Review article
Comparative malacological collection as a scientific tool in archaeology
Antonela Barbir
orcid.org/0000-0003-3825-1596
; Institute of Archaeology, Zagreb, Croatia
Petar Crnčan
; Croatian Natural History Museum, Zagreb, Croatia
Abstract
Fragments of mollusc shells have become a common find, both at archaeological sites and in scientific analyses. Given that this type of find is often found in large quantities, access to a comparative archaeomalacological collection significantly contributes to a faster and more precise taxonomic determination of malacological samples from archaeological sites. Although there are very abundant malacological collections in Croatia, none of them are specialized for the analysis of archaeological samples. For this reason, the need arose to present a theoretical framework and practical examples in the process of building such a collection. The structure of the collection relies on the existing rules for creating malacological collections. The paper presents the process of creating a comparative archaeomalacological collection through several steps: collection, preparation, storage, organization and long-term protection of the collection. However, due to the peculiarities of archaeological samples in the form of taphonomic modifications, this type of collection requires additional levels. It will result not only in a more precise taxonomic analysis, but also in a higher-quality taphonomic analysis, which will ultimately lead to more accurate interpretations of archaeological issues.
Keywords
archaeomalacology; malacology; collection; museum; archaeology
Hrčak ID:
289668
URI
Publication date:
30.12.2022.
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