Quantification

Counting of shells that were used as artifacts is important because it has been demonstrated that the proportions of different shell species change in different periods, and can thus be chronological indicators.

Figure 4 Cylinder seal made of the coral Acroporafrom Tel Assawir in Israel, sixteenth to fifteenth centuries BCE. Credit: Adam Zertal and Ron Beeri.

The same can be said of shells in a midden, that can be a more sensitive indicator of seasonal or periodic changes in mollusk consumption due to availability or preference of certain species. Minimum number of individuals (MNI), number of individual specimens (NISP), and weight are the most commonly used criteria. MNI of gastropods is calculated by counting the number of occurrences of the apex, the base, or other elements of the shell. MNI of bivalves can be calculated either by counting all umbones and dividing them by two (as each valve has an umbo), or by differentiating between right and left valve and counting one of them. The decision on which counting technique to use depends on the species studied as well as the analyst’s preference.

And are assumed to have had medicinal and talisman-ic purposes. Rare worked specimens include a few cylinder seals (Figure 4).

Additional invertebrates encountered rarely are barnacles attached to sea turtles, whales, or mollusks. Some barnacles are edible and are found in middens.

Crustaceans and insects that were eaten, or bees that were tended for their beeswax and honey, are rarely visible archaeologically, although some beeswax remains on pottery have been recorded. Insects were used in antiquity to make textiles, especially silkworms to produce silk, and bugs of the family Homoptera and Kermes insects to produce dyes, but they are not visible in the archaeological record (see insect analysis).