Exploring a Relational Approach to Mesolithic Fishing
Channel: Recording Archaeology
Date: 2019-06-03

The sociality inherent in human-animal relationships is currently being addressed in hunter-gatherer archaeology, but social zooarchaeology and multispecies archaeology have thus far privileged the furry and feathery animals in their case-studies. In this presentation, fishbone, fishing gear and rock art imagery of halibut and halibut-fishing forms the empirical basis for exploring a relational approach to human-fish encounters in late Mesolithic Norway (6300–3800 cal. BC). Fish contributed considerably to Mesolithic subsistence in this region, but has been given little attention beyond its economic importance. A relational ideal-model is here suggested as a viable alternative to optimizing models.Such models have been considered problematic and the use of ethnographic analogy has been rejected by many Mesolithic scholars, who emphasize variability andthe unique potentials of the archaeological record.This paper arguesthat generalizing is unavoidable when addressing prehistoric sociality, and further maintains that ontological stability is fundamentally important for understanding past hunter-gatherer engagements with non-humans.

Anja Mansrud (Museum of Cultural History, University of Oslo) 

TAG Deva 2018 
Session: Relational Approaches to Past Hunter-Gatherer Worlds