fish. Both marine and freshwater fish bones are more numerous from Roman sites. There are regional and site type differences, but Roman influence appears to have increased fish consumption, though obligate freshwater species remain relatively few.
Includes bibliographical references (pages 141-155).
Prehistoric mists -- AD 43-400+ : "what did the Romans ever do for us?" -- AD 400-1066 : Pagans and Christians -- AD 1535-1538 : Catholics to Protestants -- AD 1535-1740s : reformation to revolution -- AD1740s-1860s : the first industrial revolution -- AD 1860-1952 : fair play -- Afterword. Linking the past and the present where carp is king.
Much has been written on marine fishing and for the migratory eel and salmon. Less attention has focused on the obligate freshwater species, primarily the native pike, perch, cyprinids and introduced species of which the most significant is carp. Their exploitation by man has changed from food to sport more dramatically in England and the British Isles than in Europe. They have also been used as elite statements, symbols of lineage, in religion and art. Much of the early evidence is confined to fish bones from archaeological sites and indicators of diet from isotopic analyses of human bones. From the Medieval period these data sources are increasingly complemented and ultimately superseded by documentary sources and material culture. The bones are relatively few from prehistoric contexts and mostly food waste. In the Mesolithic the bones are largely marine from middens on Scottish coasts, while early farmers apparently ate few fish of any type. Examples from European prehistoric sites demonstrate other cultural attitudes to fish. Both marine and freshwater fish bones are more numerous from Roman sites. There are regional and site type differences, but Roman influence appears to have increased fish consumption, though obligate freshwater species remain relatively few.
Freshwater fishes
Freshwater fishes.
Freshwater fish in England.