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Denizcilik Arkeolojisi Dergisi

It preys on small schooling fish (anchovies, sauries, and the number of individuals is not that large . By
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hakes) or on squid and red crabs. A recent study on comparing fish remains with the rest of the faunal re-
the Mediterranean diet of this species provided evi- cord from the Franchthi Cave, rose clearly demon-
dence that juveniles prey mainly on zooplankton and strates that bluefin tuna was in no way the main di-
small pelagic coastal fish, sub-adults prey on medium etary source for Franchthi foragers. The community
pelagic fish, shrimp, and cephalopods, while adults hunted terrestrial mammals, such as red deer, gath-
prey mainly on cephalopods and larger fish” . ered wild plants, including cereals and fruits, and cap-
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Consequently, it is true that bluefin tuna on migra- tured other year-round fish for the basis of their sub-
tion do prefer deep waters, but since they feed them- sistence. Seasonal tuna catches, as rose puts it, could
selves constantly until spawning, they frequently fol- not be more than a dietary supplement (Fig. 2) .
33
low smaller fish in schools and come close to shores Likewise, there is plenty of negative evidence in
where they can be captured . A recent study imple- the prehistoric record for restricted capture of deep
27
menting pop-up tags on migratory fish showed that water species. Swordfish and dolphins, both pelag-
bluefin spend most of their time navigating waters ic species, are rarely recorded in the faunal assem-
0-100 m in depth and, near productive bays, frequent- blages from prehistoric Aegean sites . Shark and ray
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ly approach shallow waters close to the mainland and remains identified from a few EBA deposits may be
islands in the Aegean . There are historical records potential indicators of offshore fishing, but they can
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from Spain to the Bosphorus demonstrating that tuna also represent beach-picks, as shark/ray vertebrae are
swim close to the shores following small fish and valued aesthetically and are still used to make orna-
can be captured using several methods, including ments . As Powell suggests, isolated whale verte-
35
long lines, large spears, nets, or fixed traps known as brae remains from Saliagos are best considered to
“tonnare” and “dalians” . Upwelling areas close to have originated from stranded individuals .
36
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the shores are also potential hunting grounds for and However, there are areas with good production
of tuna . Therefore, tuna fishing is not necessarily rates of deep-water species in the Aegean. This is
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equivalent to offshore or open sea fishing. As Mar- especially true near the coasts and between islands,
zano emphasizes, despite recordings of open sea fish- where a bottleneck effect occurs for migratory fish, as
eries in the Atlantic during the roman period, open well as in the northern part of the basin, where both
sea fishing was an infrequent activity in the Mediter- the freshwater influx from Thessaly and the effect of
th
ranean until the 20 century, and it was not until after the Dardanelles create favourable conditions .
37
the Second World War that fishing boats began to em- Deep water species from such favourable locations
ploy sonar and radar technology in order to intercept do not necessarily imply offshore fishing. A fisher-
fish schools in open sea, partially in order to avoid man we interviewed in the southern Troas, right
modern states’ territorial waters, which had created a across from the northern coast of Lesbos, confirmed
virtual monopoly on coastal fishing . that both bluefin tuna and swordfish are often cap-
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It is also erroneous to assume that seasonal bluefin tured one nautical mile off-shore, and in rare cases
tuna catch provided the major calorie input for pre- even closer. Dolphins, for instance, are commonly
historic societies. Mark rose, who studied the fish recorded from the Neolithic sites of Yenikapı and
remains from Franchthi, states that bluefin remains Fikirtepe around the Bosphorus during the 6-5 mil-
th
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were gathered in deposits that span several centuries, lennium BCE (Fig. 6) .

24 see MYLONA 2003a; PAYNE 1975; POWELL 2003; rADIĆ 2002.
25 COLLETTE et al. 2015.
26 SArÀ ̶ SArÀ 2007.
27 PICKArD ̶ BONSALL 2004; rOSE 1995; WEBB 1999.
28 DE METrIO et al. 2004.
29 ADDIS et al. 2009, 175-176; DEVECIYAN 2006; ErTAN 2010, 111-113; MArZANO 2013, 15; TrAKADAS 2008.
30 PICKArD ̶ BONSALL 2004; rOSE 1995.
31 MArZANO 2013, 15.
32 MArK rOSE 1995, 23.
33 rOSE 1995, 24.
34 POWELL 1996, 59; rOSE 1994, 443-449; TrANTALIDOU 2011; VON DEN DrIESCH 1999.
35 POWELL 1996, 55; THEODOrOPOULOU 2011.
36 POWELL 1996, 59.
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