ARCHAEOZOOLOGICAL RESEARCH IN MEDIEVAL IBERIA: FISHING AND FISH TRADE ON ALMOHAD SITES

by

Arturo Morales Muñiz*. Eufrasia Roselló Izquierdo*, An Lenfacker** & Dolores Carmen Morales Muñiz*

Abstract: Archacozoological analyscs of ihree iberian moorish sites (Calatrava La Vieja. Mértola and Salles) are combinad wilh tradilional historical techniques in ordcr to explore the nature of fishing in the muslim world of medieval Iberia. The results from this cooperative siudy evidence concordances and discordanccs bciween faunal and documenlary dala, but, above all, stress the importance which animal remains ihcmsclves mighi bcar on the analysis of palacocconomic quesiions over which hislory oficn remains mute.

Keywords: Fish. Archacozoology. n^Ccniury/l3'" Ceniury.

L INTRODUCTION

Historians should slart regarding animal remains from archaeologica! sites as empirical tools of prime relevance, for not only these provide them with raw data büt also consiiiuie an ideal and independent testing ground for theoretical research (Delort, 1984). Failure to rcalize this inferential potential w i l l ofien result in partial and also in biascd historical analysis.

In the case of analyses on the economics of fishing, for example, it is not only fishing techniques and straiegies (scldomly referred to in written sources) that the analyst might infere from the bones, but, specially, the nature of the fish assemblage itsclf. For it is wilh a thorough knowledge of the species' biological habits that one can answer a series of questions of historical interest (e.g. biotopes cropped, inshore/offshore fishery, existence and nature of potential

* Laboratorio de Arqueozoologia (Dcpto. Biologia), Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, E-28049 MADRID. ESPAÑA.

** I.U.A.P.-28 "Inierdisciplinaire Archcologie", Koninklijk Museum voor Midden-Afrika, B--3080 TERVUREN, BELGIÉ.

Est. I V

i

SA SP

Fig. 4 — Osieological diffcrcnces bctwcen pilchards {Sardina pilchardus, SP) and round sardinella (Sardinella aurila, S A ) in a series of bones (A: frontalc; B: dentale; C: operculare; D: hyomandibulare) and clupcid bones (shown in black) from Calatrava La Vieja evidencing the existence of complete individuáis at the site. (Taken from Roselló & Morales. 1991).

I

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III. MATERIAL AND METHODS

Being this analysis a combination of two widely different fields of research, we w i l l have to divide this section into a series of uniis of homogcneous content.

Illa. The sites

The three sites discussed here represent important moorish cities, each one with a different character, which flourished under almohad rule (Figure 1). The fact that these settlements seem to be linked by a commercial route ihrough the Guadiana river, connecting the coastline with the hinterland of the almohad empire, givcs further interest to a combined comparative analysis.

Illa.l. Saltes

The island of Saltes (Shaltish) is located in the estuary of the Odiel river, cióse to the city of Huelva and the estuary of the Tinto river, in a saliy marshland (marisma) and very ncar to the atlaniic coast (Figure l A ) .

Several muslim authors, in their gcographical works, dcscribed Saltes as the mediña and capital, until 1501, of a small Taifa Kingdom wilh a harbour which was a ihriving centre of trade and indusiry which rcachcd ils zenith during the 12'^-13'^ ceniuries (Al-Idr is i , 1968). On top of activitics such as metal-working, intensive agriculiure and stockbreeding. Saltes, according to Ibn Sa id, became an imporiant fishing lown and the main provider of fish to the city of Sevil le. This author further states that the fishes were salted. Some evidence of pickl ing is found at Saltes for, during the 1988 campaign, two brine baths were excavated cióse to the estuary. Though dated back to román limes, it is possible that these struciures could have remained functional well into medieval limes (Bazzana & Cressier, 1989; Leniacker, in press).

It is, al present, assumed that this moorish lovv'n was probably abandoned right afier the chrisiians took over the arca and, by the end of the 14'*' century, the place was already described as rural (Bazzana & Cressier, Op. cit.).

