Prehistoric coastal ecologies: A view from outside Franchthi Cave, Greece

Shackleton and van Andel have raised the question of past human selectivity in the collection of shellfish resources. They reconstruct, for the changing coastlines near Franchthi Cave during the post‐glacial transgression, changes in availability of various species of shellfish. The model of availability is compared with the archaeological record of shellfish from the cave. Shackleton and van Andel conclude that selectivity is demonstrated and that this was, in part, “idiosyncratic”. A critical analysis of the model leads to the conclusion that, while the reconstructions of the likely positions of past coastlines may be acceptable, the reconstructions of mollusc availability at various times in the past are highly improbable. Sea‐level change is not the only important determinant of past coastal ecology although it will, of course, have an impact on the ways in which coastal ecosystems developed. Other factors (including the physical and chemical properties of the substratum, levels of productivity, and biological interactions), operating at various spatial and chronological scales, cannot be ignored or even subordinated. The shellfish remains from the cave are the only objective evidence of man's exploitation of past coastal resources. Taphonomic analyses of the shells from the site would allow a number of important questions to be addressed, including the reasons for their collection and the possibility of over‐exploitation of certain species in the past.