Prehistoric and historic exploitation of marine mammals in the Black Sea

Abstract

The recent exploitation of marine species is relatively well documented and understood in terms of impacts on species abundance, distribution, and resource use. In contrast, ancient exploitation of marine mammals remains poorly documented; in part, because a detailed meta-analysis of their presence in the zooarchaeological record is lacking. This is true in the Black Sea, where cetaceans are reported in the zooarchaeological record but have not yet been studied comprehensively. Here, we synthesize all available published and unpublished zooarchaeological data from 27 sites around the Black Sea, dating from the Mesolithic and Neolithic periods (6500-6000 BCE) to the Medieval period (641–1475 CE), to document the extent and nature of the exploitation of the Black Sea cetacean species. The results suggest that cetacean exploitation was practised continuously in the Black Sea over a period of 8500 years from the Neolithic through to the Medieval period. This suggests a much longer history of marine mammal exploitation in the Black Sea than previously understood, pushing back the timeline of human impacts on the Black Sea marine fauna.