MALDI-TOF MS spectra of archaeological whale bone specimens from Atlantic Europe ...

• Main Authors: Van Den Hurk, Youri, Sikström, Fanny, Amkreutz, Luc, Bleasdale, Madeleine, Borvon, Aurélia, Ephrem, Brice, Fernández-Rodríguez, Carlos, Gibbs, Hannah, Johnsson, Leif, Lehouck, Alexander, Martínez Cedeira, Jose, Meng, Stefan, Monge Soares, Rui, Moreno, Marta, Nabais, Mariana, Nores, Carlos, Pis Millán, José Antonio, Riddler, Ian, Schmölcke, Ulrich, Segschneider, Martin, Speller, Camilla, Vretemark, Maria, Wickler, Stephen, Collins, Matthew, Nadeau, Marie-Josée, Barrett, James
• Format: Dataset
• Language: unknown
• Published: Borealis 2023
• Subjects: Eubalaena glacialis; North Atlantic; North Atlantic right whale
• Online Access: https://dx.doi.org/10.5683/sp3/pqiih5; https://borealisdata.ca/citation?persistentId=doi:10.5683/SP3/PQIIH5

AbstractWhale bones are regularly found during archaeological excavations. Identification of these specimens to taxonomic levels is problematic due to their fragmented state. This lack of taxonomic resolution limits understanding of the past spatiotemporal distributions of whale populations and reconstructions of early whaling activities. To overcome this challenge, we performed Zooarchaeology by Mass-Spectrometry on an unprecedented selection of 719 archaeological and palaeontological specimens of probable whale bone from Atlantic European contexts, from the Middle to Late Neolithic (c.3500–2500 BCE) to the eighteenth century CE. The results show high numbers of Balaenidae (most likely North Atlantic right whale (Eubalaena glacialis)) and grey whale (Eschrichtius robustus) specimens, two species no longer present in the eastern North Atlantic. Many of these specimens derive from contexts associated with the known medieval whaling cultures of the Basques, northern Spaniards, Normans, Flemish, Frisians, ...