Spain: Underwater exploration on a narrow continental shelf

HAL (Le Centre pour la Communication Scientifique Directe), 2019

The French coastline accounts for many submerged remains of prehistoric sites along all its coastlines. Undisturbed sites including intertidal deposits containing artefacts give a total of 180 find spots. Each geographical region has its own specific features: submerged peats and fish weirs along the Channel and Atlantic coasts, faunal assemblages from the Channel and the North Sea, underwater sea caves and karsts along parts of the Mediterranean coast and occupations dated to later prehistory on the Mediterranean and in the southwestern coastal lagoons. Coastal archaeology successfully confirms the high potential and good preservation of submerged sites, particularly organic artefacts such as wooden objects, features related to fishing and faunal assemblages. New types of sites and research issues have emerged over the past decade, particularly Palaeolithic sites, Neolithic axe deposits in association with megalithic complexes and fishing structures reflecting a widespread activity along the coasts of the Channel and the Atlantic Ocean. The implementation of a scientific programme relating to submerged sites is all the more urgent since offshore industrial projects are rapidly increasing along the French coasts.

The significance of coastal areas to human survival and expansion on the planet is undeniable. Their ecological diversity and their use as communication routes are some of their most distinctive qualities. However, the evidence of exploitation of these resources has had an uneven preservation, which is limited to certain regions and more recent events, mainly sites with deposits from the Upper Pleistocene and Holocene. This paper analyses the data available on the use of marine resources between MIS 6 and MIS 1 (c. 150 – 9 ka BP) in Southern Iberia, one of the first regions in Europe where marine faunal remains were discovered, in archaeological deposits from Middle and Upper Palaeolithic. Therefore their presence here has not been a criterion of separation between Neanderthals and Modern humans, but it may be relevant to analyze changes in the use of small preys or assess the economic diversification in regions where this came at an early date. One of the aims of this study was to evaluate the diachronic trends of the different palaeobiological marine remains recovered from coastal and inland archaeological sites. This preliminary extract indicates that the analysis of marine resource exploitation cannot be classed as a mere listing of palaeobiological remains. This information may be relevant in the initial stages, but it is insufficient in the evaluation of techno-economic and sociocultural transformations that can be linked to the use of marine resources. The distribution of palaeobiological marine remains differs over time and also according to the location of the sites with respect to the changing coastline throughout the period analysed. The known sites that preserve evidence of the use of marine resources as a food source are located mainly on the present coastline, or in a range of less than 10 km. Invertebrate remains have been identified in most, whereas fish, bird and mammal bones only in certain sites. Molluscs used as ornaments or pendants and containers are more widely distributed than other species used for food. Because these data must be contextualized, bone and stone tools linked to the exploitation of the marine environment have been added to the palaeobiological information, drawing inferences based on the analogy between both ethnologically and archaeologically documented tools. Symbolic expressions have also been studied, given the significant number of painted and engraved marine fauna depictions, specifically pisciforms and mammals, found in southern Iberia. Lastly, available molecular data has also been evaluated, from the results of isotope analysis on human remains. This combination of palaeobiological, techno-economic, graphic-symbolic and molecular data, allows a first assessment of the use of marine resources in the region. Throughout this temporal trajectory there are several gaps in the documented evidence that favour an episodic change rather than a cumulative and continuous process. It might be possible that these gaps are hidden aspects related to dietary processes of resource diversification. Either way, two different situations have been recognized: First, a complementary, perhaps seasonal use of marine resources in Neanderthal occupations. Molluscs, mainly gastropods, and beached marine mammals are the most common types of marine resources. The anthropic contribution of birds is mainly concentrated in crows and pigeons, not in marine birds. The fish remains are unreliable and no technical equipment has been identified linked to the extraction and consumption of the mentioned resources. Second, the identification of obvious maritime-orientated societies at the end of the Upper Palaeolithic. The exploitation of a large variety of invertebrates (gastropods, bivalves, crustaceans, and echinoderms) with a significant increase in bivalves, fish, birds and marine mammals is associated with equipment linked to their extraction and processing. The identification of marine fauna depictions in the Palaeolithic art and the concentration of sites along the coast of the Alboran Sea that accumulate deposits of marine fauna, add regional traits, which have not been described in the rest of the Mediterranean Iberian region or in much of southern Europe.