Animal remains have been collecied in the course of two excavaiion campaigns. During 1988, bones were only coUected by hand whereas in 1990 sieving was carried out using 5 and 2 mm meshes. During this last campaign, moreover, sieving was carried out on sediments f i l l ing specific struciures such as storage and waste pits, wells and drainage channels (Leniacker, Op. cit.). Since, on the opinión of the excavalors, all these malcriáis were homogeneous.

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área (Figure 2). A l l samples have been sieved wi lh 5 mm meshes and all seem lo dale back

inio the 12"̂ century. It is the opinión of the excavalors that ihey represent a homogeneous material (S. Maclas , verb. comm.).

Illa.3. Calat rava la Vieja

Founded by the moors during ihe eighi century as a forircss along the Guadiana river, Calatrava la Vieja was probably the mosi imporiani city, bolh straiegically and economically spcaking, of the whole la Mancha región (Ruibal, 1984).

Occupied in 1147, during the firsi Taifa, by the casiilian K i n g Alfonso VIII , the ciiy fell into the hands of the almohads in 1195 after the decissive batlles of Calatrava and Alarcos bul was definiiively occupied by the u-oops of the K i n g of Aragón on the summer of 1212.

Though Calatrava originally had an economy based on stockbreeding, mainly of sheep and horses, huniing and the mining aciiviiies ar-ound Sierra Morena contributed lo ils overall weallh as wel l . Laier, due lo iis siralegic localion on the rouies linking Toledo wiih the caliphaie's capital ci iy of Córdoba, Calatrava became an important centre of commcrce bctwcen ihc chrisiians -mainly providcrs of raw malcriáis- and the muslims, providers of manufaciurcd goods. This commcrce turned ihe place inio an atrraclivc lax-collccting post for bolh chrisiian and moorish rulers alike.

Among the goods arriving in Calairava, wrii icn records meniion weapons, luxury producís , catlle, salí, salied meai and furs from boih bcavers and sable mariens, though this last species ncvcr exisicd on the Iberian península and probably indícales a mis-iranslation (or, pcrhaps, a mis-idcniification) of equivalent mustelids, such as the beech manen (Manes foina) or the pine manen ( M . martes), lo be found still in Spain. In ihis coniext one should not be surprised lo find evidence of a fish trade. The documents do not specify wheiher the commerce wilh ihe soulhern coast actually took place ihrough the Guadiana river or not.

Despile ils comparalively bricf almohad occupalion, the excavalions carried out in 1984 under ihe direction of J . Zozaya & E . Retuerce on one of the towcrs of the northern sector of the dcfensive wall , detecied an apparenily homogeneous filling of lhe whole siructure which was, archacologically spcaking, 96% almohad (Retuerce & Lozano, 1986). Bolh the naiure of the archaeological artifacts (whole or broken poiiery and glassware which could be made lo fit) and the mammals and birds retrieved (whole skelcions in anatomical conncciion) indícate

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It is in this way, that we learn about the fishing carried out in Bezmiliana, Sidonia, Málaga and Huelva and we see that thcre are repeated refercnces to mediterranean fisheries though very little indeed is said about atlantic ones. Data included in the Córdoba calendar rcfer to the main species taken: sturgeon and shads (which swimmcd rivers upstream during the month of march to spawn), pilchards (fished in august according to these sources) and grey muUets. These documents also specify that tunas (which were caught with the local almadraba gear) were a most valuable resource in the city of Sidonia swimming, during the month of may, from the Atlantic into the Mediterranean. Throughout the Costa del Sol -Almuñecar, Salobreña (prov. Granada) and Fuengirola plus Marbella (prov. Málaga)- fishing conccnirated on both pilchards and anchovies, etc.

However, documenlary sources do not seem lo go any further. The sources repeatedly refer lo fishes in general and lo the act of fishing with neis. " B i g " fish and "smal l" fish, fish that "sells weH"^ e i c , are coniinuously meniioned bul very scldomly are species specified (on lop of ihe already meniioned ones someiimes we come accross "siurgeon" and "red mulleis" (genus Mullus) but little else). Not a word has been found on ihe ways of processing fishes in this pcriod alihough several refercnces stress that in coastal cities "fishes were consumed mainly fresh" (Br i l l , 1987). In addilion lo salicd fishes being shippcd inland (see previous refercnces on Salles), one musí also have to assume that fishes could have been consumed fresh in cerlain cilies further away from ihe shore. In Seville, for example, we know about the cxisicnce of guilds of bolh fish mongers and "fish friers", activitics which, mosl probably, were carried out on fresh animáis .

