Midden

Kitchen midden at Elizabeth Island, Strait of Magellan as excavated by the Albatross party with the Albatross at anchor.

A midden, also known as a kitchen midden, or a shell heap is a term used by archaeologists for a dump for domestic waste. One of the universal signs of human settlements, middens vary from convenient, single-use pits created by nomadic groups or, as in more modern times, long-term, designated dumps used by sedentary communities that accumulate over several generations.

Etymology

The word Midden is of Scandinavian origin, from the word mykdyngja, which literally translates as "manure pile". The term was transmitted to the English language via a Middle English derivation, "midding" and consequently has become Midden in more contemporary times.

It should be noted that the term midden is more of a technical term used by archaeologists and scholars. Landfill, garbage dump, and junk yard are the more colloquially used terms for contemporary middens.

Archaeological Signifigance

One of the most universal characteristics of human groups is that they produce waste. While one or a few person's waste may go unnoticed as it is easily scattered about, a group of people produce exponentially more refuge. In ancient times, as humans started to band together into larger and larger groups, more waste began to be produced. Since early man traveled in nomadic groups that at first hunter/gathers, temporary middens first developed. Later, when settlements became permanent and centralized, and when humanity became more agrarian, somewhere to dispose of waste became one of the early sociological problems. The permanent midden, often a designated area to pile waste or a hole dug in the ground, was the solution.

Historical middens are often vaulable discoveries for archaeologists. Sometimes a midden is the first indication of the presence of an ancient settlement previously undiscovered; occasionally it is the only evidence of the presence of an ancient society. An old and large enough midden sometimes has stratigraphy which allows archaeologists to create timelines and helps in dating the midden and potentially the larger archaeological site. Midden deposits can contain a variety of archaeological material, including animal bone, feces, shell, botanical material, vermin, sherds, lithics (especially debitage), and other artifacts and ecofacts associated with past human occupation. These features, therefore, provide a useful resource for archaeologists who wish to study the diet and habits of past societies. Middens with damp, anaerobic conditions can even preserve organic remains which can be analyzed to obtain information regarding climate and seasonal use.

Shell Middens

A shell midden or shell mound is a midden comprised mainly of mollusk shells. Shell middens are found in coastal zones all over the world. Like all middens, shell middens also contain the debris of human activity and remains of their meals. Some shell middens are processing remains: areas where aquatic resources were processed directly after harvest and prior to use or storage in a distant location. Some shell middens are directly associated with villages, as a designated village dump site. In others the material is directly associated with houses in the village; each house would dump their garbage directly outside the house. In all cases, shell middens are extremely complex and very difficult to excavate fully and exactly. However, the fact that they contain a detailed record of what food was eaten or processed and many fragments of stone tools and household goods makes them invaluable objects of archaeological study.

Shell 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 evidence (food remnants, organic tools) available for archaeologists to find.

The Whaleback Shell Midden in Maine was used for oyster harvesting from 200 B.C.E. to 1000 C.E.

Famous Examples

The East Chisenbury midden is a famous example of a large dump, dating to the 1st millennium B.C.E.. Situated on Salisbury Plain in the United Kingdom, the midden mound contains numerous discrete layers of flint, charcoal, bones, pottery and excrement. It survives to a height of 2.5 m and measures 140 m in width despite 2,500 years of weathering. The accumulation is believed by some archaeologists to have a ritual basis, with organised deposition of waste suggested as an explanation for its size and longevity. Middens in SW Greenland indicate the prevalence and eventual decline of society there.

A gully running through the midden to the Damariscotta River.

Whaleback Shell Midden is a shell midden, or dump, comprised primarily of oyster shells located on the east side of the Damariscotta River in Maine. Other shell middens are located on the estuary in both Damariscotta and Newcastle. The middens in this area were formed over about 1,000 years between 200 B.C.E. to 1,000 C.E. Originally, the Whaleback midden was more than thirty feet deep, more than 1,650 feet in length, and a width varying from 1,320 to 1,650 feet. It got its name from its shape. Only a small portion of this midden remains today as much of it was processed into chicken feed from 1886 to 1891 by the Massachusetts-based Damariscotta Shell and Fertilizer company. Because of this, the Glidden midden, located across the river in Newcastle, is now the largest in Maine and the largest on the U.S. east coast north of Georgia.

The Emeryville Shellmound, in Emeryville, California, is a once-massive archaeological shell midden deposit (dark, highly organic soil containing a high concentration of human food waste remains, including shellfish). It was one of a complex of five or six mounds along the mouth of the perennial Temescal Creek, on the east shore of San Francisco Bay between Oakland and Berkeley. From a time long before the arrival of the Europeans in 1769, groups of Native Americans lived at this spot by the Bay. Originally reported as over 60 feet (18 m) high and some 350 feet (110 m) in diameter, the mound constituted a small hill, and was physically linked to several adjacent mounds by extensive lower-lying midden deposits. Its peak likely provided sweeping views of the Bay and the Golden Gate.

References

ISBN links support NWE through referral fees

• Stein, Julie. Exploring Coast Salish Prehistory: The Archaeology of San Juan Island. University of Washington Press, 2000. ISBN 0295979577
• Stein, Julie. Deciphering a Shell Midden. Academic Press, 1992. ISBN 0126647305.

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