Most people tend to consider the European map as fixed. However, in geological timescales our land-sea boundaries are in a continual state of change. The seabed stretching off many of our European coasts, now covered in tens of metres of water, was once dry land. These areas supported a terrestrial biota including, at a certain point in time, early human populations. The idea that we once lived at the bottom of today's seas is one that easily fires the human imagination. What is more surprising, and until recently poorly recognized, is that there remains an extensive archaeological record of early human settlement on the seabed and sub-seabed of our continental shelf seas. The study of this record and what it tells us about our early human ancestors, their lifestyles and movements over time influenced by a changing environment, is called Continental Shelf Prehistoric Research. This paper is the result of the extensive efforts of the SUBLAND working group, the members of which are listed inside the front cover. They have provided a comprehensive analysis of the state of the art in this field, the key opportunities and barriers to progress, and a coherent set of recommendations which can guide research funders and policy makers on how to advance the study and management of our submerged prehistoric cultural heritage. On behalf of the EMB member organizations, I would like to thank the members of the SUBLAND working group for their enthusiasm and commitment in delivering this excellent position paper. My particular thanks goes to Dr. Nic Flemming, the working group Chair, who has been tireless in his dedication to the SUBLAND initiative and has provided outstanding leadership throughout. Thanks also to Dr. Nan-Chin Chu of the EMB Secretariat for guiding the process with efficiency and professionalism. The paper that they have produced sets an agenda for future research and awareness-raising, and represents an important milestone in the development of Continental Shelf Prehistoric Research.

2000

The rapid developmental work of the Museum-Centre and its policies within a limited budget are set in the context of world-wide problems of management and preservation of the underwater heritage in the face of accelerating threats to its survival. The impact of engineering projects and lack of official control or supervision of developer-funded maritime archaeological interventions is something of which governments are insufficiently aware. The construction of a marina at Mazarron has resulted in progressive denudation of the bay, exposure of two Phoenician wrecks and thousands of Phoenician potsherds, necessitating the annual resurvey of 70,000 m 2 of seabed. Among protective measures an iron 'strongbox' has been designed and successfully used on small wreck-sites.

Antiquity Project Gallery, 2018

Newly discovered archaeological sites in the Uribe Kosta region of northern Spain are illuminating the establishment of late prehistoric coastal farming settlements and specialised tool-production activities.

Studies in submerged prehistoric archaeology have gained momentum in recent years with particular focus on the inundated landscapes of the European continental shelf. While this renewed interest lies primarily in modern coasts and seas, there are a variety of differences between the submerged prehistoric archaeologies of inland and marine environments, ranging from questions of scientific research to heritage management to practical field methods. Some of these differences are the result of location, function and period. Despite this, there exist similarities that, if ignored, risk increased marginalisation of the archaeology of submerged landscapes from the greater field of prehistoric archaeology. A holistic evaluation of prehistoric archaeological landscapes must include inland-waters and coastal zones and their relationships. Aquatic environments, viewed both as individual locations as well as continuous and connecting waterways, are introduced for their differences and similarities, and simplified examples of material and legislation are introduced in order to contextualize submarine sites and practices within the greater fields of prehistory and underwater archaeology.

