Why so Big? The Capture of Large-Sized Fish during the Early Bronze Age around the Pearl River Estuary, Coastal South China

YU Chong

Fishing was an important form of subsistence economy among ancient societies. However, details of past fishing activities have been rarely studied in China. In this study, we used data extracted from Late Neolithic to Early Bronze Age collection to estimate the fish body size from the sites of Guye, Jinlansi, Cuntou and Hedang around the Peral River estuary coastal South China. The current dataset revealed that, the main taxa collected from Late Neolithic sites of Guye and Jinlansi was Chinese sea bass and sea catfish, the estimated body size of these two species was smaller than Early Bronze Age sites of Cuntou and Hedang. Moreover, in both Cuntou and Hedang site, we found individuals of extremely large size. The reconstruction of fish body size is an important indicator that not only provides crucial information about the size range and distribution of fish size in an ichthyoarchaeological assemblage, but allows further interpretation of past fishing methods, grounds, gears, and seasons. This research contributes to the details of ancient survival technologies and environmental adaptation.