Pyrenae 41-1_Pyrenae 04/06/10 10:33 Página 7 PYRENAE, núm. 41, vol. 1 (2010) ISSN: 0079-8215 (p. 7-52) REVISTA DE PREHISTÒRIA I ANTIGUITAT DE LA MEDITERRÀNIA OCCIDENTAL JOURNAL OF WESTERN MEDITERRANEAN PREHISTORY AND ANTIQUITY Prehistoric Exploitation of Marine Resources in Southern Africa with Particular Reference to Shellfish Gathering: Opportunities and Continuities ANTONIETA JERARDINO Catalan Institution for Research and Advanced Studies (ICREA)/UB-GEPEG Department of Prehistory, Ancient History and Archaeology Universitat de Barcelona C/ Montalegre, 6-8, E-08001 Barcelona
[email protected] This paper discusses three case studies in which marine resources played an important role in human development in southern Africa over the last 164 ka: the ability of modern humans to exit successfully from Africa is seen partly as the result of a foraging expansion from rocky shores to sandy beaches; the location of an aggregation site close to the coast in the context of low human densities during post-glacial times allowed people to meet social needs and ensure population survival; and a heavy reliance on marine resources supported highest populations levels during the late Holocene. Broader and related issues are also discussed. KEYWORDS COASTAL ARCHAEOLOGY, OUT OF AFRICA, AGGREGATION SITE, PLEISTOCENE/ HOLOCENE TRAN- SITION, RESOURCE INTENSIFICATION, MEGAMIDDENS. Este artículo se centra en la discusión de tres casos de estudio en los cuales los recursos marinos desempeñaron un rol importante en el desarrollo humano del sur de África desde hace 164 ka. La capacidad de los humanos modernos de emigrar fuera de África se ve, en parte, como una expansión en la capacidad de forrajeo inicialmente expresada en el litoral rocoso para incluir más tarde las costas de playas de arena.