Systematic shellfish exploitation
Explotación sistemática de recursos marinos (marisqueo)
- Date
- c. 164 ka · confidence high
- Place
- Pinnacle Point 13B, Mossel Bay, South Africa
- Credited to
- Homo sapiens
- Field
- Life & health
What it is
Accumulations of molluscs gathered according to the tides, alongside ochre and microliths, in a coastal shelter. The first systematic exploitation of the sea as a stable food source.
What it led to
- A diet rich in omega-3: support for brain development
- Seasonal coastal settlement and demographic growth
- Knowledge of tides and lunar cycles: the basis of calendars
- Refuge during the MIS 6 glacial stage
Made possible
- Open-sea crossing to Sahul (watercraft)c. 65 ka
- Shell fishhookc. 23 ka
- Fishing net with sinkersc. 21 ka
- Fishing net with sinkers
- Open-sea crossing to Sahul (watercraft)