Fish Story Linked to Climate Cycle
Contact: Daniel Sandweiss, Dept. of Anthropology and Climate Change Institute, 207-581-1889, dan_sandweiss@umit.maine.edu
Kirk Maasch, Climate Change Institute, 207-581-2197, kirk@iceage.umeqs.maine.edu
Nick Houtman, Dept. of Public Affairs, 207-581-3777, houtman@maine.edu
ORONO, — Old fish bones can tell scientists about more than what people used to eat. They can also provide clues to the climate in which those people lived. In the scientific journal Quaternary Research, a team led by three University of Maine scientists reports using fish bones from an archaeological site in Peru to describe the timing of Pacific Ocean climate cycles linked to El Nino.
The report provides new evidence for a theory stating that biological cycles in the world’s oceans reflect subtle changes in climate. Industrial scale fish harvesting can also affect fish populations and thus make it difficult to discern the relationship between fisheries and climate.
The UMaine research points to changes in fisheries that pre-date modern harvesting. Those changes are thus more likely to be climate related.
The paper is titled “Geoarchaeological evidence for multidecadal natural climatic variability and ancient Peruvian fisheries.” Co-authors are: from UMaine, archaeologist Dan Sandweiss, Kirk Maasch of the Climate Change Institute, Fei Chai of the School of Marine Sciences; and from the University of Georgia, Fred Andrus and Elizabeth Reitz.
With data gleaned from excavations in the ancient village of Lo Dem