William R. Belcher

Other fish are used for commercial sale, but these inshore fisheries provide the bulk of food for the household. Here a younger member of a local household is pulling up his inshore fixed gill net. The net is fixed in place and catches fish in its m… >

The older nets that were observed in the Punjab had net weights that were made of fired clay, while the modern ones used standard lead net weights. These were the same shape as small barrel beads that were tied with an overhand knot on each side of… >

I currently work as a forensic anthropologist and archaeologist for the U.S. government. I am also the Assistant Field Director of the Harappa Archaeological Research Project (HARP) in central Punjab, Pakistan. Between 1992 and 1995, I studied vario… >

Today large fish are primarily for sale on the commercial market. A fishmonger would arrive from town to purchase the fish and take them to the various urban markets in town. This individual also owns the ice house and the diesel fuel depot in the v… >

Another type of fishing method seen in the Punjab was a type of conical fish trap. The trap was a multi-leg frame covered with a net. The trap would be placed over the top of a fish and extracted either from the top or the bottom, depending on the… >

Between 1993-1994 I lived and worked in a small Baluch fishing village near Hawkes Bay, Abdur Rehman Goth, just west of Karachi, Pakistan (goth is the Baluchi word for village). My main research goals were to conduct an ethnoarchaeological study of … >

In the fishing village, fish are prepared for drying. The heads and gills are removed and the fish is split up the middle along its belly. Slits are cut into the meat and salt is spread in to help the drying process. With the small catches that are … >

The River Ravi is a meandering river that travels back and forth across its alluvial plain leaving a series of landscape scars of old river channels. During the summer monsoons (May through September), sometimes the rivers create catastrophic flood… >

Near-shore fishing requires the use of boats and larger, stronger nets than the inshore fisheries. The Baluchi boats are stylistically different from the Sindhi boats. Abdur Rheman Goth, the Baluch village where I lived, is surrounded by Sindhi vill… >

Medium and large fish are then placed into a brine pit and soak up salty brine before being placed in the sun. The meat is not usually used for human consumption, although it is traded into the interiors of Baluchistan and Sindh Provinces. The small… >