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The History of Fishing: Part One

The Prehistory of Fishing

The practice of fishing is actually an ancient one which dates back to the Upper Paleolithic era that began some 40,000 years ago. There has been archaeological evidence like shell middens, cave paintings and discarded fish bones that show how important sea creatures were for food for the survival of ancient man. They have actually been consumed in the past in significant quantities. Back then, a lot of people lived the lifestyle of a hunter-gather lifestyle and were constantly on the move. Now,although there already were early examples of man’s permanent settlements like the ones at Lepenski Vir, they remained to be dependent on fishing as their way to get to their major source of food.

After that, the culture and technology during the Neolithic age spread worldwide some 4,000 to 8,000 years ago. Over the years, with the technology in farming and pottery evolving came the advancement of the main fishing methods which are used to today.

Ancient Representations in Ancient history

Egypt

In the past, the ancient Nile River was full of fish and this was very fortunate for Egyptians as fresh and dried fish served as a staple food for most of the population. They even invented different methods for fishing,which can be clearly seen in tomb scenes, papyrus documents and drawings. They also made use of simple reed boats for fishing, along with weir baskets that were crafted using willow branches, woven nets, harpoons as well as hook and line. During the 12th dynasty, people began using metal hooks with barbs. Similar to what is done today; captured fish were clubbed into death as son as they are caught. Among the most important fish back then were catfish, Nile perch and eels were among the most important fish. There were also some representations that suggested fishing as a recreational activity.

India

During the 1st century BC, the Pandyas which was a classical Dravidian Tamil kingdom in India,have been known for pearl fishery. They had a seaport Tuticorin that was known for the activity of deep sea pearl fishing. Additionally, the paravas, which was a Tamil caste that was centered in Tuticorin, developed rich communities due to pearl trade, fisheries and navigation knowledge.

Greece

There have been minimal representations of fishing scenes in ancient Greek culture, which reflected the low social status that fishing had back then. There is actually a wine cup that dated around 510 BC that showed a boy that was crouched on the rock and was holding a fishing-rod and a basket on his right and left hand, respectively. In the water below, there was a rounded object that had the same material which had an opening on its top portion. This was identified as the fish-cage used as a fish trap or for keeping live fish.

Rome

There is pictorial evidence of Roman fishing as seen in mosaics that show the act of fishing from boats using nets, rod and line. In these ancient pictures, it showed that they fished different species including lobster, conger, sea urchin, cuttlefish and even octopus.

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