Seabirds from the Upper Magdalenian of Santa Catalina (Lekeitio, Biscay, Spain): Taphonomic and Zooarchaeological Approaches

• Main Authors: Laroulandie, Véronique, Elorza Espolosin, Mikelo, Berganza Gochi, Eduardo
• Other Authors: De la Préhistoire à l'Actuel : Culture, Environnement et Anthropologie (PACEA), Université de Bordeaux (UB)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Sociedad de ciencias Aranzadi (SCA), Ignacio Zuloaga Enparantza, Dupont, C. and Marchand, G., ANR-11-BSH3-0005,MAGDATIS,Des chasseurs-cueilleurs face aux changements environnementaux : le Magdalénien de la façade atlantique au Tardiglaciaire (18-14 kyr cal BP)(2011)
• Format: Other/Unknown Material
• Language: French
• Published: HAL CCSD 2014
• Subjects: Prehistory; Late Glacial; Magdalenian; subsistence; butchering pattern; bone industry; seabirds; great auk; gull; diving ducks; canards plongeurs; Préhistoire; Tardiglaciaire; Magdalénien; subsistance; schéma de boucherie; industrie osseuse; oiseaux marins; grand pingouin; goéland; archeo; geo; Catalina; High Cliff; Grand Pingouin; Great auk
• Online Access: https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01832906/file/2016_Laroulandie_etal_SPF_seapeople.pdf; https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01832906

International audience What is the status of coastal resources in the economy of human groups that settled in Europe during the Pleistocene? It is noteworthy that little information is contained in the archaeological record. But if this archaeological record is carefully analysed, itcan yield many and varied stories.A significant rise in sea level occurred at the end of the Ice Age (about 100 m in 10,000 years) and led to a flooding inversely proportionalto the slope of the continental shelf. The Bay of Biscay provides a striking example of the consequences of the differential erosionof the Atlantic coast. While the southern edge of the shelf at the present day is only a few kilometres from the coastline position at theend of the Pleistocene, its eastern margin has retreated by tens of kilometres. This means that archaeological remains located in thiszone have been definitively engulfed by the marine incursion. The erosion of evidence particularly affects food wastes that are preferentiallylocated near the place of acquisition. Manufactured objects and representations of marine animals are less affected by this erosion because these artefacts are transported over greater distances. Some of these items are found scattered over distances of more than 300 km from the coast.A synthesis by E. Álvarez Fernández (Álvarez Fernández, 2011) established the basis of the long history of exploitation of marine resources by hunter-gatherers who lived in Cantabrian Spain during the late Pleistocene and early Holocene. The currently available data mainly concern molluscs and only few studies deal with the other resources. This is particularly true for seabirds. Although they were carried out for several archaeological sites, taphonomic studies of bird remains are scarce. The site of Santa Catalina, near Lekeitio in Biscay, has yielded exceptional material for studies that are currently only partially published. The cave opening is perched on a 40-m-high cliff overlooking the Cantabrian Sea (Biscay). From 1982 to 2000, E. ...