Digging into a Biocultural Archive: The Potential and Urgency of Research on Historical Whale Bones illustrated by examples from Bremen
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- ISIDORE Id: 10670/1.67e7cb...
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Mots-clés
Kulturerbe Archäozoologie Walartbestimmung Walfang Whale Whaling Cultural Heritage Zooarchaeology Zooarchaeology by Mass-Spectrometry (ZooMS) Kulturerbe Archäozoologie WalartbestimmungSujets proches
OsteologyCiter ce document
Youri van den Hurk et al., « Digging into a Biocultural Archive: The Potential and Urgency of Research on Historical Whale Bones illustrated by examples from Bremen », HAL SHS (Sciences de l’Homme et de la Société), ID : 10670/1.67e7cb...
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Whales have been commercially exploited all over the world for centuries. Over the past four centuries, many north western European countries conducted whaling as well. These whalers frequently brought back whale bones from the animals they hunted. These bones were used for a variety of purposes, including whale bone arches, fences, and cattle rubbing posts. However, it is often unknown what species these bones belong to. Moreover, many of these specimens have been outside for decades or centuries, resulting in their slow degradation. Here we applied the method of Zooarchaeology by Mass-Spectrometry (ZooMS) on two of such whale bones preserved in Bremen, in order to identify their species. Both specimens were identified as "Balaenidae" and likely derived from the bowhead whale (Balaena mysticetus), which was extensively hunted by German whalers in Arctic waters. This case study showcases the wealth of information that can be gained from analysing whale bones preserved in cultural heritage settings. We argue that more specimens should be analysed before erosion and weathering renders research on this precious bio-cultural archives impossible.
