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.