The significance of coastal areas to human survival and expansion on the planet is undeniable. Their ecological diversity and their use as communication routes are some of their most distinctive qualities. However, the evidence of exploitation of these resources has had an uneven preservation, which is limited to certain regions and more recent events, mainly sites with deposits from the Upper Pleistocene and Holocene. This paper analyses the data available on the use of marine resources between MIS 6 and MIS 1 (c. 150 – 9 ka BP) in Southern Iberia, one of the first regions in Europe where marine faunal remains were discovered, in archaeological deposits from Middle and Upper Palaeolithic. Therefore their presence here has not been a criterion of separation between Neanderthals and Modern humans, but it may be relevant to analyze changes in the use of small preys or assess the economic diversification in regions where this came at an early date. One of the aims of this study was to evaluate the diachronic trends of the different palaeobiological marine remains recovered from coastal and inland archaeological sites. This preliminary extract indicates that the analysis of marine resource exploitation cannot be classed as a mere listing of palaeobiological remains. This information may be relevant in the initial stages, but it is insufficient in the evaluation of techno-economic and sociocultural transformations that can be linked to the use of marine resources. The distribution of palaeobiological marine remains differs over time and also according to the location of the sites with respect to the changing coastline throughout the period analysed. The known sites that preserve evidence of the use of marine resources as a food source are located mainly on the present coastline, or in a range of less than 10 km. Invertebrate remains have been identified in most, whereas fish, bird and mammal bones only in certain sites. Molluscs used as ornaments or pendants and containers are more widely distributed than other species used for food. Because these data must be contextualized, bone and stone tools linked to the exploitation of the marine environment have been added to the palaeobiological information, drawing inferences based on the analogy between both ethnologically and archaeologically documented tools. Symbolic expressions have also been studied, given the significant number of painted and engraved marine fauna depictions, specifically pisciforms and mammals, found in southern Iberia. Lastly, available molecular data has also been evaluated, from the results of isotope analysis on human remains. This combination of palaeobiological, techno-economic, graphic-symbolic and molecular data, allows a first assessment of the use of marine resources in the region. Throughout this temporal trajectory there are several gaps in the documented evidence that favour an episodic change rather than a cumulative and continuous process. It might be possible that these gaps are hidden aspects related to dietary processes of resource diversification. Either way, two different situations have been recognized: First, a complementary, perhaps seasonal use of marine resources in Neanderthal occupations. Molluscs, mainly gastropods, and beached marine mammals are the most common types of marine resources. The anthropic contribution of birds is mainly concentrated in crows and pigeons, not in marine birds. The fish remains are unreliable and no technical equipment has been identified linked to the extraction and consumption of the mentioned resources. Second, the identification of obvious maritime-orientated societies at the end of the Upper Palaeolithic. The exploitation of a large variety of invertebrates (gastropods, bivalves, crustaceans, and echinoderms) with a significant increase in bivalves, fish, birds and marine mammals is associated with equipment linked to their extraction and processing. The identification of marine fauna depictions in the Palaeolithic art and the concentration of sites along the coast of the Alboran Sea that accumulate deposits of marine fauna, add regional traits, which have not been described in the rest of the Mediterranean Iberian region or in much of southern Europe.

The potential of all nine Azorean Islands (Portugal) for post-Medieval shipwrecks studies is immense, and is only now being realized through a collaborative effort by archaeologists from the Institute of Nautical Archaeology, the Azores, and mainland Portugal. Indeed, the rugged shorelines of each island are one of the most promising regions in the world today for maritime archaeology, for beneath its waters lie the remains of scores of ships dating from the mid fifteenth century to the present day. Since 1995, several underwater archaeological projects have been conducted in the Azores, resulting in the discovery and study of 16 historical shipwrecks. The present communication deals with the survey strategies adopted and will present the preliminary results obtained so far.

International Journal of Nautical Archaeology , 2023

Culturas y pueblos precolombinos de la costa Pacífica. Navegación e intercambio entre los Andes Centrales, el Área Intermedia y Mesoamérica. In G. Pinzón Ríos & F. T. Rivera (Eds.), El Mar: Percepciones, lecturas y contextos. Una mirada cultural a los entornos marítimos (pp. 291-316).