More precise refercnces about fishes and fish consumpiion have been found from laier periods in ihe Al-Andalus arca (Arlé, 1974/75; García 1978, 1980; Malpica , 1984) but this 14̂ ^ ceniury dala is of l i l i le use in our case.

It is for ihis rcason ihai we fecl ihcre should be a regular coopcraiion of historians in the analysis of these quesiions with researchers from fields, such as archacozoology, werc dala can be oblaincd in a radically different way in order lo provide a more holislic approach to ihe subject of fishing and fish trade in Medieval times.

Illb.2. Archaeozoo log ica l mefhods

Archacozoology, as so many oihcr biological disciplines, relies mainly on

^Therc are several refercnces lo a fish lypc, referred lo as «Fahl» for which we have been unablc to find any transiaüon!

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1 and 4). In Mériola , quiic a largc amount of taxonomically unideniified fish remains are scales (NR=80, 32 from Q16B and 48 from Q17C), probably from grey mullels or cyprinids (Roselló, in press) and ihe remaining caiegories are ribs, vertebrae and radial elemenis (pierygophorcs, s.l.)- contrast, ihe unidenüfied remains from Calatrava all come from fíat (i.e., cranial) bones which are assumed to belong to cyprinids due to the degree of ossification which they exhibit (Roselló & Morales, 1991).

Both at Mér to la and Calatrava the samples seem to be homogeneous in terms of laxonomic diversity despite low samplc sizes (Table 1). This is normal in the case of the spanish site since al l the deposits belong to a similar chronostratigraphical unit, but more striking in Mértola where samples come from two different places. In Salles the mosl striking diffcrcnces occur beiween campaigns and are obviously caused by different reirieval meihods. Thus, during the 1988 excavations ihc bones which were coUected by hand, amount to 10 remains (mostly large vertebrae) from four different species whereas in the sieved samples of the 1990 campaign, a minimum of 22 taxa (15-17 species) have been identified (Tables 1 and 4). No diffcrcnces in fish diversity seem to have been detectcd among the analyzed structurcs (i.e., drainage channels, storage and waste pits, etc..) (Lcnlacker, in press). For this rcason, the whole ichthyoccnosis is trcated as a single unit.

A final word concerning overall patterns has lo do wiih laxonomic diversity and laphonomic loss. More ihan 30 specific or generic laxa have been detecied in a samplc of roughly 600 bones. This datum, combined wiih the esiimaiion of M N I (minimum numbcrs of individuáis) (Roselló & Morales, 1991; Lcnlacker in press; Rose l ló , in press) allow us lo siate ihai:

1) Taxonomic diversity, cven in small samples such as ihose from Mértola , is incredibly high and indirecily indícales the importance of fishes as a resource lo these muslim communiiies, bolh inland and coastal.

2) Taphonomic loss, as far as we are able to infere, musí have been equally enormous, and in no single case has it been estimaicd below 90% (most figures run well into 99%!) (Roselló & Morales, 1991). This fealure also indícales that fish are, more ihan any other faunal sector, the most undcrestimated animal resource in the three siles under consideralion.

In order to make more specific commenis we need lo look at the laxa Ihemselves in some detall.

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the román brine baths agree with written sources. However, all we can say about the marine fishes retrieved inland is that they seem to have been transported as whole specimens, for all types of bones from their skeletons have been identified (i.e., cranial (including braincases), vertebrae and girdles) (Rosel ló & Morales, 1990, 1991). On ethnological grounds, we know that pilchards "herring style" (i.e., dried, salted and smoked) has been the method prior to modern canning techniques.

