Shellfish collection on the westernmost Mediterranean, Bajondillo cave (∼160-35 cal kyr BP): A case of behavioral convergence?

Abstract

The Middle (MP) and Early Upper Paleolithic (EUP) evidences of shellfish collection on the southern Iberian site of Bajondillo cave are presented and compared with Westernmost Mediterranean archaeological sites. The main feature is stasis for Mytilus galloprovincialis represents the dominant taxon during a ∼120kyr temporal sequence. The second feature is the decrease of the shellfishing signal when site distance to the coast increases. The data reveal that shellfish collection was practiced during Marine Isotopic Stage 4, a poorly documented stage in terms of aquatic adaptations. Striking is also that mollusc assemblages evidence an uninterrupted decreasing trend in terms of remains from the earliest to the latest levels, in particular when H. sapiens replaced H. neanderthalensis. Although taxa of secondary importance are too scarce to make reliable inferences, another difference between the MP and EUP collections is the substantial increase of infaunal bivalves in the latter cultural period. Warm and cold water mollusc records match temperature rises and drops although the scarcity of data do not allow one to proceed beyond qualitative statements. Likewise, the prevalence of fresh and brackish water mollusc hint at a permanent presence of freshwater around the site at all times. When compared with assemblages from the Alboran sea region (Westernmost Mediterranean Sea), the Bajondillo cave collections are remarkable for their abundance of mussels. Comparison between Bajondillo cave and Pinnacle Point reveal that infaunal bivalve abundances in the South African site are far higher than those recorded in the MP levels, though not those from the EUP. Whether this feature hints at subtle differences existing between the collection of shellfish by H. sapiens and H. neanderthalensis, reflects a behavioral convergence between the two hominine lineages or represents an inherited cognitive trait from a common ancestor is an issue in need of further analysis.