Midden

Middens with damp, anaerobic conditions can even preserve organic remains in deposits as the debris of daily life are tossed on the pile.

Different mechanisms, from wind and water to animal digs, create a matrix which can also be analysed to provide seasonal and climatic information.

The Danish term køkkenmøddinger (plural) was first used by Japetus Steenstrup to describe shell heaps and continues to be used by some researchers.

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.

[3] Edward Sylvester Morse conducted one of the first archaeological excavations of the Omori Shell Mounds in Tokyo, Japan in 1877, which led to the discovery of a style of pottery described as "cord-marked", translated as "Jōmon", which came to be used to refer to the early period of Japanese history when this style of pottery was produced.

Consisting mostly of mollusc shells, they are interpreted as being the waste products of meals eaten by nomadic groups or hunting parties.

Some are small examples relating to meals had by a handful of individuals, others are many metres in length and width and represent centuries of shell deposition.

There are good examples on the Freycinet Peninsula in Tasmania where wave action currently is combining charcoal from forest fire debris with a mix of shells into masses that storms deposit above high-water mark.

[9] Some shell middens are regarded as sacred sites, linked to the Dreamtime, such as those of the Anbarra group of the Burarra people of Arnhem Land.

[10] The Ohlone and Coast Miwok peoples built over 425 shell mounds in the San Francisco Bay Area.

Located in Berkeley, this mound was 20 feet high and was the site of the first human settlement on the shores of San Francisco Bay.

[16] The word is used by farmers in Britain to describe the place where farm yard manure from cows or other animals is collected.

[19] A midden may be a regularly used animal toilet area or dunghill, created by many mammals, such as the hyrax, and also serving as a territorial marker.