El Collado shell midden and the exploitation patterns of littoral resources during the Mesolithic in the Eastern Iberian Peninsula

摘要

The 1980s excavations at the El Collado, a large open-air Mesolithic site on the Eastern coast of Spain, revealed a sequence of human occupations consisting of a large shell midden and 14 human burials dated to the Mesolithic period. Human palaeodietary reconstructions based on bone collagen delta C-13 and delta N-15 isotope ratios, identified a variable contribution of marine proteins, ranging from fully terrestrial diets to a maximum input of 25%. Most subsequent research on Mediterranean coastal and dietary adaptations refers to the site's funerary record and palaeodietary study, but the composition of its shell midden has remained unstudied.