News Archaeology

Neandertals’ extensive seafood menu rivals that of ancient humans

Finds from a coastal cave in Portugal reveal repeated ocean foraging for this European hominid

Figueira Brava

Shellfish and other marine foods unearthed at Figueira Brava, a cave on Portugal’s coast, point to an extensive use of marine resources by Neandertals from around 106,000 to 86,000 years ago.

J. Zilhão et al/Science 2020

By Bruce Bower

Surf’s up, Neandertals.

Our close evolutionary cousins obtained shellfish, crabs, fish and other marine munchies along Europe’s Atlantic coast with all the savvy and gusto of ancient humans who foraged along southern Africa’s shoreline, say archaeologist João Zilhão of the University of Barcelona and his colleagues.