Molluscan Publications - Archaeology

Shelled molluscs leave a fossil record that informs both the evolution of the phylum and, at the species level, individual growth and population data relative to prevailing conditions at the time of death. Individual shells store a complete record of the life of the individual, and this can be explored by sclerochronology, that is variation in the patterns of accretion in the shell that reflect variations in growth. Such patterns allow reconstruction of growth and mortality in prior times.

• Rick, T.C., L.A. Reeder-Myers, C.A. Hofman, D. Breitburg, R. Lockwood, G. Henkes, L. Kellogg, D. Lowery, M.W. Luckenbach, R. Mann, M.B. Ogburn, M. Southworth, J. Wah, J. Wesson, and A.H. Hines. 2016. Millennial-scale sustainability of the Chesapeake Bay Native American oyster fishery.  Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, USA.  www.pnas.org/cgi/doi/10.1073/pnas.1600019113

• Harding, J.M., Spero, H.J., Mann, R., Herbert, G.S., & Sliko, J.L. 2010. Reconstructing early 17th century estuarine drought conditions from Jamestown oysters. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, USA. 107(23):10549-10554. https://scholarworks.wm.edu/vimsarticles/952/

• Mann, R., J. M. Harding. and M. Southworth. 2009. Reconstructing pre-colonial oyster demographics in the Chesapeake Bay, USA. Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science 85: 217-222. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecss.2009.08.004

• Harding, J.M., Mann, R. & Southworth, M.J. 2008. Shell length-at-age relationships in James River, Virginia oysters (Crassostrea virginica) collected four centuries apart. Journal of Shellfish Research. 27(5): 1109-1116. https://scholarworks.wm.edu/vimsarticles/407/