Earliest Known Use of Marine Resources by Neanderthals

Abstract

Numerous studies along the northern Mediterranean borderland have documented the use of shellfish by Neanderthals but none of these finds are prior to Marine Isotopic Stage 3 (MIS 3). In this paper we present evidence that gathering and consumption of mollusks can now be traced back to the lowest level of the archaeological sequence at Bajondillo Cave (Málaga, Spain), dated during the MIS 6. The paper describes the taxonomical and taphonomical features of the mollusk assemblages from this level Bj19 and briefly touches upon those retrieved in levels Bj18 (MIS 5) and Bj17 (MIS 4), evidencing a continuity of the shellfishing activity that reaches to MIS 3. This evidence is substantiated on 29 datings through radiocarbon, thermoluminescence and U series methods. Obtained dates and paleoenvironmental records from the cave include isotopic, pollen, lithostratigraphic and sedimentological analyses and they are fully coherent with paleoclimate conditions expected for the different stages. We conclude that described use of shellfish resources by Neanderthals (H. neanderthalensis) in Southern Spain started ∼150 ka and were almost contemporaneous to Pinnacle Point (South Africa), when shellfishing is first documented in archaic modern humans.

Neanderthal diets in central and southeastern Mediterranean Iberia

“…Furthermore, in several areas, including Andalusia, Gibraltar and perhaps Murcia, Neanderthals used marine resources. In general, faunal patterns define the existence of complex resource management strategies by Neanderthals (e.g., Montes Bernárdez, 1988;Villaverde et al, 1996;Aura et al, 2002;Barroso et al, 2006a,b;Blasco, 2008;Sanchis and Fernández Peris, 2008;Stringer et al, 2008;Martínez Valle, 2009;Colonese et al, 2011;Cortés-Sánchez et al, 2011;Sanchis, 2012;Walker et al, 2012;Blasco and Fernández Peris, 2012a,b).…”

Cultural contact over the Strait of Gibraltar during the Middle Palaeolithic? Evaluating the visibility of cultural exchange

“…Both, shellfish as well as sea mammals have been consumed. Evidence for shellfish gathering comes from Bajondillo, where remains are numerous within layers 19 (MIS 6), 18 (MIS 5), and 17 (MIS 4) (Cortés Sánchez et al, 2011). The results of this study indicate the use of marine resources similarly early as at Pinncale Point (South Africa) (Jerardino & Marean, 2010).…”

“…Ramos-Muñoz et al (2014) interpret this observation as results from direct cultural contacts between human groups from both sides of the Strait of Gibraltar. Furthermore, analogue subsistence systems, especially the use of marine resources, are highlighted by different authors without necessarily indicating cultural context (Stringer et al, 2008;Zilhão et al, 2010;Colonese et al, 2011;Cortés Sánchez et al, 2011;Ramos-Muñoz et al, 2011).…”

“…Thus, the use of marine resources as well as the production of laminar blanks and the appearance of symbolic behaviour can be traced in the archaeological record long before (McBrearty & Brooks, 2000). The use of marine resources both occurs in Neanderthal populations in Europe (Cortés Sánchez et al, 2011) and early AMH in Africa (Jerardino & Marean, 2010) latest around 150 ka. The manufacture of blades and bladelets likewise occurs in Middle Paleolithic and Middle stone age assemblages before 40 ka ago (Soriano et al, 2007;Pastoors, 2009;Pastoors & Tafelmaier, 2010).…”

Archaeological shellfish size and later human evolution in Africa

“…Pinnacle Point Cave 13B, South Africa (8) and Bajondillo Cave, Spain (9) show that human shellfishing began at least 160-150 ka, during the MSA in Africa and the coeval Middle Paleolithic (also known as Mousterian) of Europe. Neither site has provided human fossils, but where human remains occur with similar artifacts elsewhere in Africa and Europe, the Africans were anatomically derived toward modern humans, whereas the Europeans were Neanderthals (10).…”