https://www.meghanzulian.com/blog/ypjzpu8veyrjp6s6jtwl0k6kobjsdh
The earliest fisherpeople and their shell tools
Meghan Zulian FoodOcean Feb 20 ?year
As rising atmospheric CO2 warms & acidifies the oceans, in many places shellfish will struggle to survive.
Though many of us are not dependent on these critters in the modern day, it’s worth asking the question:
how long have humans & our predecessors relied on shellfish?
A study by researcher Dr Paola Villa cs found :
in Italy, H.neand. were not only eating shellfish 100 ka, they were using shells as agricultural tools.
Of the 171 modified shells examined from an archaeological cave site, most were reconfigured to be used as “scrapers” or “flakes”.
Based on the state of the shells & the marine spp found on them, researchers believe:
nearly 25% of the shells were collected live by the Neanderthals from the sea-floor.
The researchers point out the mutually exclusive occurrence of stone & shell tools suggest: when stones were scarce, H.neand. turned to shells.
These findings suggest:
H.neand. were swimming in coastal waters, and collecting resources long before H.sapiens arrived.
If H.sapiens are so advanced, then why do we not see the trends of them using shellfish for tools at this time?
A study from Verhaegen & Munro suggest: the specialized ear-bones & heavier skeletons of H.neand. made them more efficient swimmers.
Their conclusions agree with other studies:
H.neand. were eating shellfish long before H.sapiens, in some cases as many as 150 ka (Cortés-Sánchez cs 2011).
Fig. Stone_tools_archaeology.PNG
Fragments of retouched shells. All are covered in tunnels from small marine organisms, some with the organisms still attached.
Their presence indicates that these shells were collected from the deep.
Refs
- Neanderthals went underwater for their tools. Science Daily Press Release, Jan.15, 2020.
- Cortés-Sánchez M., Morales-Muñiz A., Simón-Vallejo M.D., Lozano-Francisco M.C., Vera-Peláez J. L., Finlayson C., Rodríguez-Vidal J., Delgado-Huertas A., Jiménez-Espejo F. J., Martínez-Ruiz F., Martínez-Aguirre M.A., Pascual-Granged A.J.,
Bergadà-Zapata M.M., Gibaja-Bao J.F., Riquelme-Cantal J.A., López-Sáez J.A., Rodrigo-Gámiz M., Sakai S., Sugisaki S. … Bicho N.F. 2011
Earliest Known Use of Marine Resources by Neanderthals. PLOS ONE, 6(9), e24026 doi org/10.1371/journal.pone.0024026
- Paola Villa, Sylvain Soriano, Luca Pollarolo, Carlo Smriglio, Mario Gaeta, Massimo D’Orazio, Jacopo Conforti, Carlo Tozzi. Neandertals on the beach: Use of marine resources at Grotta dei Moscerini (Latium, Italy). PLOS ONE, 2020; 15 (1): e0226690
- Verhaegen M. & Munro S. Pachyosteosclerosis Suggests Archaic Homo Frequently Collected Sessile Littoral Foods. HOMO 2011; 62:237–247
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