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Quaternary International 244 (2011) 37e44

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The land snail midden from Balma del Gai (Barcelona, Spain) and the evolutionof terrestrial gastropod consumption during the late Palaeolithic and Mesolithicin eastern Iberia

Lluís Lloveras, Jordi Nadal*, Pilar Garcia Argüelles, Josep Maria Fullola, Alícia Estrada y

SERP, Departament de Prehistòria, Història Antiga i Arqueologia, Universitat de Barcelona, C/ Montalegre 6-8, 08001 Barcelona, Spain

a r t i c l e i n f o

Article history:Available online 13 May 2011

* Corresponding author.E-mail address: jnadal@uoc.edu (J. Nadal).

y Deceased.

1040-6182/$ e see front matter � 2011 Elsevier Ltd adoi:10.1016/j.quaint.2011.04.036

a b s t r a c t

The aim of this paper is to describe the results of a study of the terrestrial gastropods recovered at theEpipalaeolithic site Balma del Gai, and comparing it with other Upper Palaeolithic and Epipalaeolithicsamples from the Mediterranean region of the Iberian Peninsula. Balma del Gai is located in north-eastern Spain, in the municipality of Moià, province of Barcelona. This small rock shelter lies about50 km inland from the coast. The second layer, the middle one, (Nivell I) contains diverse Epipalaeolithicoccupations dated from 12,240 � 110 BP to 8930 � 140 BP. A large amount of terrestrial gastropod shellswas recovered during archaeological excavations. These shells belong to the species Cepaea nemoralis,which is very common in other contemporaneous sites from the region. The anthropic origin of thesample has been confirmed by a previous taphonomic study. New results reveal an evolution in the useof land snails as a food resource from south to north in Mediterranean Iberia: consumption of land snailsbegan in the south with the warmer stages at the end of the Pleistocene and extended northwards duringthe Holocene. However, land snails were most likely only a seasonal food source, and their presence isprobably correlated with the exploitation of other resources such as small mammals (rabbits) andcollected plants and fruits.

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1. Introduction

The study of terrestrial snails from archaeological sites can beconsidered as a theme ofminor importance considering the generalarchaeomalacological literature. Very few works on the subjectwere published in the proceedings of the first two meetings of theICAZ Archaeomalacology Working Group (Szabó and Quitmeyer,2008; Álvarez- Fernández and Carvajal-Contreras, 2010) or otherscientific events related to the study of small prey and humanconsumption (Brugal and Desse, 2004). This situation is to a certainextent caused by the opinion of some archaeologists who considerthe presence of land snails as due to non-human activity (seediscussions in Rizner et al., 2009: 527; Gutiérrez, 2009: 387).However, the anthropic origin of terrestrial gastropod accumula-tions has become evident in certain geographical areas and atcertain historical moments. Specifically, the consumption ofterrestrial snails during the end of the Upper Palaeolithic andamong the hunteregatherer cultures of the Holocene have been

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clearly observed in diverse areas of the Mediterranean basin. Theregions most exhaustively studied are the SoutheEast of France,Italy, the Aegean and the Magreb (Lubell, 2004a). Despite anthropicland snail accumulations having been documented in many UpperPalaeolithic and Epipalaeolithic sites from the eastern coastalregions of the Iberian Peninsula, very little is known about thisresource and its importance for human populations in theseperiods. Thus, the aim of this paper is to describe the resultsobtained in the study of the terrestrial gastropod sample recoveredat the Epipalaeolithic site of Balma del Gai and to contextualizethem within the evolution of this food resource in the Mediterra-nean basin of Iberia from the emergence of the pattern in the UpperPalaeolithic to the highest frequency during Early Holocene, fillingthe existing gap of information for this area and these periods.

2. Site description

Balma del Gai is an Epipalaeolithic site with significant assem-blage of land snail shells. The site is a small rock shelter situated inthe municipality of Moià (Barcelona, Spain), measuring approxi-mately 10.5 m long and 5.5 m wide. It opens to the southeast andnear it (nowadays about 25 m away) there is a little stream (Fig. 1).

Fig. 1. General view of Balma del Gai.

