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Stringer CB, Finlayson JC, Barton RNE, Fernández-Jalvo Y, Cáceres I, Sabin RC, Rhodes EJ, Currant AP, Rodríguez-Vidal J, Giles-Pacheco F, Riquelme-Cantal JA. Neanderthal exploitation of marine mammals in Gibraltar. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2008; 105:14319-24. [PMID: 18809913 PMCID: PMC2567146 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.0805474105] [Citation(s) in RCA: 231] [Impact Index Per Article: 14.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/22/2008] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Two coastal sites in Gibraltar, Vanguard and Gorham's Caves, located at Governor's Beach on the eastern side of the Rock, are especially relevant to the study of Neanderthals. Vanguard Cave provides evidence of marine food supply (mollusks, seal, dolphin, and fish). Further evidence of marine mammal remains was also found in the occupation levels at Gorham's Cave associated with Upper Paleolithic and Mousterian technologies [Finlayson C, et al. (2006) Nature 443:850-853]. The stratigraphic sequence of Gibraltar sites allows us to compare behaviors and subsistence strategies of Neanderthals during the Middle Paleolithic observed at Vanguard and Gorham's Cave sites. This evidence suggests that such use of marine resources was not a rare behavior and represents focused visits to the coast and estuaries.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - J. C. Finlayson
- Gibraltar Museum, 18-20 Bomb House Lane, P.O. Box 939, Gibraltar
- Department of Social Sciences, University of Toronto, 1265 Military Trail, Scarborough, ON M1C 1A4, Canada
| | - R. N. E. Barton
- Institute of Archaeology, University of Oxford, 36 Beaumont Street, Oxford OX1 2PG, United Kingdom
| | - Y. Fernández-Jalvo
- Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Cientificas, Jose Gutierrez Abascal 2, 28006 Madrid, Spain
| | - I. Cáceres
- Institut Català de Paleoecología Humana i Evolución Social, Àrea de Prehistòria, Universitat Rovira i Virgili, Plaça Imperial Tarraco 1, 43005 Tarragona, Spain
| | - R. C. Sabin
- Zoology, Natural History Museum, London SW7 5BD, United Kingdom
| | - E. J. Rhodes
- Department of Environmental and Geographical Sciences, Manchester Metropolitan University, Chester Street, Manchester M1 5GD, United Kingdom
| | | | - J. Rodríguez-Vidal
- Departamento de Geodinámica y Paleontología, Facultad de Ciencias Experimentales, Universidad de Huelva, 21071 Huelva, Spain
| | - F. Giles-Pacheco
- Museo Arqueológico de El Puerto de Santa Maria, 11500 Cadiz, Spain
| | - J. A. Riquelme-Cantal
- Departamento de Prehistoria y Arqueologia, Universidad de Granada, 18071 Granada, Spain; and
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