Is the fishing by means of sedation with certain kinds of plants
possible and if so, effective in the Netherlands?
Iris Vocking
Is the fishing by means of sedation with certain kinds of plants possible and if so,
effective in the Netherlands?
Iris Vocking (1211897)
Experimental Archaeology (1042AS6Y-1314ARCH)
Prof. dr. van Gijn & Mw. Verbaas
University of Leiden, Faculty of Archaeology
Leiden, 21 November 2013, version 1
Index
1 INTRODUCTION ....................................................................................................................... 4
2 POISONOUS PLANTS IN THE NETHERLANDS ............................................................................. 5
3 OTHER NECESSITIES ................................................................................................................. 6
4 THE EXPERIMENT 4.1 THE LOCATION ....................................................................................... 7
4.2 PREPARATIONS FOR THE EXPERIMENT .............................................................................................. 7
4.3 ACTING OUT THE EXPERIMENT ........................................................................................................ 7
4.4 EFFECT OF THE PLANTS ON FISH...................................................................................................... 8
4.5 TIME IT TAKES TO HAVE AN EFFECT .................................................................................................. 8
4.6 POISON LEFT IN THE FISH AFTER PREPARING....................................................................................... 8
5 DOCUMENTATION ................................................................................................................. 10
6 RELEVANCE FOR THE ARCHEON ............................................................................................. 11
SUMMARY ................................................................................................................................ 12
LITERATURE .............................................................................................................................. 13
1 Introduction
The subject of this experiment is based upon the technique of fishing used in
Upper Rio Negro region in Brazil for large numbers
that includes the poisoning of fish with plants found
in their surroundings. The natives in this area, the
Maku Indians, used the leaves of the Euphorbia
Cotinifolia (Fig. 1) to poison the water the fish swam
in. This was done by beating the leaves and letting
the drops of the leave-juices fall into the water as
others were stirring up the water. After a while a lot
Figure 1 The Euphorbia Cotinifolia
(Frank Vincentz, 2005)
of fish floated to the surface of the water and the people could easily take the
fishes out of there. If a stream was poisoned too often, there would be no fishes
left. Therefore the Indians had to be careful which streams they used for
practicing the poisoning (Prance 2003, 20-54).
Although this method of catching fish for sustenance has been used far away
from the area that is going to be examined in this experiment, there is a good
chance that the same sort of method has been used in the Netherlands for
catching fish, because we have a lot of plant species that are poisonous as well.
Therefore, this experiment will be focussing on whether this way of gaining fish
could have been used in prehistoric times in the Netherlands
2 Poisonous plants in the Netherlands
Before the experiment starts there is a list needed of poisonous plants that are
going to be used for this. The plants selected for the experiment also have to be
found commonly and all over the Netherlands in history. Another crucial
necessity is that the plants selected have to be native to the Netherlands and
should not have been imported from other continents .
The most suitable plants to use, because they are very poisonous and native tot
the Netherlands, in this experiment are:

