Fishing

Fishing usually begins early in the morning. Fisherfolk often leave well before the sun rises and return in the early afternoon. After eating lunch and napping, the men would gather to repair boats and nets as well as gossip amongst themselves and c… >

In the early 1990s, I was a new graduate student in the Department of Anthropology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. In order to prepare myself for taking my qualifying exams, I was sitting in on Dr. J. Mark Kenoyer’s class, The Archaeology o… >

Nets are drawn up by hand along the side of the boat. It is very strenuous and tiring work that can take up to 60 to 90 minutes per net. Often the nets catch on rocks and are broken free only through the use of intense pulling by the team or through… >

The aquatic environments around Harappa are riverine and composed of marshlands, oxbow lakes, and the River Ravi itself. Each of these areas represented a specific environment in which fish and many other types of aquatic life could be harvested, i… >

Fish, like this large sting ray, are pulled on board and then removed from the nets. Prior to removing the sting rays, the stinger had to be snapped off. Otherwise, the flailing tail could impale unlucky fishermen. The stinger is a bone and cartilag… >

Carp represent one of the most ubiquitous fish in the Ravi and its surrounding environs. However, many of the indigenous species have been overtaken by an introduced species from China – the so-called grass carp (Cyprio carpus). However, carp is a… >

Fish are stowed beneath the floor boards of the boat's deck to protect them from the sun. The traditional vessels do not carry ice and it is important to keep these fish out of the sun so that they do not spoil. Each of the panels is numbered so th… >

The following slides are related to certain species of riverine catfish, including the families Siluridae, Bagridae, and Sisoridae. Many of these catfish grow to in excess of 2 meters in length and would have provided a substantial portion of anima… >

Seasonal variation in fish occurs and is important to document these changes in order to understand seasonal fishing patterns in the present as well as the past. What I found in discussions with fisheries biologist at the Department of Marine Fisher… >