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. These features provide a useful resource for archaeologists who wish to study the diets and habits of past societies. Middens with damp, anaerobic conditions can even preserve organic remains in deposits as the debris of daily life are tossed on the pile. Each individual toss will contribute a different mix of materials depending upon the activity associated with that particular toss. During the course of deposition, sedimentary material is deposited as well. Different mechanisms, from wind and water to animal digs, create a matrix which can also be analysed to provide seasonal and climatic information. In some middens individual dumps of material can be discerned and analysed.
A shell midden or shell mound is an archaeological feature consisting mainly of mollusc shells. The Danish term køkkenmøddinger was first used by Japetus Steenstrup to describe shell heaps and continues to be used by some researchers. 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. Food remnants, organic tools, clothing, and human remains survive because of this chemical environment. Certain shell middens are linked directly to villages, serving as designated dump sites. In other cases, the materials found in the middens are closely tied to individual houses within the village, where each household would dispose of its waste right outside their home. Regardless of their association, shell middens are highly intricate and challenging to excavate completely and accurately.
Shell middens are found in coastal or lakeshore zones all over the world. Consisting mostly of mollusc shells, they are interpreted as being the waste products of meals eaten by nomadic groups or hunting parties. Some are small examples relating to meals had by a handful of individuals, others are many metres in length and width and represent centuries of shell deposition. In Brazil, they are known as sambaquis, having been created over a long period between the 6th millennium BCE and the beginning of European colonisation. European shell middens are primarily found along the Atlantic seaboard and in Denmark and primarily date to the 5th millennium BCE. Younger shell middens are found in Latvia, Sweden, the Netherlands and Schleswig-Holstein. All these are examples where communities practised a mixed farming and hunting/gathering economy. On Canada's west coast, there are shell middens that run for more than 10 kilometers along the coast and are several meters deep. The midden in Namu, British Columbia is over 30 meters deep and spans over 10,000 years of continuous occupation.
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, which came to be used to refer to the early period of Japanese history when this style of pottery was produced. Shell middens were studied in Denmark in the latter half of the 19th century. The Danish word køkkenmødding is now used internationally. The English word midden derives from the same Old Norse word that produced the modern Danish one. The word is still in everyday use in Scotland and has come by extension to refer to anything that is a mess, a muddle, or chaos. The word is used by farmers in Britain to describe the place where farm yard manure from cows or other animals is collected. Grants are sometimes available to protect these from rain to avoid runoff and pollution.
In the animal kingdom, some species establish ground burrows, also known as middens, that are used mostly for food storage. For example, the North American red squirrel usually has one large active midden in each territory with perhaps an inactive or auxiliary midden. A midden may be a regularly used animal toilet area or dunghill, created by many mammals, such as the hyrax, and also serving as a territorial marker. Octopus middens are piles of debris that the octopus piles up to conceal the entrance of its den. Octopus middens are commonly made of rocks, shells, and the bones of prey, although they may contain anything the octopus finds that it can move. Shell middens created in coastal regions of Australia by Indigenous Australians exist in Australia today. Middens provide evidence of prior occupation and are generally protected from mining and other developments. Some shell mounds near Weipa in far north Queensland are claimed to be middens but are in fact shell cheniers re-worked by nest mound-building birds.
Common questions
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.
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.