L. Lloveras et al. / Quaternary International 244 (2011) 37e4438

The site is 760 m a s l and approximately 50 km from the presentday coast. In spite of the altitude, the area where Balma del Gai islocated is not very steep as it belongs to the “altiplà del Moianès”,the Moianes plateau (Fig. 6). Balma del Gai was discovered by JoanSurroca in 1975, when he recovered worked lithic elements asso-ciated with bones and land snail shells in the rock shelter, and anexcavation was undertaken in the late 1970s by a SpanisheFrenchteam, directed by Jean Guilaine and Miquel Llongueras. In 1994,new excavations opened a large surface, obtained new radiocarbondata and started new studies on the recovered materials includinganthracology, palynology and petrology. These excavations areongoing.

The stratigraphy is composed of three levels. From the top to thebottom, the first is the nivell superficial, which is 25 cm thick. It iscomposed of a mixture of Epipaleolithic remains from the nivell1 and materials from more recent occupations, dating to the end ofthe prehistoric period and historic times. The second level (nivell 1)is the subject of this paper, as it contains the Epipaleolithic/Meso-lithic sequence. It is 30 cm thick at the contact of the rock shelter.The distribution of the material across the level indicates diversehabitation layers, sometimes very difficult to discriminate. Some ofthem, the upper and also the less intense belong to the GeometricFilador type, in the terminology of Fortea (1973), which is parallel toSauveterrian French Mesolithic, according to the chronology andthe lithic industries recovered in it. The most important occupa-tions belong to the Microlaminar Epipaleolithic, similar in chro-nology and materials to the Azilian in France and northwesternSpain. The lowest level (nivell 2) is made of gelifracts from thecollapse of part of the surface of the shelter during a very coldperiod at the end of the Pleistocene and does not contain any in situarchaeological material but only some artifacts that have perco-lated among the crioclasts from nivell 1.

The layers containing the geometric Filador complex are char-acterized by triangular microliths made by the microburin tech-nique. They are dated by four radiocarbon dates: Gif-A10028:8930 � 140 BP (10,373e9558 cal BP), MC-1478: 9860 � 400BP (12,562e10,299 cal BP), MC-2141: 10,030 � 160 BP(12,370e11,174 cal BP) and MC-2140: 10,050 BP (12,566e10,785 calBP). The layers considered to be of the Microlaminar Epipaleolitihiccontain bladetels, points and endscrapers, and also some artifactsmade on bone and red deer antler. The radiocarbon dates for theselayers are Gif-A95617: 10,260 � 90 BP (12,407e11,628 cal BP), GifA-10029: 11,170 � 160 BP (13,332e12,687 cal BP) and GifA-95630:12,240 � 110 (14,878e13,824 cal BP). These chronologies arecoherent with other Epipalaeolithic sites from both chronocultural

traditions in northeast Spain (Garcia-Argüelles et al., 2009a). Cali-brations have been done with OxCal online version 4.1, the range is2s, 95.4% (Fig. 2). According to these dates, the Microlaminar layersof Balma del Gai can be related to the end of GI-1 and especially toGS-1, and the Geometric Filador type occupations to the earlyHolocene. This chronological and archaeological sequence iscoherent with the framework of other sites from the Ebro Rivervalley and Mediterranean watershed of the Iberian Peninsula (Auraet al., 2011).

Compared to other sites in the region, Balma del Gai is very richin organic remains. Among the larger mammals are red deer (Cer-vus elaphus), wild boar (Sus scrofa) and small bovids (Rupicaprarupicapra and Capra pyrenaica). The most abundant species is,without doubt, the rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus) with thousands ofspecimens, representing more than 95% in NISP and also MNIamong the vertebrate bones. Rabbits were used both for food andskins, as can be seen from the cut marks on different parts of thebones (Garcia-Argüelles et al., 2004; Lloveras et al., 2009).

Also present are different kinds of Mediterranean mollusc shellse bivalves, gastropods and scaphopods e that were used assymbolic and decorative objects (Estrada et al., 2010), terrestrialpulmonates of very small size, that cannot be related directly tohuman activity (they are in process of study), and numerous largeterrestrial snail shells, identified as Ceapea nemoralis, that will bethe focus of this paper.

The organic finds are completed by plant remains (pollen,charcoal, and carbonized fruits). The latter are probably the onlykind of plant remain directly related to human diet), and includeexamples of blackthorn (Prunus spinosa).

3. Material and methods

The samples of C. nemoralis shells analyzed were systematicallycollected during the excavations to 2009. Most were recovered insitu except the smallest fragments (in general resulting from thearchaeological excavation itself). Due to their abundance, the exactposition of snail shells was not registered by the Laplace and Méroc(1954) method, as it was done with other artifacts or ecofacts. C.nemoralis remains were separated by squares of 25 cm� 25 cm andevery 5 cm depth if no changes in sediment were observed (Fig. 3).The smallest fragments were recovered by sieving in 5 mm, 2 mmand 0.5 mm mesh. The remains obtained were cleaned with waterand then analyzed.