3) More conclusive evidence has been found on the fishery of Salles. Evidence from an inshorc fishery comes from the remains of sparids. The finding of Pagellus and Diplodus remains in sufficicnt numbcrs to enable a reconstruciion of body lengihs (i.e., standard lengths, SL) (Whiiehead el al., 1984) has been pariiculary useful for this purpose. Mosl Pagellus bones belong to small animáis (10-20 cm), smallcr than normal mean lengths for both pandora and the axillary sea-bream (i.e., 20-25 cm) and much smallcr still than the present day máximum S L valúes of cither pandora (60 cm) and the axillary sea-bream (36 cm) (Whiiehead el ai, 1986a) (Figure 3A) . These small fishes, therefore, indícate the presence of young specimens which Uve very cióse to the shore and which could have been easily fished (e.g. with irail neis on ihe bcach) (Brandl, 1984). Adul i s , l iving in dceper waicrs, werc probably more diff icul l lo caich. In Diplodus annularis, on the other hand, bolh juveniles and adulls Uve in the litloral zone and their normal size range (12-15 cm) is comparable lo most fishes found at Saltes (Figure 3B; Whiiehead el al., 1986a). Further evidence for an inshore fishery comes from specimens of meagre (Argyrosoinus regías) which, like the shad and grey mullels, entered coastal lagoons and esiuaries to spawn. These species, and the solé (Solea sp.), fond of sandy or siliy boiioms, could also indícate regular fishing having taken place wiihín the estuary itsclf.

Evidence for an offshore fishery al Saltes comes from the presence of shoalíng fishes, such as mackcrels (Scomber sp.), pilchards (Sardina pilchardus) and, above a l l , bluefin luna (Thunnus ihynnus). Pilchards are loo small to be catched wilh anything bul neis and tunas crossing these waters are animáis on their gametic migration -a lime when ihey do not feed and iravcl in deep waier-thus neis seem the only appropiate gear to fish them.

4) At Mértola and Calatrava we believe we have found evidence of the fish irade having taken place wiih the ailaniíc secior of ihe soulhern iberian shorelines. Thus, the abundance in Calatrava of sardinella (Sardinella auriia) remains, a species most frequcnily cncouniercd in that arca, supporis the idea (Whiiehead et ai, 1984). However, the clcaresl indicalion is the relricval in Mértola of ihe red pandora (Pagellus belloüii) (Table 1; Roselló, in press). This species is not aknowledged as pan of the iberian fauna, due to the fací that at present, it only reaches as far norih as Morocco (Whiiehead et al., 1986a).

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7) Though processing techniques can not be inferred from the fishes themsieves, it seems likely that exported fishes were mainly of the fatty-meat type (i.e., pilchards, sardinella, horse mackcrels, mackerels and tunas) as these seem to be the most frequent types inland (in particular Calatrava) whereas the low-fat fishes (sparids) probably were consumed fresh, as their abundance in Salles indícales. Neveriheless, even these small fishes could have been processed from time to time.

8) Final ly, one can noi forgct the diversity gradienis evidenced in the taxocenosis of Saltes, Mcr io la and Calatrava (Table 4). The falling valúes in diversity indexes not only indícale the presence of a poorer fish fauna as one moves further inland bul, since this fauna is bull í up lo a large exie^l by laxa imponed from the coast, they also lesiify lo some kind of cultural fillcr governing the dispersión of exponed producís . In this way, the further inland we are, the lower the number of taxa "able" lo reach the site from the coast wi l l be. This, obviously, is also indicaiing that thcre were different types of processing icchniques, some being more long-lived than olhcrs.

VI. CONCLUSIONS

It is exircniely inicrcsiing to see how a simple faunal analysis can provide the historian wilh so many hints about apparently unsuspectcd cultural paiierns.

Perhaps the one single most important contribulion for our research has been the documentalion, for the firsi lime in Iberian hislory, of a marine fish trade connecting coastal wilh inland siles.

Results from this combined historical and archaeozoological approach further evidence four caiegories of data (see also Morales, in press):

A) Concordani Information. W i i h i n this section we have been able lo deieci a correlaiion beiwecn fish laxa regularily meniioned in documents and regularily retrieved in ihe subfossil samplcs. The mosl obvious case is ihat of the pilchard, already meniioned in the previous section, bul the same vvould apply 10 other groups such as shads and grey mullels. The archacozoological confirmaiion of the fish trade would also fall wi ih in this category.

