The gastropod fauna of the Epipalaeolithic shell midden in the Vestibulo chamber of Nerja Cave (Málaga, southern Spain). (original) (raw)
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The aim of this paper is to describe the results of a study of the terrestrial gastropods recovered at the Epipalaeolithic site Balma del Gai, and comparing it with other Upper Palaeolithic and Epipalaeolithic samples from the Mediterranean region of the Iberian Peninsula. Balma del Gai is located in northeastern Spain, in the municipality of Moià, province of Barcelona. This small rock shelter lies about 50 km inland from the coast. The second layer, the middle one, (Nivell I) contains diverse Epipalaeolithic occupations dated from 12,240 110 BP to 8930 140 BP. A large amount of terrestrial gastropod shells was recovered during archaeological excavations. These shells belong to the species Cepaea nemoralis, which is very common in other contemporaneous sites from the region. The anthropic origin of the sample has been confirmed by a previous taphonomic study. New results reveal an evolution in the use of land snails as a food resource from south to north in Mediterranean Iberia: consumption of land snails began in the south with the warmer stages at the end of the Pleistocene and extended northwards during the Holocene. However, land snails were most likely only a seasonal food source, and their presence is probably correlated with the exploitation of other resources such as small mammals (rabbits) and collected plants and fruits.
This paper studies changes in marine mollusc exploitation in the Upper Palaeolithic (Upper Magdalenian); and Mesolithic levels at La Garma A Cave (Levels N, O and Q. The Mesolithic layer is one of the few shell middens in Cantabrian Spain that is un-cemented. In addition to the classification of the archaeomalacological remains, special attention is given to two topics. One is the substitution of cold-climate species by ones adapted to warmer conditions (e. g. Littorina littorea versus Osilinus lineatus) and the change in the gathering zones (sheltered weed-covered shores to open moderately wave-beaten coasts) in the transition from the Pleistocene to the Holocene at the site. Secondly, biometric data is compared for Patella vulgata and also for other gastropod species (Littorina littorea, Osilinus lineatus and Patella intermedia) in the different archaeological levels. Finally, the paper examines similar information in other deposits in Cantabrian Spain, from the lower Magdalenian to the beginning of the Neolithic (c. 19,000–5000 cal BC).
Quaternary International, 2011
Arenal de la Virgen and Casa Corona, located in the upper Vinalopó Valley (SE of the Iberian Peninsula), are open-air Mesolithic sites dated to the Middle Holocene e 8600-7800 cal BP. Recent excavations have provided evidence of non-marine assemblages dominated by terrestrial (Sphincterochila candidissima and Iberus alonensis) and fresh water gastropods (Melanopsis tricarinata tricarinata) associated with habitation structures. These sites represent the first documented cases of systematic land snail consumption at open-air residential camps in the Iberian Mediterranean Region. This report presents the assemblage composition and modern ethological parameters, and discusses taphonomic processes, gathering strategies, seasonal patterns and their implications in subsistence practices. The pattern of occurrence of these species is contrasted with lake environmental records at a local scale to trace paleoecological conditions in the study area.
Shellfish metrical data are a source of information about the exploitation of marine resources in the past. In this study, we propose a methodological approach based on the size structures of different rocky intertidal gastropod species. Three limpet species (Patella vulgata, Patella intermedia and Patella ulyssiponensis) and the toothed topshell Osilinus lineatus are studied from two sites in Cantabrian Spain: La Garma A and Los Gitanos caves over a period of 10 000 years, covering the Pleistocene–Holocene transition. Data are also supplied about a further sea snail species, the periwinkle Littorina littorea (Upper Magdalenian). A reduction in size can be seen, between the upper Magdalenian and the late Neolithic, in the case of the first four species. The explanation for this decline is probably related to the climate change that occurred in the transition between the Late Pleistocene and the Holocene, but it is possible that human impact might also have influenced shell sizes in the Mesolithic and Neolithic.
Environmental Archaeology, 2017
We analysed assemblages of shells of land snails and small aquatic and wetland gastropods from a late Mesolithic-early Neolithic deposit in the cave of Pico Ramos (Basque Country). Shells were recovered by hand during excavation and all excavated deposit was processed by flotation, with a 250 μm mesh to recover floating material and a 1.0 mm mesh to recover the heavy fraction. The total assemblage comprised 5780 individuals (MNI) among 33 taxa, the sieved sub-assemblage having the highest proportions of these (2841 MNI in 31 taxa) and the hand-picked sub-assemblage the lowest (698 MNI in 11 taxa). Eleven taxa were absent from the flotation sub-assemblage, although the recovered MNI (2241; 39% of the total MNI) was high. The palaeoecological implications of the results are considered. Adult and large-sized juvenile shells of the edible land snail Cepaea nemoralis are abundant in the hand-picked sub-assemblage, but it is the absence of small-sized juvenile shells in the flotation and wet-sieved sub-assemblages that permits the inference that the species was collected for consumption. Wet sieving is therefore essential, both for interpreting hand-picked samples and in particular for the recovery of representative assemblages of land molluscs.
This paper presents the results obtained from the study of the bivalves recovered during the archaeological excavations in the Vestíbulo chamber of Nerja Cave (Málaga, southern Spain) carried out by Professor Francisco Jordá Cerdá between 1983 and 1987. These excavations recovered the archaeological record of the sequence from the Gravettian to the Neolithic. The mollusc remains from the Vestíbulo chamber of Nerja Cave record constitute an extraordinary collection, composed of more than 136000 specimens which correspond to more than 78 kg. In this work, only marine bivalves were studied. The bivalve remains are more than 124000 specimens, corresponding to more than 65 kg from 31 taxa. More than 115000 of these specimens (59 kg) are derived from the shell midden dated to GS 1. The archaeological record of Nerja Cave is distinguished by the abundant presence of human-provided marine and continental molluscs with a high presence of bivalves. Marine bivalves increased clearly from the LGM to the mid-Holocene, and the human inhabitants of the cave accumulated an important shell midden in the contact between MIS 2 and MIS 1.
This paper presents the results obtained from the study of the bivalves recovered during the archaeological excavations in the Vestíbulo chamber of Nerja Cave (M alaga, southern Spain) carried out by Professor Francisco Jord a Cerd a between 1983 and 1987. These excavations recovered the archaeological record of the sequence from the Gravettian to the Neolithic. The mollusc remains from the Vestíbulo chamber of Nerja Cave record constitute an extraordinary collection, composed of more than 136000 specimens which correspond to more than 78 kg. In this work, only marine bivalves were studied. The bivalve remains are more than 124000 specimens, corresponding to more than 65 kg from 31 taxa. More than 115000 of these specimens (59 kg) are derived from the shell midden dated to GS 1. The archaeological record of Nerja Cave is distinguished by the abundant presence of human-provided marine and continental molluscs with a high presence of bivalves. Marine bivalves increased clearly from the LGM to the mid-Holocene, and the human inhabitants of the cave accumulated an important shell midden in the contact between MIS 2 and MIS 1.