The variables studied were:

a) Level of fragmentation: distinguishing complete specimens,diagnostic broken parts (when these remains can be used tocount individuals), and fragments (when they cannot be usedto calculate minimum number of individuals).

b) Biometrics: breadth and height of the shell, according to themethod of Kerney and Cameron (1994, p. 14).

c) Polymorphism: study of the number of bands and the level offusion among them, according to establishedmethodology (e.g.Goodhart, 1962).

d) Other alterations like burning modifications (Rizner et al.,2009).

e) The minimum number of individuals (MNI) was obtained bycounting complete individuals and the apex of brokenelements (Mason et al., 1998; Giovas, 2009).

4. Results

The MNI estimated for C. nemoralis is 6738. Of those, 2815 arecomplete or almost complete shells, and 3923 are non-repetitive

Fig. 2. Archaeological section of Balma del Gai with indication of the different levels identified during excavation and the distribution of some of the 14C dates obtained in diverselayers from Level I (Nivell I).

L. Lloveras et al. / Quaternary International 244 (2011) 37e44 39

elements that allow calculation of the number of individuals. Thereis a huge number of small fragments, most of them a consequenceof the excavation process as it is very difficult to separate the soilfrom the shells. The number of these fragments has not beencalculated yet. The specimens studied are very homogenous in theirmeasurements (Fig. 4). The average shell breadth is 23.97 mm(range: 14.5e26.0) and the average shell height is 17.70mm (range:

Fig. 3. Detail of Cepea nemoralis specimens on an archaeological layer from Balma delGai during excavation. As can be observed by the chaotic distribution of the shellsamong the soil and the characteristics of the sediment itself, the shells of terrestrialsnails were difficult to recover. Shells broken during excavation were excluded fromthe taphonomic studies.

9.2e19.1). Most of the individuals must be considered adults, asthey also show the peristome already formed. This demonstratesselective harvesting of adult animals. The number of shells withevident marks of fire alteration is very scarce (less than 0.5% ofindividuals).

The study of polymorphism as shown by the banding pattern(Fig. 5) reveals two main patterns: shells with no bands (00000)and the shells with five bands (12345), each present in 40% of thecases. The third pattern observed is that in which just the mediumband is preserved (00300), in 12% of the cases. The rest (8%) areother patterns with very few cases.

5. Discussion

Land snail accumulations are abundant in Upper Palaeolithicand Epipalaeolithic sites of the coastal regions of the IberianPeninsula. However, although data are not scarce the problem isthat in many cases the information has been irregularly published,with no clear information about chronology or stratigraphy,quantification of specimens or biometrics. This lack of informationis the reason why some researchers may consider that terrestrialshell middens in this area are not clearly the consequence ofprehistoric human activity. The anthropic origin of the Balma delGai sample was confirmed in a previous taphonomic study byEstrada et al. (2009). In this study; the analysis of the size of theaccumulation, the breakage pattern, and the homogeneity of taxaand size, corroborate the human origin of the sample and discardother agents that could have been responsible for this kindof accumulations including small carnivores and insectivores

Fig. 4. Biometric results of the analysis of Cepaea nemoralis shell size.

L. Lloveras et al. / Quaternary International 244 (2011) 37e4440

such as fox, badger and hedge-hog; birds such as thrushes, andcatastrophic deaths.

The scarcity of alterations by burning observed in the Balma delGai assemblage is common in these type of accumulations becausesnails can be taken out of the shells or cooked without directexposure of the animals to fire and, according to some researchers,a light exposure to fire can show little marking on the shells (Mussiet al., 2004; Rizner et al., 2009).1

The data on polymorphism are difficult to interpret, mainlybecause at the moment there are no similar studies in the region.The most closely related investigations have been done in southernFrance and Andorra (André, 1987). At Dourgne and Arques, themain banding pattern is 00000, with 88% and 91% of the casesrespectively, and at Balma de la Margineda 100% of shells presentedthe 00000 banding pattern (André, 1987). This important differ-ence between the French sites and Balma del Gai could beexplained as an adaptation of this snail species to warmer climatesor forested landscapes to the south of the Pyrenees, although theevolutionary causes of Cepaea polymorphism are still unclear(Jones et al., 1977).

