28
Biology of Sea Turtles, Volume II
merchants” (Casson, 1989: 17, 101). When the tortoiseshell trade began is not clear,
but there had been wide-ranging trade in the Indian Ocean for at least two millennia
before the Periplus was written (Casson, 1989: 11). The Periplus also provides other
interesting details, such as at Menuthias Island, where dugout canoes and sewn boats
were used for catching turtles (Casson, 1989: 59).
Although tortoiseshell is the most frequently mentioned article of trade in the
Periplus, the document also records other types of chelonians (“a little land tortoise,
and a light-colored variety with rather small shields,” and “mountain tortoise”), thus
indicating that these “other chelonians” were of interest and evidently traded (Casson, 1989: 51, 59, 69). This, in addition to other ancient records, led Casson (1989:
102, 168) to develop an argument that terrestrial and aquatic turtles were used since
ancient times, not only for food but also as sources of raw materials for various
crafts, and that the scutes of land tortoises were used for adorning especially large
objects (perhaps this was the original derivation of the term tortoiseshell, now used
to refer to the scutes of the hawksbill sea turtle). On the basis of the same textual
evidence in the Periplus, Lucas (1948: 50), writing about ancient Egyptian materials
and industries, had also proposed that “in ancient times probably the plates of more
than one kind of turtle and also of the land tortoise were used.”
A millennium after the Periplus, other historic documents, including tenthcentury Arab and later Chinese accounts, reported the trade in tortoiseshell that
ranged across much of the Indian Ocean (Al-Mas’udi in Freeman-Grenville, 1962:
15; Trimingham, 1975: 133; Wheatley, 1975: 107). Indeed, it was proposed that
marine turtles, particularly the shell, were an important exchange item in obtaining
imported ceramics for 800–900 C.E. societies in the Comoro Islands (Wright, 1984:
14, 57).
The extent, spatial and temporal, of this Indian Ocean trade has been used by
some authors (e.g., Uerpmann and Uerpmann, 1994; Mosseri-Marlio, 2000;
Olijdam, 2001) to argue that there had to be an established tortoiseshell trade
between Mesopotamia and the Gulf. However, although there were clearly extensive trade routes in this region from ancient times, the evidence for tortoiseshell
trade is unclear.
A number of scholars have provided invaluable resumes of diverse historic
documents (e.g., Freemen-Grenville, 1962; Wheatley, 1975). However, there are
likely to be many more ancient literary records of human–turtle interactions from
other centers of civilization such as Arabia, China, India, and Greece, but the
linguistic challenges may have impeded the advancement of investigations.
Ancient “written” information is also available from the Western Hemisphere.
The analysis of Maya glyphs provides evidence from diverse sources of the importance of turtles to a culture that dates back more than three millennia, and as
discussed above, marine turtles were evidently referred to in many cases. For example, inscriptions on a stela read as “was seen, the first turtle image, great god lord”
are interpreted to refer to the rebirth of the First Father, the God of Maize, through
the cracked shell of a turtle; the “main event of Creation was the appearance of this
turtle shell” (Freidel et al., 1993: 65).
In the well-established trade between Aztecs, from the central valley of Mexico,
and lowland Maya populations, the Chontal merchants of present-day Tabasco state
1123_C01.fm Page 28 Friday, November 15, 2002 11:13 AM
Biology of Sea Turtles, Volume II
merchants” (Casson, 1989: 17, 101). When the tortoiseshell trade began is not clear,
but there had been wide-ranging trade in the Indian Ocean for at least two millennia
before the Periplus was written (Casson, 1989: 11). The Periplus also provides other
interesting details, such as at Menuthias Island, where dugout canoes and sewn boats
were used for catching turtles (Casson, 1989: 59).
Although tortoiseshell is the most frequently mentioned article of trade in the
Periplus, the document also records other types of chelonians (“a little land tortoise,
and a light-colored variety with rather small shields,” and “mountain tortoise”), thus
indicating that these “other chelonians” were of interest and evidently traded (Casson, 1989: 51, 59, 69). This, in addition to other ancient records, led Casson (1989:
102, 168) to develop an argument that terrestrial and aquatic turtles were used since
ancient times, not only for food but also as sources of raw materials for various
crafts, and that the scutes of land tortoises were used for adorning especially large
objects (perhaps this was the original derivation of the term tortoiseshell, now used
to refer to the scutes of the hawksbill sea turtle). On the basis of the same textual
evidence in the Periplus, Lucas (1948: 50), writing about ancient Egyptian materials
and industries, had also proposed that “in ancient times probably the plates of more
than one kind of turtle and also of the land tortoise were used.”
A millennium after the Periplus, other historic documents, including tenthcentury Arab and later Chinese accounts, reported the trade in tortoiseshell that
ranged across much of the Indian Ocean (Al-Mas’udi in Freeman-Grenville, 1962:
15; Trimingham, 1975: 133; Wheatley, 1975: 107). Indeed, it was proposed that
marine turtles, particularly the shell, were an important exchange item in obtaining
imported ceramics for 800–900 C.E. societies in the Comoro Islands (Wright, 1984:
14, 57).
The extent, spatial and temporal, of this Indian Ocean trade has been used by
some authors (e.g., Uerpmann and Uerpmann, 1994; Mosseri-Marlio, 2000;
Olijdam, 2001) to argue that there had to be an established tortoiseshell trade
between Mesopotamia and the Gulf. However, although there were clearly extensive trade routes in this region from ancient times, the evidence for tortoiseshell
trade is unclear.
A number of scholars have provided invaluable resumes of diverse historic
documents (e.g., Freemen-Grenville, 1962; Wheatley, 1975). However, there are
likely to be many more ancient literary records of human–turtle interactions from
other centers of civilization such as Arabia, China, India, and Greece, but the
linguistic challenges may have impeded the advancement of investigations.
Ancient “written” information is also available from the Western Hemisphere.
The analysis of Maya glyphs provides evidence from diverse sources of the importance of turtles to a culture that dates back more than three millennia, and as
discussed above, marine turtles were evidently referred to in many cases. For example, inscriptions on a stela read as “was seen, the first turtle image, great god lord”
are interpreted to refer to the rebirth of the First Father, the God of Maize, through
the cracked shell of a turtle; the “main event of Creation was the appearance of this
turtle shell” (Freidel et al., 1993: 65).
In the well-established trade between Aztecs, from the central valley of Mexico,
and lowland Maya populations, the Chontal merchants of present-day Tabasco state
1123_C01.fm Page 28 Friday, November 15, 2002 11:13 AM