AV 67, 2016: Matija KRIŽNAR, Olexandr M. KOVALCHUK

ARHEOLOŠKI VESTNIK

ARHEOLOŠKI VESTNIK 67, 2016

Matija KRIŽNAR, Olexandr M. KOVALCHUK

Quaternary fish remains from the Ljubljansko barje and Križna jama in the paleontological collections of the Slovenian Museum of Natural History

Abstract

Fish certainly represent at least a small proportion of the diet of the people who lived in the central Slovenian territory in the past. This is proven by their skeletal remains from Pleistocene and Holocene (Quaternary) layers at several archaeological and paleontological sites. Very few publications deal with the Quaternary remains of fish, and even fewer also depict them visually and define them. In this article we aim to present finds that are stored in the paleontological collections of the Slovenian Museum of Natural History and come from sites in the Ljubljansko barje (Opekarna near Vrhnika, Breg near Škofljica, Dežmanova kolišča/Dežman pile-dwellings near Ig) and from the Križna jama cave in the Notranjska region. Remains from Pleistocene clays near Vrhnika included bones of northern pike (Esox lucius). The Mesolithic site of Breg near Škofljica resulted in the remains of northern pike (Esox lucius), sheatfish (Silurus glanis), and zander (Sander lucioperca). From Copper and Bronze Age (Holocene) layers in the Ljubljansko barje (Dežman pile-dwellings at Ig) came remains of northern pike (Esox lucius). The most enigmatic are the remains of common carp (Cyprinus carpio) from Križna jama, because it is an unusual site to find fish. They can probably be related to visits by people in the Bronze Age or even later periods.

Keywords: Slovenia, Ljubljansko barje, Križna jama cave, Pleistocene, Mesolithic, Copper Age, archaeozoology, freshwater fish

Article (pdf)