5.1. Context and parallels

As mentioned above, the Balma del Gai land snail midden is nota unique case. Sites from the Upper Palaeolithic and Epipalaeolithic/

1 Steaming of molluscs in layers of fresh vegetation placed over heated rocks isa commonly used method of cooking which leaves no traces of burning on shells.This is the method inferred for land snails in Capsian sites because of the enormousquantities of fire-cracked rock and ash found in those sites [ed.].

Mesolithic in the Mediterranean basin of the Iberian Peninsula inwhich edible land snails are abundant are listed in Table 1 andshown in Fig. 6. In all these sites the snails were accumulated asa result of human consumption. The main problem to interpret theresults obtained in the present study is the difficulty of comparingthem with other parallel sites. This is because published informa-tion is scarce and sometimes the only data about quantification ofthese remains are very imprecise (like “presence”, “abundance”,“important number” and so on). In any case, snail midden

Fig. 5. Banding patterns in the Balma del Gai Cepaea nemoralis population. From left toright, model 00000, model 12345, model 00300.

Table 1Upper Palaeolithic and Epipalaeolithic/Mesolithic sites from the Mediterranean basin of the Iberian Peninsula with significant presence of edible land snails. In all these sitessnail accumulations were considered of anthropic origin and related to human consumption.

Site Culture Date BP Date cal BP 2s (95.4%) Species Reference

Nerja Gravetian 24,480 � 110 29,594e28,612 I. alonensis Jordá, 1986; Ferrer andCrespo, 2005; Aura et al.,2010

24,300 � 1400 32,427e26,01023,400 � 2300 36,579e23,23621,760 � 970 28,669e23,884

Caballo Magdalenian 10,780 � 370 13,432e11,412 I. alonensis Martinez, 1989, 1997Algarrobo Magdalenian No date I. alonensis Martínez, 1997Parpalló Solutrean 21,105 � 900 27,968e23,349 “Helix” Davidson, 1989

18,622 � 850 24,500e20,259Matutano Magdalenian 13,960 � 200 17,604e16,713 I. alonensis Olària et al., 1981

13,370 � 260 16,914e15,21713,220 � 270 16,841e15,12612,520 � 370 16,396e13,74912,090 � 170 14,849e13,492

Camping Salou End of Upper Palaeolithic 13,330 � 270 16,896e15,186 I. alonensis Vilaseca, 1971Nerja Epipalaeolithic 10,580 � 350 13,148e11,326 I. alonensis Jordá, 1986; Ferrer and

Crespo, 20058260 � 360 10,159e8419Diablets Epipalaeolithic 10,860 � 40 12,890e12,610 I. alonensis Aguilera et al., 1999

10,320 � 40 12,382e11,9909030 � 40 10,250e10,161

Filador Epipalaeolithic 10,020 � 80 11,955e11,249 C. nemoralis Garcia-Argüelles et al.,2009b9988 � 97 11,955e11,226

9839 � 160 11,955e10,7539460 � 190 11,596e10,171

Font Voltada Epipalaeolithic 10,920 � 240 13,335e12,223 C. nemoralis Mir and Freixas, 1993Guineu Epipalaeolithic 9850 � 80 11,611e11,128 C. nemoralis Personal com. Garcia-Argüelles

et al., 2009bBalma del Gai Epipalaeolithic 12,240 � 110 14,878e13,824 C. nemoralis Present study

11,170 � 160 13,332e12,68710,260 � 90 12,407e11,62810,050 � 296 12,566e10,78510,030 � 160 12,370e11,1749860 � 400 12,562e10,2998930 � 140 10,373e9558

Cingle Vermell Epipalaeolithic Mesolithic 9760 � 160 11,752e10,676 C. nemoralis Vila, 1985Roc del Migdia Epipalaeolithic Mesolithic 8800 � 240 10,514e9316 C. nemoralis Yll et al., 1994

8190 � 320 10,115e83857950 � 370 9703e8014

Serrat del Pont Mesolithic 7770 � 50 8632e8429 C. nemoralis Alcalde and Saña, 20087330 � 40 8284e8024

Margineda (Andorra) Epipalaeolithic Mesolithic 11,320 � 120 13,429e12,909 C. nemoralis Guilaine and Martzluff, 1995;Guilaine et al., 20089250 � 160 11085e9956

