Evidence for Marine Consumption During the Upper Palaeolithic at “El Pirulejo” Inland Rock- Shelter (Southern Iberia Peninsula, Spain)
During the Last Glacial Maximum and deglaciation, the Iberian Peninsula served as a faunal and human population refugium. Human foodways have always played a pivotal role in understanding social and cultural practices in prehistory. Nonetheless, the limited number of archaeological sites and human r...
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| Format: | Article |
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Ubiquity Press
2022-05-01
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| Series: | Open Quaternary |
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| Online Access: | https://www.openquaternary.com/articles/109 |
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| author | Yuichi I. Naito Miriam Belmaker Francisco J. Jiménez-Espejo María D. Simón-Vallejo José Antonio Riquelme Cantal Rubén Parrilla-Giráldez Miguel Cortés-Sánchez |
| author_facet | Yuichi I. Naito Miriam Belmaker Francisco J. Jiménez-Espejo María D. Simón-Vallejo José Antonio Riquelme Cantal Rubén Parrilla-Giráldez Miguel Cortés-Sánchez |
| author_sort | Yuichi I. Naito |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | During the Last Glacial Maximum and deglaciation, the Iberian Peninsula served as a faunal and human population refugium. Human foodways have always played a pivotal role in understanding social and cultural practices in prehistory. Nonetheless, the limited number of archaeological sites and human remains in this region hinders the complete understanding of these critical communities’ diet. To increase our knowledge about human consumption patterns, we selected three Magdalenian levels from the site of El Pirulejo (Southern Iberia Peninsula, Spain). These levels are characterized by a high abundance of rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus) remains (76–97% MNI), initially suggesting that rabbits were the primary source of protein for site inhabitants. Stable isotope analysis was conducted on two human teeth in tandem with stable isotope analysis of the rabbit teeth. Contrary to the expectations derived from the zooarchaeological analysis, rabbits were not a significant source of dietary protein. Carbon and nitrogen bulk isotopic values are the most enriched found in sampled human remains for this area and context. Our data supports aquatic food resource inclusion and increased resource diversity among Iberian hunter-gatherers during the Magdalenian. This study is consistent with previous studies that suggested a socio-economic network among human groups between inland and coastal regions in the terminal Pleistocene Southern Iberia. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-12T05:44:33Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-19f14d733c404e7e8fade09efe530f03 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2055-298X |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-12T05:44:33Z |
| publishDate | 2022-05-01 |
| publisher | Ubiquity Press |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Open Quaternary |
| spelling | doaj.art-19f14d733c404e7e8fade09efe530f032022-12-22T00:35:50ZengUbiquity PressOpen Quaternary2055-298X2022-05-018110.5334/oq.10984Evidence for Marine Consumption During the Upper Palaeolithic at “El Pirulejo” Inland Rock- Shelter (Southern Iberia Peninsula, Spain)Yuichi I. Naito0Miriam Belmaker1Francisco J. Jiménez-Espejo2María D. Simón-Vallejo3José Antonio Riquelme Cantal4Rubén Parrilla-Giráldez5Miguel Cortés-Sánchez6Nagoya University Museum, Nagoya University, Furo-cho, Chikusa-ku, Nagoya 464-8601; Primate Research Institute, Kyoto University, Kanrin 41-2, Inuyama 484-8506The Department of Anthropology, The University of Tulsa, 800 South Tucker Drive, Tulsa Oklahoma 74104Instituto Andaluz de Ciencias de La Tierra, CSIC-Univ. de GranadaDepartamento de Prehistoria y Arqueología. University of Sevilla, María de Padilla, s/n 41004-SevillaDepartamento de Historia, University of Córdoba, Plaza Cardenal Salzar, 3, 14071, CórdobaCentro de Investigación Tecnología e Innovación de la Universidad de Sevilla, Av. de la Reina Mercedes, 4, 41012 SevillaDepartamento de Prehistoria y Arqueología. University of Sevilla, María de Padilla, s/n 41004-SevillaDuring the Last Glacial Maximum and deglaciation, the Iberian Peninsula served as a faunal and human population refugium. Human foodways have always played a pivotal role in understanding social and cultural practices in prehistory. Nonetheless, the limited number of archaeological sites and human remains in this region hinders the complete understanding of these critical communities’ diet. To increase our knowledge about human consumption patterns, we selected three Magdalenian levels from the site of El Pirulejo (Southern Iberia Peninsula, Spain). These levels are characterized by a high abundance of rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus) remains (76–97% MNI), initially suggesting that rabbits were the primary source of protein for site inhabitants. Stable isotope analysis was conducted on two human teeth in tandem with stable isotope analysis of the rabbit teeth. Contrary to the expectations derived from the zooarchaeological analysis, rabbits were not a significant source of dietary protein. Carbon and nitrogen bulk isotopic values are the most enriched found in sampled human remains for this area and context. Our data supports aquatic food resource inclusion and increased resource diversity among Iberian hunter-gatherers during the Magdalenian. This study is consistent with previous studies that suggested a socio-economic network among human groups between inland and coastal regions in the terminal Pleistocene Southern Iberia.https://www.openquaternary.com/articles/109magdalenianbroad-spectrumrefugiacollagentooth enamel |
| spellingShingle | Yuichi I. Naito Miriam Belmaker Francisco J. Jiménez-Espejo María D. Simón-Vallejo José Antonio Riquelme Cantal Rubén Parrilla-Giráldez Miguel Cortés-Sánchez Evidence for Marine Consumption During the Upper Palaeolithic at “El Pirulejo” Inland Rock- Shelter (Southern Iberia Peninsula, Spain) Open Quaternary magdalenian broad-spectrum refugia collagen tooth enamel |
| title | Evidence for Marine Consumption During the Upper Palaeolithic at “El Pirulejo” Inland Rock- Shelter (Southern Iberia Peninsula, Spain) |
| title_full | Evidence for Marine Consumption During the Upper Palaeolithic at “El Pirulejo” Inland Rock- Shelter (Southern Iberia Peninsula, Spain) |
| title_fullStr | Evidence for Marine Consumption During the Upper Palaeolithic at “El Pirulejo” Inland Rock- Shelter (Southern Iberia Peninsula, Spain) |
| title_full_unstemmed | Evidence for Marine Consumption During the Upper Palaeolithic at “El Pirulejo” Inland Rock- Shelter (Southern Iberia Peninsula, Spain) |
| title_short | Evidence for Marine Consumption During the Upper Palaeolithic at “El Pirulejo” Inland Rock- Shelter (Southern Iberia Peninsula, Spain) |
| title_sort | evidence for marine consumption during the upper palaeolithic at el pirulejo inland rock shelter southern iberia peninsula spain |
| topic | magdalenian broad-spectrum refugia collagen tooth enamel |
| url | https://www.openquaternary.com/articles/109 |
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