Midden

The Turtle Mound shell midden, in Florida, is the largest on the US East Coast.

Shell middens are found in coastal or lakeshore zones all over the world. Consisting mostly of mollusc shells, they are interpreted as being the waste products of meals eaten by nomadic groups or hunting parties. Some are small examples relating to meals had by a handful of individuals, others are many metres in length and width and represent centuries of shell deposition. In Brazil, they are known as sambaquis, having been created over a long period between the 6th millennium BCE and the beginning of European colonisation.

European shell middens are primarily found along the Atlantic seaboard and in Denmark and primarily date to the 5th millennium BCE (Ertebølle and Early Funnel Beaker cultures), containing the remains of the earliest Neolithisation process (pottery, cereals and domestic animals). Younger shell middens are found in Latvia (associated with Comb Ware ceramics), Sweden (associated with Pitted Ware ceramics), the Netherlands (associated with Corded Ware ceramics) and Schleswig-Holstein (Late Neolithic and Iron Age). All these are examples where communities practised a mixed farming and hunting/gathering economy.

On Canada's west coast, there are shell middens that run for more than 1 kilometre (0.6 mi) along the coast and are several meters deep.[7] The midden in Namu, British Columbia is over 9 metres (30 ft) deep and spans over 10,000 years of continuous occupation.

Shell middens created in coastal regions of Australia by Indigenous Australians exist in Australia today. Middens provide evidence of prior occupation and are generally protected from mining and other developments. One must exercise caution in deciding whether one is examining a midden or a beach mound. There are good examples on the Freycinet Peninsula in Tasmania where wave action currently is combining charcoal from forest fire debris with a mix of shells into masses that storms deposit above high-water mark. Shell mounds near Weipa in far north Queensland that are mostly less than 2 metres (6.6 ft) high (although ranging up to 10 metres (33 ft) high) and a few tens of metres long are claimed to be middens,[8] but are in fact shell cheniers (beach ridges) re-worked by nest mound-building birds.[9] Some shell middens are regarded as sacred sites, linked to the Dreamtime, such as those of the Anbarra group of the Burarra people of Arnhem Land.[10]

Shell mounds are also credited with the creation of tropical hardwood hammocks, one example being the Otter Mound Preserve in Florida, where shell deposits from Calusa natives provided flood free high areas in otherwise large watered areas.[11]

There are instances in which shell middens may have doubled as areas of ceremonial construction or ritual significance. The Woodland period Crystal River site provides an example of this phenomenon.[12]

Some shell mounds, known as shell rings, are circular or open arcs with a clear central area. Many are known from Japan and the southeastern United States, and at least one from South America.[13]

亮島島尾遺址貝塚

Middens in Taiwan are mostly presented as a pile of seashells. The presence of shell middens indicates a subsistence relying on aquatic resources.

In addition to large amounts of seashells, discarded pottery sherds, stone tools, animal bones, and fish bones were also often found in middens. Middens are distributed from northern to southern Taiwan, as well as outlying islands. Archaeological cultures that have been discovered to have middens include Tahu Culture and Niaosung Culture in southern Taiwan; Fantzuyuan Culture in central Taiwan; Shihsanhang Culture and Yuanshan Culture in northern Taiwan;[14] and the Liang Tao Tao Wei (LTTW) Archaeological Site on Liang island, Beigan Township, Lienchiang County (the Matsu Islands) also found shell middens that can be dated back to 8,300 to 7,000 years ago (B.P.; or 6,351-5,051 BC)[15]

圓山貝塚

Middens in Yuanshan Culture are the most famous, so it is sometimes called “Midden Culture” as well. The thick deposits of midden in a large area had been found and investigated during the Japanese Colonial Period,[16] along with human bones.[16] Middens with human bones were also found at the Liang Tao Tao Wei (LTTW) Archaeological Site. The two skeletons unearthed at LTTW are well preserved. The establishment of nucleic acid sequences for the human bones collected at LTTW is one of the most significant discoveries in recent times.[15]

Middens contain rich calcium carbonate, which can effectively neutralize the acidity of the soil. The calcium carbonate mitigates the decomposition of human and animal bones, providing well-preserved research materials for archaeologists. Aside from indicating subsistence at the time, the seashells can also be analyzed to obtain information on diet preferences, harvest seasons, and environmental formations.[14]