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Current ICAZ Working Groups
Archaeomalacology Working Group—
Phylum Mollusca is the second-largest phylum in existence, and
many species of mollusc have been of importance to humans over the
course of time. From the mid-Paleolithic, shellfish have been utilized
as a food source, and in many areas and cultures around the world,
shells were important raw materials for artifact manufacture. Archaeological
mollusc remains originating from marine, terrestrial and freshwater
environments have been used to inform us about aspects of prehistoric
life such as diet, paleo-environmental, status and change, trade
and exchange, and artifact production.
At the 2002 ICAZ International Conference in Durham, England, several
ICAZ members who recognized the importance of molluscs in the zooarchaeological
record met to discuss the formation of a Archaemalacology Working
Group (AMWG). Since then, the group has applied for and received
official status as an ICAZ Working Group. The AMWG's mission is
the liberal exchange of data and information about molluscs in the
archaeological record. This encompasses both methods and theories
relating to the analysis of such remains as well as creating an
environment where specifics could be discussed amongst a group of
peers. The AMWG also encourages the publication of information related
to these forums. The impetus for this new working group grew out
of an archaeomalacology conference session organized by Daniella
E. Bar-Yosef Mayer. Daniella has also recently been named the AMWG
Liaison to ICAZ. For more information, check out the AMWG website
at http://triton.anu.edu.au.
The 1st AMWG meeting was hosted in Gainesville, Florida, USA, by
the Environmental Archaeology Program, Florida Museum of Natural
History, University of Florida, on February 17-19, 2005. Contributed
papers were invited on various aspects of archaeomalacology. We
also devoted some time to organizing a governing body for the working
group. The meeting program has been posted on the AMWG website (http://triton.anu.edu.au).
The proceedings of this meeting are currently being prepared for
publication. We also decided to meet every other year, alternating
between holding an archaeomalacology session at the ICAZ International
Conference and an independent meeting elsewhere.
The AMWG held a session during the ICAZ 2006 International Conference.
This session, titled simply “Archaeomalacology,” included
ten oral presentations and two posters. The topics discussed varied
from oyster cultivation to the production and exchange of shell
artifacts, to shell symbolism, and from paleoenvironmental reconstruction
and dating of mollusks to their dietary significance in an island
society. Paper abstracts are available on BoneCommons (http://www.alexandriaarchive.org/icaz/icazForum).
A variety of chronological periods and geographical areas were represented,
and all papers stimulated conversations about future research directions.
In addition to the Archaeomalacology session at the ICAZ 2006
International Conference, there was a session dedicated to mollusks
of Precolumbian Mexico. Within the entire conference there were
about 30 papers and posters that discussed mollusks in various contexts,
many of them presented in the session titled, “Exploitation
of Coastal Resources,” but also scattered throughout other
sessions. The AMWG also held a business meeting at the conference,
dedicated primarily to discussing the publication of the symposia
proceedings and to our next independent meeting. Canan Cakirlar
and Victoria Stossel agreed to undertake the editing and publishing
of the proceedings of the Archaeomalacology and the Mollusks of
Precolumbian Mexico sessions in one volume. Esteban Álvarez
Fernández and Diana Rocio Carvajal Contreras volunteered
to co-organize the next meeting of the AMWG in Santander, Spain
in 2008.
For more information, check out the AMWG website at http://triton.anu.edu.au.
This information has been contributed by Daniella E. Bar-Yosef
Mayer, AMWG Liaison to ICAZ.
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