Neanderthal coastal adaptations in southern Europe and eastern Asia

Project Information

NEARCOAST

Grant agreement ID: 101064225

DOI

10.3030/101064225

Project closed

EC signature date 26 July 2022

Start date 1 September 2023

End date 31 August 2025

Funded under

• Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA)

Total cost

No data

EU contribution

€ 181 152,96

Coordinated by

UNIVERSITAT AUTONOMA DE BARCELONA
Spain

Periodic Reporting for period 1 - NEARCOAST (Neanderthal coastal adaptations in southern Europe and eastern Asia)

Reporting period: 2023-09-01 to 2025-08-31

Summary of the context and overall objectives of the project

European southern coasts have long been at the centre of archaeological debates contrasting the social and cognitive abilities of Neanderthals and Anatomically Modern Humans (AMH). Early evidence of shellfish exploitation by Neanderthals in this region challenged the traditional view that coastal adaptation was a distinctive feature of AMH cognition and behaviour. While it is now clear that Neanderthals did exploit marine resources to obtain protein-rich foods, the nature of their seasonal foraging strategies remains an open question. The NEARCOAST project, hosted by the Autonomous University of Barcelona (UAB) and supervised by Prof. André Colonese, seeks to deepen our understanding of Neanderthal behaviour and foraging ecology, as well as the role of coastal environments in shaping their adaptive capacity and resilience during the Middle Palaeolithic. To achieve this, the project applies a range of biomolecular techniques to faunal remains recovered from key Neanderthal coastal sites in southwestern Europe. This region was selected for its exceptional archaeological record and because it is the only area in the world where such a comprehensive investigation is currently possible.

Research on Neanderthal behavioural ecology has largely focused on faunal assemblages from inland contexts, particularly ungulates and small game such as reptiles and lagomorphs. By comparison, the ways in which Neanderthal groups adapted to and exploited coastal environments remain relatively underexplored. The NEARCOAST project aims to address this imbalance and fill critical gaps in our knowledge of Neanderthal subsistence systems. The project pursues three main objectives: 1) To identify patterns of intertidal resource use among coastal Neanderthal populations in southern Europe and western Asia. 2) To reconstruct Neanderthal foraging strategies and seasonal resource scheduling in coastal settings. 3) To enhance our understanding of Neanderthal evolutionary adaptation across southern Eurasia.

To achieve these goals, NEARCOAST will apply a combination of analytical techniques, including taxonomic identification, stable isotope and trace element analysis of shell remains, as well as taxonomic analysis and collagen type I peptide mass fingerprinting of vertebrate bone remains. These analyses will be carried out on material from key Middle Palaeolithic sites spanning the western Iberian Peninsula to the eastern Mediterranean, including Figueira Brava, Complejo del Humo, and Los Aviones in southern Iberia, and Üçağızlı II in the Levant.

Work performed from the beginning of the project to the end of the period covered by the report and main results achieved so far

To meet the above objectives, NEARCOAST has implement six complementary work packages (WP). We present the main results obtained from them.

WP1 Taxonomic, morphometric and quantitative analysis of shells.

Analyses of shell remains from Los Aviones, Complejo del Humo, and Figueira Brava helped reveal how Neanderthals collected and used marine resources. Although many shells were fragmented, new Micro-CT scans allowed researchers to identify the coastal areas where shellfish were mostly gathered. A new method was also developed to determine the exact intertidal zones where molluscs were harvested, tested in northern Iberian sites and now applied in the south. Selected shells, such as limpets and snails, were chosen for future isotope and chemical analyses to better understand Neanderthal diets. Overall, the project made solid progress and achieved its scientific goals

WP2 Seasonality of collection of Phorcus turbinatus and Patella spp.

Stable oxygen isotope analyses of shells from Los Aviones and Figueira Brava reveal that Neanderthals collected shellfish year-round, showing that these marine resources were a planned part of their diet rather than occasional “emergency” food. Some species were mostly gathered during the colder months, demonstrating that Neanderthals carefully timed their harvesting according to mollusc meat-yield variations. This suggests a sophisticated understanding of coastal environments, similar to the strategies used by later modern humans. When combined with isotopic data from other Iberian sites spanning the Upper Palaeolithic to the Neolithic, these results reveal long-term trends in marine resource exploitation. Together, they paint a picture of Neanderthals as highly adaptable and knowledgeable foragers, capable of planning their activities around seasonal cycles and making strategic use of coastal ecosystems

WP3 To establish LIBS-derived element/Ca ratios as proxy for the seasonality of collection.

