Shell midden research: an interdisciplinary agenda for the Quaternary and

BALBO, A.; MADELLA, M.; BRIZ, I.; ALVAREZ , M.

QUATERNARY INTERNATIONAL

PERGAMON-ELSEVIER SCIENCE LTD

Año: 2011

1040-6182

Thanks to their components, formation dynamics and physicochemical nature, shellmiddens offer ideal conditions for the preservation of social and environmentalproxies. In this sense they can be thought of as field laboratories for the developmentof interdisciplinary research in the Quaternary and Social Sciences. The progress ofsuch approach depends on a reassessment of regional shell midden studies and on theestablishment of common guidelines that allow research focus to shift from regionalto continental scales and back. An effective implementation of interdisciplinaryQuaternary and Social (archaeological and anthropological) research on shell middenswould potentially allow redefining key aspects in human history, from the origins ofour species to its spreading to the most remote areas of the world.1