It was a stable food in the diet of the Mesolithic populations. They did not do it solely as an emergency resource, as was considered until now. In the Mesolithic they ate a lot of mollusks and they were very integrated into the diet. A study by the University of Cantabria (UC) confirms this.
The role of mollusks in prehistoric subsistence strategies has been the subject of extensive scientific debate. Its relevance was traditionally considered to be secondary. Or that its consumption occurred mainly in times of scarcity or as a food supplement. But everything indicates that these resources were "much more than emergency food." The research was published in the journal 'Quaternary Science Reviews'.
Broad diet
It presents new data on the season of the year in which the shells deposited in the archaeological sites were collected. They sought to assess the role of mollusks in the diet of Mesolithic societies. It was possible to obtain high-resolution data on the collection times between 11,000 and 6,700 years ago. The results show that the collection of mollusks occurred in all seasons of the year. There was greater intensity at certain times, depending on the species and the site analyzed.
Results were compared with the season of obtaining other foods through hunting, fishing and gathering. It is concluded that the mollusks were part of a coordinated strategy for collecting food throughout the year. The different species of mollusks were collected depending on the time of year in which they had optimal performance. In the Mesolithic they ate many mollusks, becoming very important at certain times of the year.
All year
The coastal areas of the Cantabrian region were occupied by Mesolithic populations throughout the year. Each site was occupied in different seasons or for different functions, also showing a certain mobility of individuals between the coast and the interior. The study is funded by the Ministry of Science and Universities, the State Research Agency and FEDER Funds, of the European Union.
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