Trace element analysis using LIBS has emerged as a fast and cost-effective way to study seasonal changes in seawater temperature from mollusc shells and estimate when they were collected. For the first time, the Calibration-Free LIBS (CF-LIBS) approach was validated against traditional methods, showing that Mg/Ca ratios in shells can be measured with high accuracy, revealing clear seasonal patterns. A novel Virtual Sampling method further improved precision by automatically averaging growth lines, reducing measurement noise. Applied to both modern and archaeological shells, including specimens from Los Aviones and Figueira Brava, results confirm that LIBS can reliably infer collection seasons, complementing stable isotope data. This breakthrough offers a rapid, large-scale tool to study past human coastal foraging and environmental conditions

WP4 Estimating caloric return from intertidal molluscs.

The NEARCOAST project investigated seasonal changes in meat yield of Phorcus turbinatus, a marine gastropod extensively exploited since prehistoric times. Living specimens were collected year-round from three southern Iberian coastal sites, and meat yield was measured by comparing soft tissue weight to shell weight. Results show that meat yield is highest in winter and spring, coinciding with gonadal development, and lower in summer and autumn. This suggests that Neanderthals could have identified the best seasons for harvesting these molluscs, much like later modern humans. These findings reveal sophisticated knowledge of coastal resources and provide new insights into Neanderthal foraging strategies and potential cognitive abilities.

WP5 Taxonomic identification of vertebrate bone remains.

During the NEARCOAST project, faunal remains from Los Aviones were systematically studied for the first time. Asier García received specialized training in taxonomic identification, which allowed him to analyze the bones with greater expertise. The study confirmed the presence of animals such as horses (Equus), goats (Capra), and rabbits (Oryctolagus) at the site. However, most of the remains were highly fragmented, and some were later used in other project analyses.

WP6 Taxonomic identification of mammal bone remains through ZooMS.

Studying animal bones helps us understand how Neanderthals hunted and ate, but at sites like Los Aviones, most bones are so fragmented that it’s hard to know which species they came from. Palaeoproteomics offers a clever solution: using ZooMS, researchers can read the collagen “fingerprints” in tiny bone fragments to identify the animal. During the NEARCOAST project, Asier García trained in this technique at ICTA-UAB, gaining hands-on experience with this cutting-edge method. However, the bones from Los Aviones and Figeuira Brava contained no collagen, so the planned analyses could not be carried out.

Progress beyond the state of the art and expected potential impact (including the socio-economic impact and the wider societal implications of the project so far)

The NEARCOAST project has uncovered new insights into how Neanderthals lived along the coasts of southwestern Europe, long before modern humans arrived. The findings help answer key questions about which behaviours are unique to our species and which are shared across our genus. One of the most fascinating questions in human evolution is when humans became “behaviourally modern.” Southern European coasts have been crucial for exploring the skills and knowledge of Neanderthals and early modern humans. For a long time, living and exploiting coastal resources was thought to be a hallmark of modern humans, but NEARCOAST shows that Neanderthals were just as capable. They carefully harvested shellfish at the best times of year, taking advantage of abundant and safe resources. This shows advanced planning, deep knowledge of local ecosystems, and behaviours very similar to those of modern humans thousands of years later. These strategies persisted in later periods and can even be seen in some coastal communities today. The project challenges old ideas that Neanderthals lacked complex behaviours and highlights that knowledge of coastal environments was passed down over generations for more than 100,000 years.

Technologically, NEARCOAST also pushed the boundaries of archaeology. Using LIBS, a fast and cost-effective method, researchers can now study ancient shells to see when they were collected. New protocols developed by the project made this technique much more precise, giving us a detailed view of how Neanderthals timed their shellfish harvesting across the year.

Methodology

Methodology

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