Abstract

Three types of edible freshwater bivalves, Margaritifera margaritifera, Anodonta sp., and Goneidea angulata are present in archaeological sites on the Interior Plateau. Ethnographers report that mussels were rarely eaten, but archaeological evidence indicates that at one time large quantifies were gathered for food. Some hypotheses regarding the collecting and eating of freshwater mussels are offered: (1) The increase in mussel use as shown in several excavated sites seems to correspond to the start of the Altithermal at about 6000 B.C. During the medithermal, mussels became more difficult to obtain as their numbers diminished; (2) If Anodonta replaced Margaritifera as the predominant species, the taboo against shellfish eating might be explained by a preference for Margaritifera; and (3)During late prehistoric and early historic times mussels were collected towards the end of the winter when stored food supplies became exhausted.