A Terrestrial Diet Close to the Coast: A Case Study from the Neolithic Levels of Nerja Cave (Málaga, Spain)

Here we present an evaluation of faunal studies and new isotopic results on human and faunal remains from the first farmers at Nerja Cave (Málaga, Spain), and assess the data obtained from a regional perspective and on the basis of the archaeological and archaeozoological context. The evidence shows that the Neolithic peoples who inhabited the cave had a mainly terrestrial diet, even if living on the coastline and in a region with a high marine productivity, as observed during previous periods at the same cave. This sharp dietary shift occurring at the onset of the Neolithic for this region supports the hypothesis that different modes of exploitation during distinct time periods are best explained in terms of cultural changes, rather than by slight changes in coastline and seawater temperature. Our conclusion has implications for the debate on the onset of the Neolithic for the entire Western Mediterranean.