Feet on the ground: Marine archaeomalacology resources during the Mesolithic-Neolithic transition in the Iberian Peninsula

Abstract

The Iberian Peninsula is the ideal setting for the study of the use of marine resources in the Mesolithic and Neolithic periods. Previous studies have focused on specific geographical areas and on a single chronological period. Instead, we offer here a synthesis of the peninsula covering a broad period of time, thus allowing a study of the role of marine resources in the Neolithisation process. Published data on the exploitation of marine molluscs from 59 archaeological levels, close to the coast and dated between 10,400 and 4650 cal BP, in the Iberian Peninsula are reviewed in order to examine the change that occurred in the consumption of marine resources following the introduction of domestic plants and animals. The analysis of the composition and diversity of assemblages collected at each site has allowed us to identify specialisation in the management strategy of marine molluscs during the Neolithic. Regional variability in the diversity of species collected, particularly in the Cantabrian region, where there is continuity in the management of molluscs between the Mesolithic and Neolithic periods, could be linked to the pace at which agriculture and animal husbandry were adopted. In short, together with environmental factors, the establishment of farming practices may have had a slight impact on the specialisation in the management of coastal environments.