B) Discordanl informalion. This applies both lo species not meniioned in the wriiien records but found in ihe archaeological sediments (the most obvious case is that of sparids) as well as species meniioned in the documents but abseni from the samples. In this second category one can include ihe bluefin tuna and the anchovies {Engraulis encrasicholus). The case of ihe tuna (only two vertebrae found at Salles) is one where we may have some hints on the reasons for the discordance. Thus, we know that the processing of such large

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Bazzana; Juana Bedia and John De Meulemees íer ) for giving us the possibility of analyzing the faunal remains from these three sites. A . Ervynck (Zel l ik) , W , Van Neer (Tervuren) and A . Morales (Madrid) provided useful cr i i ic ism. This work has partly benefited from grants P B 87-0796-CO2-01 and PB 90-0200 from the Spanish National Research Counci l ( D G I C Y T ) .

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A R I É . ' R . (1974-1975) - Remarques sur ral imcntal ion des musulmans d'Espagne au cours du Bas Moyen Age. Cuadernos de Estudios Medievales, II-III: 299-312.

ARIÉ, R. (1984) - España Musulmana (S. VJII-XV). En: Tuñón de Lara, M . (cd.): Historia de España. Labor, Barcelona.

A U D O I N - R O U Z E A U , F. (1990) - Hommes et Animaux en Europe de l 'áge du fer aux tcmps modcrnes et contemporains. Corpus d'informaiions historiques et archco-zoologiques. Antropozoologica 12: 42-44.

B A K R I ( A L ) (1982) - Geografía de España. Traducción notas etc. Elisco Vidal Beltrán. Ed. Anubar, Zaragoza.

B A Z Z A N A , A . & P. C R E S S I E R (1989) - Shaliish/Salics (Huelva). Une vil lc mcdievale d 'Al -Andalus . Publications de la Casa de Vclázqucz. Serie Eludes et Documents n« 5: 1-73.

B E N A B O U D , M . (1983) - Tendanccs cconomiques dans Al-Andalus durant la pér iode des états Taifas. Dulletin Economique et Social du Maroc 151-52.

B L A N C , M . E T A L . (1971) - European Inland Water Fish. A mullilingual catalogue. Fishing Nev/s Ltd., London.

B O R G E S C O E L H O , A . (1993) - Sobre Mértola e o Guadiana. Arqueología Medieval 1: 203-207.

B R A N D T , A . V O N (1984) - Fi.sh Catching Methods oflhe World. Fishing News Books Ltd. , Famham.

B R I L L , E.J . (ED.) (1987) - First Encyclopedia of Islam. Reprinted Leidcn. D E L O R T , J. (1984) - Les animaux ont une histoire. Editions du Seuil, París. D Í A Z , A . (1978-1979) - Un tratado nazarí sobre al imentación. Cuadernos de Estudios

Medievales V I - V I I : 5-37. G A R C Í A , E . (1978) - Contr ibución al estudio de la alimentación en Andalucía Is lámica.

Memoria de Licenciatura (unpublished). Universidad de Granada. G A R C Í A , E . (1980) - Ibn al-Azraq: Uryuza sobre ciertas preferencias gastronómicas de

los granadinos. Andalucía Islámica, I: 141-162. G R A N J A , F. D E L A (1960) - L a cocina arábigo andaluza según un manuscrito inédito:

Fadalat al-jiwan. Tesis doctoral (unpublished). Universidad Complutense de Madrid. H E S S E , B . & P. W A P N I S H (1985) - Animal Bone Archaeology. Taraxacum, Washing­

ton. HUICI M I R A N D A . A . (1956-7) - Historia política del Imperio Almohade. 2 Vols , Tetuan. H U I C I M I R A N D A , A . (1966) - La cocina hispano magrebí en la época almohade según

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Bol. Arq. Medieval 5: 113-133. R U I B A L , A . (1984) - Calatrava la Vieja. Estudio de una fortaleza medieval. Instituto

de Estudios Manchegos. C.S.I .C. , Madrid. SÁNCHEZ, J .G. (1989) - Nomenclatura portuguesa de Organismos Aquáticos. Instituto

