ABSTRACT
INTRODUCTION Today hunting is very much a minority pursuit but many of us from time to time become collectors, perhaps of blackberries or hazel-nuts in the hedgerows or shellfish on the foreshore. We can recall the satisfaction at finding a bush laden with fruit, or a well-stocked bed of mussels, but after we have taken our fill or become overwhelmed with boredom what trace of our collecting activity remains? Perhaps no more than a few squashed berries or footprints in the sand (plate va), all of which are likely to disappear totally within a few days. Most shellfish need to be processed before consumption and this might take place on the beach as part of a picnic, the mussels or cockles being baked on an open fire or amongst hot stones. The following day, if the picnic site is above the high-tide mark, it might still be recognizable but some special circumstances are required, such as burial by blown sand, for it to survive more than few days (plate vc). Having a picnic is a casual affair and chance is the principal factor which determines whether any trace of such behaviour will survive. Among groups for whom the collection of shellfish is an important activity, collecting is more carefully organized. Chance still plays a decisive role in preserving traces of such activity but other factors, such as the size of the group, the duration of the collecting episode and the number of times it is repeated also influence whether any trace of the activity survives.