Henbane

Oleander

Ragwort

Larkspur

Lily of the valley

Foxglove

Aconite

Deadly nightshade

Nightshade
These plants are highly toxic for humans, but it is not proven yet what the effect
they have on fish and if they are effective for this method of catching fish by
poisoning them.
3 Other necessities
The streams used have to be closed off. Therefore it is necessary to collect
materials from the surrounding areas for this purpose.
Furthermore, a device for tracking the time has to be present at all times. This is
needed for correctly document everything that is happening and done.
For the preparation of the fish caught in the experiment, there have to be
materials present which can be used for this. These ways to prepare the fish for
consumption has to be in a prehistoric way.
Last, there has to be collected material from the surrounding area for the
creation of a place above the streams to put the poisonous plants on.
If there are found any more necessities along the way of the experiment, it has
to be written down what was used and why it was used.
4 The experiment
4.1 The Location
There has to be selected a stream, with proof there are edible fish in there, for
every kind of plant that is going to be used in the experiment. The stream
selected has to be able to be closed off for the safety of others in the area. If
there are not enough streams found that are suitable for the experiment, the
experiment has to be held over a longer period of time because it is necessary
that the water is clean after every plant is used.
4.2 Preparations for the experiment
After locations have been selected to act out the experiment the water has to be
closed of downstream firstly because it has to be safe for others drinking or using
the water in any way and secondly because the fish have to be taken out of the
water.
The way in which the water is closed off must be done in a prehistoric way and
with resources from the area around the streams. This has to be decided on
location.
Furthermore, there have to be collected enough of the plants in the surrounding
area. Some of the plants have historically been widespread throughout the
Netherlands but have been reduced significantly the last few years. Therefore it
might be necessary to collect the plants from other places or locations.
Lastly, there has to be some kind of net above the stream to place the plants on
and take out the juices of the plants.
4.3 Acting out the experiment
The experiment has to be acted out in the following way:
Firstly, there has to be made a construction for closing of the stream with
materials from the surrounding area and together with that, there has to be
made a construction for placing the poisonous plants on where they can be beat
with a device to gain the juices from the plants. For both there has to be a
careful documentation of hat the process of working was.
When this is done it is time to start getting the juice out of the plants an into the
water. Note down exactly what is used for the beating of the plants, and how
long it takes to get the juice into the water.
Next the fish in the water have to swim into the poisoned water. The water has
to be stirred up by people to get them to the place where they need to be. Write
down how this is done and how the fish react to the different kinds of poisonous
plants. After this the fish have to be taken out of the water and they have to be
cooked in a prehistoric way.
There is no assurance that the poison is out of the fishes after cooking. As these
poisonous plants are also dangerous for human beings, the cooked fish should
not be consumed after the first is cooked. There has to be tested if the fish has
any poison left in it before eating, for example in a laboratory. Write down how
this was done.
This experiment has to repeated with every plant species selected and preferably
every experiment has to be done in a different stream.
4.4 Effect of the Plants on Fish
The main goal of the experiment is to find out if the plants have any effect close
to what has been done in Brazil on the fishes in the selected streams.
4.5 Time it takes to have an effect
The time is crucial with this experiment. There has to be taken track of the time
before there is any effect on the fishes present in the stream, because it is
important to know how useful the plants that are being used are.
4.6 Poison left in the fish after preparing
There has to be tested if there is any poison left after cooking by researching if
there are any toxic active agents left in the fish that is supposed to be ready to
eat. It is too big of a chance to let anybody eat the fishes that have been
poisoned.
5 Documentation
The things that have to be documented are: The plants used every time the
experiment is acted out, the making of the closure of the streams and with what,
the making of the net to beat the plants on to create the juices and how it is
distributed in the water.
Also it has to be noted down how much of the plants have to be used before
there is any effect shown of the fishes and how long it takes.. If there is no effect
on the animals, this has to be noted down too.
When collecting the plants used in the surrounding areas, it has to be written
down how much there is found and where.
Furthermore, it has to be documented how much poison is left in the fishes after
cooking them or if there is not any of it left. The preparing of the fish has to be
documented as well. Write down the difficulties and problems.
Last, there has to be noted if the way of fishing is relevant for the prehistoric
people that were in the Netherlands. Does the gain outweigh the effort it takes
to act out this method of fishing? Why? And Why not?
6 Relevance for the Archeon
As an experimental centre for archaeology it is important to look to all ways of
gaining foods in the world. Because there is evidence for the same kind of
developments to take place at different places in the world, without exchange
between these places, it is quite possible that some ways of fishing have
occurred over the world and not only in places where it is found.
This method of gaining fish could have, therefore, also have been used here in
the Netherlands and should be tested. This can make it possible that it
contributes to the authenticity of the Archeon.
Summary
This experiment is based on a method of fishing used by the native inhabitants of
southern America, the Maku Indians of Brazil. The method includes the poisoning
of fish in certain streams with poisonous plants.
The goal this experiment has to achieve is to find out if the plants found in the
Netherlands are able to have an equal effect on the fish as the plants have in
southern America. Also the main goal is to find out if this kind of method for
catching fish has been possible in the Netherlands as well, in prehistoric times.
Literature
Prance, G., 2003. The harmonious co-existence between plants and people.
Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology - Part C: Toxicology & Pharmacology.
145(1), 20-54.