| Autor: |
Fontanals-Coll M; BioArCh, Department of Archaeology, University of York, York YO10 5DD, UK., Soncin S; BioArCh, Department of Archaeology, University of York, York YO10 5DD, UK.; Department of Environmental Biology, 'Sapienza' University of Rome, Piazzale A. Moro 5, 00185 Rome, Italy., Talbot HM; BioArCh, Department of Archaeology, University of York, York YO10 5DD, UK., von Tersch M; BioArCh, Department of Archaeology, University of York, York YO10 5DD, UK., Gibaja JF; Escuela Española de Historia y Arqueología en Roma (EEHAR-CSIC), Via di Sant'Eufemia 13, 00187 Rome, Italia., Colonese AC; Department of Prehistory and Institute of Environmental Science and Technology, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Bellaterra 08193, Spain., Craig OE; BioArCh, Department of Archaeology, University of York, York YO10 5DD, UK. |
| Abstrakt: |
Determining the degree to which humans relied on coastal resources in the past is key for understanding long-term social and economic development, as well as for assessing human health and anthropogenic impacts on the environment. Prehistoric hunter-gatherers are often assumed to have heavily exploited aquatic resources, especially those living in regions of high marine productivity. For the Mediterranean, this view has been challenged, partly by the application of stable isotope analysis of skeletal remains which has shown more varied coastal hunter-gatherer diets than in other regions, perhaps due to its lower productivity. By undertaking a more specific analysis of amino acids from bone collagen of 11 individuals from one of the oldest and best-known Mesolithic cemeteries in the Mediterranean, at El Collado, Valencia, we show that high levels of aquatic protein consumption were achieved. By measuring both carbon and nitrogen in amino acids, we conclude that some of the El Collado humans relied heavily on local lagoonal fish and possibly shellfish, rather than open marine species. By contrast to previous suggestions, this study demonstrates that the north-western coast of the Mediterranean basin could support maritime-oriented economies during the Early Holocene. |
