Emeritus Professor John Parkington will present the Department of Archaeology seminar with a talk entitled, "Shellfish Remains and Coastal Adaptations". 

Abstract:   Shellfish are an extremely valuable component of the archaeological record: they are superabundant, easily found, easily identified to species, much more easily understood than an eland rib bone or a set of microfaunal bones. Shellfish have two other interesting characteristics that lend themselves to archaeological investigations. Because they are largely inedible shell, they must have been prime candidates for field processing prior to transport to a living site. Following on from this, we must be aware that shellfish locations (shell middens) are more correctly viewed as discard locations than, necessarily, consumption locations. Here we make use of these valuable dimensions to investigate coastal settlement along the Atlantic shore of the Western Cape.

Bio:  John Parkington is Emeritus Professor and Senior Research Scholar in the Department of Archaeology at UCT, where he has taught for some years. John Parkington's research is directed at understanding long term hunter gatherer settlement in the Fynbos Biome of the Western Cape.  It involves mapping, sampling and sometimes excavation of sites across the landscape, and analysis of the various kinds of materials recovered.   The primary goal is to understand patterns of cultural variation and evolution through time. This is achieved by reconstructing life histories and social relations, settlement choices, image making and resource use through the later Pleistocene and Holocene.