Fish and Fishing on a Western Torres Strait Island, Northern Australia: Ethnographic and Archaeological Perspectives

Barbara Ghaleb

57 Barn Lane, Olton, Solihull, West Midlands, B92 7ND.

Cite this as: Ghaleb, B. 1998 Fish and Fishing on a Western Torres Strait Island, Northern Australia: Ethnographic and Archaeological Perspectives, Internet Archaeology 4. https://doi.org/10.11141/ia.4.10

Summary

A picture of the past lifestyle of a people gained through the study of ethnographic documentation may be significantly different from one based only upon the interpretation of archaeological data. This paper examines that assertion by comparing the results of an analysis of fish remains from a coastal-midden site on Mabuiag Island, Torres Strait, with European descriptions of Islander fishing practices recorded in the latter half of the nineteenth century.

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Features

This article will particularly appeal to: those interested in settlement patterns in Torres Strait, Australia; those interested in fishing in ancient times or zooarchaeology.
Keywords: ETHNOARCHAEOLOGY, FISHING, MIDDEN, TORRES STRAIT, ZOOARCHAEOLOGY