Palaeodiets of Humans and Fauna at the Spanish Mesolithic Site of El                     Collado

Guixé, Elena García i; Richards, Michael P.; Subirà, M. Eulàlia

doi:10.1086/504170

Cited by 76 publications

(45 citation statements)

References 27 publications

(21 reference statements)

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“…We are therefore dealing with groups that combine the exploitation of different resources and ecosystems: they used the inland mountain areas for hunting ibex, the forest for hunting red deer and the coastal plain to procure fish and seafood (Salazar-García et al, 2014;Morales Pérez, 2013). Furthermore, stable carbon and nitrogen isotope analysis carried out on Mesolithic human and faunal remains from sites in the region, like El Collado (García-Guixé et al, 2006), Penya del Comptador and Santa Maira itself (Salazar-García et al, 2014), support the subsistence pattern described here. The Mesolithic populations from the region were clearly capable of exploiting both terrestrial and marine resources, making it unlikely that anthropophagic practices were due entirely to nutritional needs.…”

Section: Tablesupporting

confidence: 77%

Funerary practices or food delicatessen? Human remains with anthropic marks from the Western Mediterranean Mesolithic

Morales-Pérez

Salazar‐García

Ibáñez

et al. 2017

Journal of Anthropological Archaeology

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a b s t r a c tThe identification of unarticulated human remains with anthropic marks in archaeological contexts normally involves solving two issues: a general one associated with the analysis and description of the anthropic manipulation marks, and another with regard to the interpretation of their purpose. In this paper we present new evidence of anthropophagic behaviour amongst hunter-gatherer groups of the Mediterranean Mesolithic. A total of 30 human remains with anthropic manipulation marks have been found in the Mesolithic layers of Coves de Santa Maira (Castell de Castells, Alicante, Spain), dating from ca. 10.2-9 cal ky BP. We describe the different marks identified on both human and faunal remains at the site (lithic, tooth, percussion and fire marks on bone cortex). As well as describing these marks, and considering that both human and faunal remains at the site present similar depositional and taphonomic features, this paper also contextualizes them within the archaeological context and subsistence patterns described for Mesolithic groups in the region. We cannot entirely rule out the possibility that these practices may be the result of periodic food stress suffered by the human populations. These anthropophagic events at the site coincide with a cultural change at the regional Epipalaeolithic-Mesolithic transition.

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Section: Tablesupporting

confidence: 77%

Funerary practices or food delicatessen? Human remains with anthropic marks from the Western Mediterranean Mesolithic

Morales-Pérez

Salazar‐García

Ibáñez

et al. 2017

Journal of Anthropological Archaeology

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“…8) (García-Guixé et al, 2006). However, recently published radiocarbon data (Aparicio, 2008) cast doubts on the chronological homogeneity of this necropolis, indicating a more extended funerary use of this site than previously thought.…”

Section: Late Mesolithic Palaeodietary Patterns In the Iberian Peninsulamentioning

confidence: 84%

“…Two new radiocarbon determinations from individuals 4 (8690 AE 100 BP, 8185e7551 cal BC) and 6 (8080 AE 60 BP 7301e6779 cal BC) yielded an older age, falling within the so-called Notched and Denticulated Mesolithic from the Boreal period. One of these skeletons, individual 4, exhibits the highest level of aquatic protein intake, around 25%, while the others exhibit lower values or fully terrestrial diets (García-Guixé et al, 2006). Even considering the problems of chronological attribution for part of the El Collado sample, given that only three skeletons have been directly dated and there are older Mesolithic occupations with burials, the differences between this site and Casa Corona suggest a different palaeodietary pattern between coastal and inland sites in the Central Mediterranean region of Spain.…”

Section: Late Mesolithic Palaeodietary Patterns In the Iberian Peninsulamentioning

confidence: 99%

Late Mesolithic burials at Casa Corona (Villena, Spain): direct radiocarbon and palaeodietary evidence of the last forager populations in Eastern Iberia

Pablo

Salazar‐García

Subirà-Galdacano

et al. 2013

Journal of Archaeological Science

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a b s t r a c tCurrent knowledge about the MesolithiceNeolithic transition in the Central and Western Mediterranean European regions is deeply limited by the paucity of Late Mesolithic human osteological data and the presence of chronological gaps covering several centuries between the last foragers and the first archaeological evidence of farming peoples. In this work, we present new data to fill these gaps. We provide direct AMS radiocarbon dating and carbon ( Radiocarbon results date the human remains and funerary activity of the site to 6059e5849 cal BC, statistically different from other Late Mesolithic sites and the earliest Neolithic contexts, and bridging the 500 yrs chronological gap of the MesolithiceNeolithic transition from the area. Isotopic evidence shows that diet was based on terrestrial resources despite the proximity to the site of lagoon and marine ecosystems. This and previous isotope studies from the region suggest a lower reliance upon marine resources than for Atlantic and Cantabrian sites, although intra-regional patterns of neighbouring Mesolithic populations exhibit both fully terrestrial diets and diets with significant amounts of aquatic resources in them. We hypothesize that in the Central Mediterranean region of Spain the Late Mesolithic dietary adaptations imposed structural limits on demographic growth of the last foragers and favoured rapid assimilation by the earliest Neolithic populations.

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“…Isotope results from two Mesolithic Eastern Iberian sites have also been published: the shell midden of El Collado (García-Guixé et al, 2006) All of this shows both an inter-and an intra-heterogeneity of the diet of the last hunter-gatherer societies of Eastern Iberia. The geographic location is sometimes the best predictor of the diet of these populations (Fig.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 97%

Isotope evidence for the use of marine resources in the Eastern Iberian Mesolithic

Salazar‐García¹,

Aura²,

Olària³

et al. 2014

Journal of Archaeological Science

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a b s t r a c tThere are relatively few coastal Mesolithic sites in the Iberian Mediterranean region, probably due to a number of factors including sea level changes and the disappearance of sites due to agriculture and urbanisation. However, recent excavations have uncovered inland sites that have marine faunal remains (i.e. molluscs and fish) and lithics from the coastal area, which both indicate interactions between the coast and the upland valleys. These inland sites are located at a distance of 30e50 km from today's coastline and are at altitudes higher than 1000 m. We report on additional information on the links between the coast and these inland sites through the use of dietary isotope analysis (carbon and nitrogen stable isotope analysis) of collagen extracted from human and faunal remains at the sites of Coves de Santa Maira, Penya del Comptador and Cingle del Mas Nou. The results indicate that Mesolithic diet in this region was largely based on C 3 terrestrial resources, but there was measurable evidence of low-level consumption of marine resources at both coastal and inland sites.

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Palaeodiets of Humans and Fauna at the Spanish Mesolithic Site of El Collado

Cited by 76 publications

References 27 publications

Funerary practices or food delicatessen? Human remains with anthropic marks from the Western Mediterranean Mesolithic

Funerary practices or food delicatessen? Human remains with anthropic marks from the Western Mediterranean Mesolithic

Late Mesolithic burials at Casa Corona (Villena, Spain): direct radiocarbon and palaeodietary evidence of the last forager populations in Eastern Iberia

Isotope evidence for the use of marine resources in the Eastern Iberian Mesolithic

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