Crayfish in Czech cultural space: the longest documented relationship between humans and crayfish in Europe

The crayfish is an interesting element of cultural history in many regions where this animal plays an important role through its exploitation by humans. The present study provides comprehensive insight into the relationship between humans and crayfish within the Central European regions of Bohemia and Moravia, collectively recognized as the Czech cultural space. The study combines data obtained from Czech and Latin historical literature; archival juristic documents and codes of law; old cooking and fishing journals, books, and textbooks; digitized materials available on the internet; and specialized and scientific publications. Human exploitation of crayfish within the evaluated region has been continuous from prehistory to the present and is thus the oldest in all of Europe. Important moments are displayed on timeline.