The assumption that salmon would have been crucial to the early diet of ancient Arctic inhabitants has finally been proven thanks to the Department of Marine Civilizations at the University of Haifa, which developed a new method for identifying salmon remains.

“The new method, using mineral markers to identify salmon remains, will enable researchers to better understand life in the ancient Arctic and the juncture between the hunter-gatherer lifestyle and early farming communities,” explains Professor Ruth Shahack-Gross who led the study.

The method developed will also enable archaeologists in the future who are working in the ancient Arctic periods to collect evidence of salmon consumption, and perhaps other relationships salmon may have had with Arctic river ecosystems.