The Early Modern Fish Market: marine trade resources and the human impact on the Baltic Sea animals in the early modern period Sweden.

Projekt: Forskningsprojekt

Projektinformation

Beskrivning (abstrakt)

The Baltic Sea is one of the world’s largest brackish waters which has provided subsistence to the people surrounding the sea since the Stone Age. The study aims to map the scale of the commercial use of fish, seals, and water birds in the early modern period and provide information of the possible over-use of these animals.
The material consists of customs records, laws and enforcements, zooarchaeological material and chemical analysis of fish bones. The customs records will provide information on the commercial distribution and use of marine animal products. The laws and enforcements are studied for the purpose of identifying possible restrictions to hunting and fishing caused by the risk of diminishing animal populations. The zooarchaeological material will provide the distribution of animal bone material in known sites from the early modern period. The study is restricted to material from the Swedish state from the early modern period, mainly Finland and Sweden of today.
Herring and pike bones will be sampled for aDNA to look at possible differences and similarities in the use of fish populations and the spread of them through trade in processed fish products. Cod and pike bones will be sampled for isotope analysis (C,N,S) to be used to trace the provenance of the species e.g., Atlantic vs Baltic Sea vs fresh water.
The project is expected to increase the understanding of the use of marine resources in the Baltic Sea, as well as the show a higher economic importance of water birds to early modern consumers. The project will also present threats subjected to these animal populations and promote environmental stewardship in the Baltic Sea. The presence and absence of marine species, such as harbour seal, can also give information on climate changes in the Baltic Sea as some species are sensitive to salinity levels in waters, as well as changes in temperature. The chemical analyses on fish bones will increase our knowledge of herring, cod, and pike populations in the Baltic Sea.
StatusPågående
Gällande start-/slutdatum01/06/202131/12/2025