title: Fish remains as a source to reconstruct long-term changes of fish communities in the Austrian and Hungarian Danube.
abstract: The main objective of this paper is to investigate how archaeological fish remains and written historical records can contribute to the reconstruction of long-term developments of fish communities along the Austrian and Hungarian Danube. Although such approaches are sensitive to various factors, the chronological subdivision and relative quantification of proxy data demonstrate environmental and faunal changes from Prehistory onwards. Intensification of fisheries, decline of large specimens and massive exploitation of small and young fish point to increasing pressure along the chronological sequence towards Early Modern times. One result of this impact was the establishment of regulations and laws to protect such fish. At the same time, the rise of aquaculture and common carp cultivation can be viewed as another upshot of human impact on the Danube's environment. Finally, the massive import of salted marine fish reflects a compensation for the undersupply caused by overexploitation of the Danube fish fauna and points to the growing demand for fish as food in late medieval and Early Modern times.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Anatomy, Histology and Embryology, University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna, Veterinärplatz 1, 1210 Vienna, Austria.
authors.forename: Alfred
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Galik
authors.affiliation: Institute of Hydrobiology and Aquatic Ecosystem Management, University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna, Austria.
authors.forename: Gertrud
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Haidvogl
authors.affiliation: Institute of Archaeological Sciences, Eötvös Loránd University, Budapest, Hungary ; School of History, Classics and Archaeology, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, Ireland.
authors.forename: Laszlo
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Bartosiewicz
authors.affiliation: Danube Research Institute, MTA Centre for Ecological Research, Hungarian Academy of Sciences, Budapest, Hungary.
authors.forename: Gabor
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Guti
authors.affiliation: Institute of Hydrobiology and Aquatic Ecosystem Management, University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna, Austria.
authors.forename: Mathias
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Jungwirth
keywords: Archaeoichthyology; Archaeological methods; Austrian Danube; Fish community change; Hungarian Danube