What is a midden?
A midden is an old dump for domestic waste. It may consist of animal bones, human excrement, botanical material, mollusc shells, potsherds, lithics, and other artifacts associated with past human occupation.
Questions about Midden
Short answers, pulled from the story.
When were shell middens first studied in Denmark?
Shell middens were studied in Denmark in the latter half of the 19th century. The Danish term køkkenmøddinger was first used by Japetus Steenstrup to describe shell heaps and continues to be used by some researchers.
Where are shell middens found globally?
Shell middens are found in coastal or lakeshore zones all over the world. They exist along the Atlantic seaboard, in Denmark, Latvia, Sweden, the Netherlands, Schleswig-Holstein, Brazil, Canada's west coast, Namu, British Columbia, Australia, and Japan.
How do shell middens preserve organic remains?
Shells have a high calcium carbonate content which tends to make the middens alkaline. This slows the normal rate of decay caused by soil acidity leaving a relatively high proportion of organic material available for archaeologists to find.
Who conducted one of the first archaeological excavations of the Omori Shell Mounds?
Edward Sylvester Morse conducted one of the first archaeological excavations of the Omori Shell Mounds in Tokyo, Japan in 1877. This work led to the discovery of a style of pottery described as cord-marked translated as Jōmon.