Shellfishing and shell midden construction in the Saloum Delta, Senegal

•Shell middens have been constructed in the Saloum Delta, Senegal for at least 5000 years.•The Sereer Niominka people continue to collect shellfish, principally for trade, and still construct shell middens.•Shell midden development is horizontal as well as vertical.•Perceptions of shell middens and their uses change over time.•Shell middens can overwhelm other aspects of the archaeological record.

The Saloum Delta, Senegal, is renowned for its vast shell middens which date to at least 5000 BP and in many cases, also contain numerous burials. Though archaeological work has been conducted here for over 70 years, the focus has been on obtaining radiocarbon dating sequences and rescue excavation; little is known in detail about the middens or the people who built them. Today, the Sereer Niominka people of the Saloum Delta continue to collect and trade shellfish using traditional methods. This has offered an opportunity to observe these processes in practice, and examine the archaeological footprints they produce. These ethnoarchaeological observations have provided new perspectives on the development of large shell middens that will contribute to a better understanding of the archaeological landscape here and will also be of relevance to midden-rich environments, more widely.