S49-2

Mollusc Shells From Archaeological Contexts

Faculty of Behavioral and Social Sciences, Philippine Normal University, Philippines

Department of Sociology and Behavioral Sciences, De La Salle University, Philippines

Department of Anthropology, University of the Philippines, Philippines

Phylum Mollusca is the second most diverse of all phyla in the animal kingdom. They occur in all types of environments and were either modified or exploited by humans as resources in an archaeological context. The scientific investigation of mollusc remains in archaeology provides several themes for research. Research questions and methods employed to analyse the mollusc shells address the environmental, chronological, subsistence, behavioural, and social contexts of people in the past. This presentation will highlight two specialised research projects on mollusc assemblages from the Balobok Rockshelter, Tawi-Tawi, Philippines, and the Sangiran Dome, Java, Indonesia. Assemblages from the two sites provided potential methods and environmental information on past landscapes.