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.