Nacional de Investiga^ao das Pescas. V I G U E R A S , M . J . (1988) - A l Andalus en época almohade. Actas del V Coloquio inter­

nacional de Historia Medieval de Andalucía: 9-29, Córdoba. W H E E L E R , A . & A . K . JONES (1989) - Fishes. Cambridge University Press. Cambridge. W H I T E H E A D , P.J.P. ET A L . (1984) - Fishes of the North-Eastern Atlantic and the

Mediterranean. Volume I. U N E S C O , París. W H I T E H E A D , P.J.P. (1986A) - Fishes of the North-Eastern Atlaniic and the Mediterranean.

Volume II. U N E S C O , París. W H I T E H E A D , P.J.P. (1986B) - Fishes ofthe North-Eastern Atlantic and the Mediterranean.

Volume III. U N E S C O , París.

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T A B L E 3 Biotope prcferences of the marine fishes retrieved in the almohad sites (data partially

after Whitehcad el al. 1984, 1986a, 1986b) expressed as NR and corrcsponding perccntages. See tcxt for further comments.

E C O L O G Y S A L T E S M É R T O L A C A L A T R A V A

N E R I T I C 309 (84.5%) 25 (96%) 76 (95%) B E N T H O N I C 42 (11.5%) 1 (4%) -P E L A G I C 15 (4.0%) - 4 (5%)

T A B L E 4 Sclectcd d versity paramctcrs from ichthyoccnosis of the almohad sites.

P A R A M E T E R S A L T E S M É R T O L A C A L A T R A V A

N U M B E R O F T A X A 22 11 7 N U M B E R O F SPECIES 15 9 7 i r 2'37 2'03 l ' ó ó

APPENDIX 1: N O M E N C L A T U R A L E Q U I V A L E N C E S O F T H E T A X A MENTIONED IN THIS PAPER.

SCIENTIFIC Ñ A M E E N G L I S H Ñ A M E S P A N I S H Ñ A M E P O R I U G U E S E Ñ A M E

Chondrichihyes cartilaginous fish pez cartilaginoso pcixcs

Musletus musuhis smooth-hound musola caqao-liso Raja sp. skate/ray raya raía Acipenser sturio sturgeon esturión so lho / c s tur jáo Sardina pilchardus pilchard sardina sardlnha

Sardinella aurita sardinella alacha sardincla-lombuda

Alosa alosa AUis shad s á b a l o / s a b o g a sivel Chondrosloma polylcpis Iberian nosc boga de rio boga-de-boca-direito

Leuciscus cephalus chub cacho escola Barbas comiza Iberian barbel comiza barbü-cumba

Barbas microcephalus barbo del Guadiana barbo de cabera pequeña

Barbas sp. barD barbo barbo Pagellas acarne axillary seabream a l igó te besugo Pagellas eryíhrinas common pandora breca bica Pagellus belloílii red pandora breca colorado bica-bu(;o Pagrus pagrus common scabream pargo pargo-legitimo Pagrus auriga redbandcd scabream hurta pargo-scmola

Sparus aurata gillhead dorada dourada Diplodus annularis annular seabream raspal lón sargo-alcorraz Diplodus sargas while seabream sargo s a r g o - l e g í t i m o - d o -

Medilerranco Serranas sp. comber cabrilla/mecillo serrano Argyrosomus regias meagre corvina c o r v i n a - l e g í t i m a

Mugilidae grey mullels mujoles lainhas Chelon labrosus thick-lipped grey mullet lisa tainha-liga Liza aurata golden grey mullet galupe tainha-garrcnlo Mugil cephalus flalhead grey mullet pardcie tainha-olhalvo

Thunnus ihynnas bluefin luna atún rojo atum-rabilho Scomber scomhrus mackcrcl caballa sarda Scomber colias chub mackcrel estornino cávala Trocharas Iracharus horse mackcrcl chichaao carapau Solea aff. vulgaris s o l é lenguado s o l e í d e o