Marine resources during the Middle Palaeolithic in Southern Spain

Abstract

The northern coast of the Alboran Sea is a key area for studying the Middle Paleolithic of the westernmost tip of the European continent. This region provides relevant information to understand subsistence models of Neanderthals in coastal areas of the southern Iberian Peninsula. From the study of two archaeological sites located in the Bay of Malaga (Cueva Bajondillo and Abrigo 3/Complejo del Humo), it has been possible to document (1) the use of marine resources, mostly mollusks, by Neanderthal populations, (2) that the consumption of mollusks, spanning from MIS 6 to MIS 3, lasted +100 millennia, (3) that the harvesting of these animals took place in the intertidal zone, very close to where Neanderthals lived, and (4) that these faunas offer information on environmental conditions and the climate prevailing at different times. The oldest chronologies from Bajondillo coincide with the earliest documented shellfish harvesting episodes on the South African coast and are close to dates reported for this activity in northern Africa. The data also constitute the oldest records of shellfishing in Europe and, in contrast with the African evidence, are not attributable to Homo sapiens but instead to its Middle Paleolithic vicariant species, Homo neanderthalensis.