8530 � 420 10675e85208390 � 150 9674e9009

L. Lloveras et al. / Quaternary International 244 (2011) 37e44 41

accumulations from this area cannot be considered, by the numberof individuals recovered, as equivalent to the classic escargotièresfrom North Africa (Lubell, 2004a,b; Lubell et al., 1976). The speci-mens recovered in the Mediterranean basin of the Iberian Penin-sula are never more than a few thousand. These snailaccumulations appeared during the earlier cultures of the UpperPalaeolithic in the southern regions (Andalusia). During the latePleistocene these types of accumulations are restricted to thesouthern areas and always relatively near the coast: the Gravetianlevels of Nerja (Andalusia), the Solutrean occupations of Parpalló(Valencia) or the Magdalenian/end of Upper Palaeolithic occupa-tions from El Caballo and Algarrobo (Murcia), Matutano (Valencia)and Camping Salou open air shelter (Southern Catalonia). ThesePleistocene middens always contain Iberus alonensis, which haswarmer requirements than C. nemoralis. Today, the ecologicalfrontier of this species is still the province of Tarragona in the southof the Catalonia region (Bech, 1990). On the other hand, during theearly Holocene, the presence of terrestrial snail accumulations inEpipalaeolithic and Mesolithic sites increases towards the north,especially in Catalonia (Filador, Font Voltada, Guineu, Cingle Ver-mell, Roc del Migdia, Bauma del Serrat del Pont, and Balma de laMargineda, in Andorra) and the northern area of Valencia (Diab-lets). In these areas, the most common species changes to

C. nemoralis and the middens are generally inland and in moun-tainous places (Table 1 and Fig. 6). The maximum concentration ofland snail middens is documented in the neighbouring region ofsouthern France on the north side of the Pyrenees, where manysites from the Epipalaeolithic to the Ancient Neolithic can bementioned (Guilaine, 1979; Lubell, 2004a).

5.2. The consumption of land snails in the context ofPleistoceneeHolocene changes in climate and human subsistence inthe Mediterranean region of Iberia

Assuming that these accumulations are human, why did theconsumption of land snails start with the establishment of warmperiods?

Of course, the easiest answer to this question is because of anincrease in terrestrial snail populations as a result of warmerclimate. But this is an incomplete answer. The response to whya human population in a certain period of time exploits a resourceas a food must be answered not just by the presence or even theabundance of it in the ecosystem but also by aspects such astechnology, cultural behavior and nourishment requirements.

There is no doubt that PleistoceneeHolocene climate evolutionin Mediterranean Iberia resulted in changes in the potential

Fig. 6. Location of Balma del Gai and other sites discussed here. 1: Nerja; 2:Caballo; 3: Algarrobo; 4: Parpalló; 5: Matutano; 6:Diablets; 7: Camping Salou; 8: Filador; 9: Font Voltada;10: Guineu; 11: Balma del Gai; 12: Cingle Vermell; 13: Roc del Migdia; 14: Serrat del Pont; 15: Margineda (Andorra).

L. Lloveras et al. / Quaternary International 244 (2011) 37e4442

resources that could be exploited by human groups. As an example,the reduction of horses as prey and the increase of red deer duringthe Upper Palaeolithic, associated with the improvement of theclimate, have been clearly demonstrated (Nadal et al., 2006). It iswell known that open landscape species were replaced by othersbetter adapted to forests (such as red deer, roe deer and wild boar),which were less gregarious and more difficult to hunt withouta technology based on the bow and arrow. The use of microliths asarrow points and other artifacts related to the manufacture ofarrow shafts such as stone polishers during the Epipalaeolithic inEastern Spain have been documented in diverse studies (Garcia-Argüelles, 1993; Utrilla and Montes, 2008).

That is similar to what happened with plant resources.Carbonized fruit remains are absent in Upper Palaeolithic sites inCatalonia but they are well represented in Epipalaeolithic ones. Inthe case of Balma del Gai, some burned blackthorn fruits (P. spinosa)were recovered during the excavations, associated with the snailshells and also with rabbit bones. Blackthorn fruits (or other Prunusfruits) have also been found in Molí del Salt (Tarragona), CingleVermell (Barcelona) and Balma Margineda (Andorra). Other plantresources recovered from Holocene hunteregatherer sites inNortheast Iberia are acorns (Cingle Vermell and Roc del Migdia, inBarcelona; Balma del Serrat del Pont, in Girona), pine kernels(Cingle Vermell), hazelnuts (Roc del Migdia, Sota Palou, in Girona,Balma Margineda), Sorbus fruits (Balma del Serrat del Pont),hawthorn fruits and rose hips (Molí del Salt), always preserved bycarbonization (Buxó, 1988; Alcalde and Saña, 2008; Allué et al.,2010). These species indicate the seasons when the sites were

visited. All these fruits and nuts mature during the end of summerand along the autumn.

