Friday, September 30, 2011

Cod skulls reveal fishing patterns in the Middle Ages

Scholars from the University of Cambridge have concluded that sea fishing in northwest Europe was more locally-based than previously believed. By using skulls of cod fish, the Medieval Origins of Commercial Sea Fishing Project was able to determine that the majority of fish catches in the 10th and 11th centuries in England were from waters relatively nearby, such as the North Sea.

It was only by the 13th and 14th centuries, when local fish stocks were depleted that fisherman sailed to further seas to net the cod and other fishes that would wind up as dinner for people in urban communities such as London.

Click here to read this article from Medievalists.net