Amidden[a] is an olddump for domestic waste.[1] It may consist of animalbones,human excrement,botanical material,mollusc shells,potsherds,lithics (especiallydebitage), and otherartifacts andecofacts associated with past human occupation.
Thesefeatures provide a useful resource forarchaeologists who wish to study thediets and habits of past societies. Middens with damp,anaerobic conditions can even preserveorganic remains in deposits as the debris of daily life are tossed on the pile. Each individual toss will contribute a different mix of materials depending upon the activity associated with that particular toss. During the course of deposition sedimentary material is deposited as well. Different mechanisms, from wind and water to animal digs, create a matrix which can also be analysed to provide seasonal and climatic information. In some middens individual dumps of material can be discerned and analysed.[2]
Ashell midden orshell mound is anarchaeological feature consisting mainly ofmollusc shells. The Danish termkøkkenmøddinger (plural) was first used byJapetus Steenstrup to describe shell heaps and continues to be used by some researchers. A midden, by definition, contains the debris of human activity, and should not be confused with wind- or tide-created beach mounds. Some shell middens are processing remains: areas where aquatic resources were processed directly after harvest and prior to use or storage in a distant location.
Some shell middens are directly associated with villages, as a designated village dump site. In other middens, the material is directly associated with a house in the village. Each household would dump its garbage directly outside the house. In all cases, shell middens are extremely complex and very difficult to excavate fully and exactly. The fact that they contain a detailed record of what food was eaten or processed and many fragments ofstone tools and household goods makes them invaluable objects ofarchaeological study.
Shells have a highcalcium carbonate content, which tends to make the middensalkaline. This slows the normal rate of decay caused by soil acidity, leaving a relatively high proportion of organic material (food remnants, organic tools, clothing, human remains) available for archaeologists to find.[3]
Edward Sylvester Morse conducted one of the first archaeological excavations of theOmori Shell Mounds inTokyo, Japan in 1877, which led to the discovery of a style of pottery described as "cord-marked", translated as "Jōmon", which came to be used to refer to the early period ofJapanese history when this style of pottery was produced.[4][5] Shell middens were studied in Denmark in the latter half of the 19th century. The Danish wordkøkkenmødding (kitchen mound) is now used internationally. The English word "midden" (waste mound) derives from the same Old Norse word that produced the modern Danish one.[6]
Shell middens are found in coastal or lakeshore zones all over the world. Consisting mostly ofmollusc shells, they are interpreted as being the waste products of meals eaten by nomadic groups or hunting parties. Some are small examples relating to meals had by a handful of individuals, others are many metres in length and width and represent centuries of shell deposition. InBrazil, they are known assambaquis, having been created over a long period between the 6th millennium BCE and the beginning of European colonisation.
European shell middens are primarily found along theAtlantic seaboard and inDenmark and primarily date to the 5th millennium BCE (Ertebølle and EarlyFunnel Beaker cultures), containing the remains of the earliest Neolithisation process (pottery, cereals and domestic animals). Younger shell middens are found inLatvia (associated withComb Ware ceramics),Sweden (associated withPitted Ware ceramics),the Netherlands (associated withCorded Ware ceramics) andSchleswig-Holstein (Late Neolithic andIron Age). All these are examples where communities practised a mixed farming and hunting/gathering economy.
OnCanada's west coast, there are shell middens that run for more than 1 kilometre (0.6 mi) along the coast and are several meters deep.[7] The midden inNamu, British Columbia is over 9 metres (30 ft) deep and spans over 10,000 years of continuous occupation.
Shell middens created in coastal regions of Australia byIndigenous Australians exist inAustralia today. Middens provide evidence of prior occupation and are generally protected from mining and other developments. One must exercise caution in deciding whether one is examining a midden or a beach mound. There are good examples on theFreycinet Peninsula in Tasmania where wave action currently is combining charcoal from forest fire debris with a mix of shells into masses that storms deposit above high-water mark. Shell mounds nearWeipa in far north Queensland that are mostly less than 2 metres (6.6 ft) high (although ranging up to 10 metres (33 ft) high) and a few tens of metres long are claimed to be middens,[8] but are in fact shell cheniers (beach ridges) re-worked by nest mound-building birds.[9] Some shell middens are regarded as sacred sites, linked to theDreamtime, such as those of the Anbarra group of theBurarra people ofArnhem Land.[10]
TheOhlone andCoast Miwok peoples built over 425 shell mounds in the San Francisco Bay Area. These mounds were used as:
The mounds were constructed over thousands of years. They were often discovered by accident during construction, mining, or farming.
Some of the largest mounds in the Bay Area include:
Emeryville Shellmound
Located between Oakland and Berkeley, this mound was estimated to be 60 feet high and 350 feet in diameter. It was demolished in 1924.
Huichuin
Located in Berkeley, this mound was 20 feet high and was the site of the first human settlement on the shores of San Francisco Bay.
West Berkeley andEllis Landing
These mounds measured almost 200 meters in diameter and rose 9 meters above the shoreline.[11]
Shell mounds are also credited with the creation oftropical hardwood hammocks, one example being theOtter Mound Preserve inFlorida, where shell deposits fromCalusa natives provided flood free high areas in otherwise large watered areas.[12]
There are instances in which shell middens may have doubled as areas of ceremonial construction or ritual significance. TheWoodland periodCrystal River site provides an example of this phenomenon.[13]
Some shell mounds, known asshell rings, are circular or open arcs with a clear central area. Many are known from Japan and the southeastern United States, and at least one from South America.[14]
The word is ofScandinavian viaMiddle English derivation (from early Scandinavian; Danish:mødding, Swedish regional:mödding).[15]
The word "midden" is still in everyday use inScotland and has come by extension to refer to anything that is a mess, a muddle, or chaos.[16]
The word is used byfarmers in Britain to describe the place where farm yard manure from cows or other animals is collected. Grants are sometimes available to protect these from rain toavoid runoff and pollution.[17][18]
In the animal kingdom, some species establish groundburrows, also known as middens, that are used mostly for food storage. For example, the NorthAmerican red squirrel (Tamiasciurus hudsonicus) usually has one large active midden in each territory with perhaps an inactive or auxiliary midden.[19] A midden may be a regularly usedanimal toilet area ordunghill, created by many mammals, such as thehyrax, and also serving as a territorial marker.[20]
Octopus middens are piles of debris that the octopus piles up to conceal the entrance of its den. Octopus middens are commonly made of rocks, shells, and the bones of prey, although they may contain anything the octopus finds that it can move.[21]
Investment under this storage and handling Option may include: action to minimise the volume of clean water getting into manure or slurry stores, including the installation of covers for slurry storage facilities and middens
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)Thanks to a grant from Farming Connect Cumbria the Booths were able to roof the slurry midden, probably trebling its capacity by excluding the rainwater, as well as making necessary repairs to the midden itself to prevent possible run-off to a nearby beck. The midden can now provide up to 10 weeks' storage for the slurry.
Published online: 22 Jan 2009
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