It seems that these plant records are clearly correlated with theevolution of the landscape. In pollen diagrams, the end of thePleistocene is dominated by non-arboreal pollen and arborealpollen from genera such as Pinus but that with the Holocene thereis an increase of diversity among tree taxa such as Quercus, Corylus,Acer, Prunus and Fagus. The anthracological analysis of Balma delGai sediments reflects this situation (Fig. 7): pines are dominant inthe bottom of the stratigraphy but they are progressivelysubstituted by warmer taxa, especially Acer and Rhamnus towardsthe top of the sequence (Allué et al., 2007; Fig. 7).

It is in this context that rabbit bone and terrestrial snail shellaccumulations also became more common in archaeologicalassemblages. These changes are not casual and may be related toclimate change. Probably, the presence of new prey helped in thegeneralization of some technologies such as the use of bow andarrow and maybe the use of snares, or even the use of dogs, butthese are both hard to verify in the archaeological record. Suchpractices could also be considered complementary to gatheringstrategies as demonstrated by the carpological evidence.

Apart from the variations observed in plant and animal speciesas a consequence of climate change, another factor should be takeninto account to explain the economic changes that occurred: thenourishment equilibrium among the new resources. It is wellknown that a balanced diet requires a certain proportion ofproteins, fats and carbohydrates. There are diverse strategies toachieve this in extant hunteregatherer groups, and ethnographic

Fig. 7. Anthracological diagram of Balma del Gai From Allué et al. (2007).

L. Lloveras et al. / Quaternary International 244 (2011) 37e44 43

studies have documented extreme situations such as the Innuitdiet. But these studies have also demonstrated that the proteinsmust be complemented by fats or carbohydrates, even thoughcarbohydrates and fats can be substituted one by the other. Studieson the changes related to latitude in the strategies of hunting/fishing and gathering made by Lee (1968), according to the data ofMurdock (1967), are usually used by archaeologists to extrapolateto prehistoric data, and these can also be read in order of theequilibrium of proteins, fats and carbohydrates in diet. This is thecase, for example, in the evolution of subsistence strategies amongthe Maoris (in this case, gathering was replaced by agriculture) inpre-European New Zealand (Leach, 2006: 181). At Balma del Gai, asin other Epipalaeolithic sites, the substitution of a part of theresources richer in fats (big game) by others which are poorer likerabbits and snails (for the nutritional characteristics of land snailssee Lubell, 2004b) would be compensated for by the increase ofplant resources rich in carbohydrates and, in some cases, by nuts,rich in fats. If this relationship between the different resourcesmust be considered in terms of necessities, (as a result of the loss ofanimal fats in the diet) or possibilities (as a result of the incrementof the diversity of edible plants), is something that cannot beexplained yet. Although all these explanations are rather specula-tive, the new data presented are consistent with this proposal, andthis is an idea that should be taken into account.

On the other hand, the presence of terrestrial snails in archae-ological sites could also be correlated with the seasonality of theoccupations. Thus, in the case of Balma del Gai, it seems that the sitewas occupied, at least, during late summer and the autumn judgingby the remains of Prunus and the level of growth of deer antlersrecovered. This period coincides with some of the times throughoutthe year when land snails are more active (spring and the end ofsummer and the beginning of autumn for C. nemoralis).

In any case, all these are explanations that must be clarified withfuture new data, but they show that terrestrial gastropod remainsin archaeological sites must not be under-estimated, and should not

be considered as something casual in terms of nourishment or diet.The new data presented demonstrates that the Mediterraneanbasin of Iberia follows the same evolution in the use of land snailsas a food resource during the end of Pleistocene and the Holoceneas the rest of the circum-Mediterranean region.

Acknowledgments

Excavations at Balma del Gai are authorized and funded by theArchaeological and Paleontological Service of the Department ofCulture of the Greneralitat de Catalunya. The Archaeological andPaleontological Museum of Moià (Barcelona, Spain) also helps theexcavation with logistical and financial support. Our research issupported by HAR2008-00103 from the Ministerio de Ciencia eInnovación (MICIN) in Spain and SGR2009-1145 from Generalitatde Catalunya. We are very grateful to David Lubell and Nick Barton,who have helped us very much to improve the paper.

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