This article examines the role played by marine resources for hunter-gatherer groups of the Middle/ Upper Pleistocene in the geohistorical region around the Straits of Gibraltar, on the basis of new evidence collected at the rock shelter of Benzú (North Africa). The stratigraphic sequence at Benzú has been dated to between 254 and 70 ka. The excavations have revealed the exploitation of marine gastropods and bivalves, alongside fish. The most common taxon in the sequence is the genus Patella. The analysis of the molluscs and their spatial distribution shows that these animals were purposely collected by humans, probably as a food source. In order to contribute to the debate about the origins and scale of the exploitation of marine resources during the Middle and Upper Pleistocene, the evidence collected at Benzú is interpreted within the broader context of North Africa and southern Europe. The similarity of groups of Homo sapiens sapiens in North Africa and Homo sapiens neanderthalensis in southern Europe in terms of lifestyle and subsistence strategies is interpreted as reflecting equally similar social and economic practices, in spite of the diversity of anthropological perspectives on the relationship between humans and the environment currently in vogue.

This study presents the results of the archaeological investigation in Benzú Cave, located on the North African shore of the Strait of Gibraltar. The archaeological deposits, approximately 1 m deep, belong to two occupational levels dated to the Neolithic and the Bronze Age. A wide range of artifacts was found, and this led to an interdisciplinary study that led us to reach new conclusions concerning the material life, subsistence economy, and environment of the Neolithic and Bronze Age societies in northern Africa and the southern Iberian Peninsula.Résumé Cette étude présente les résultats des recherches archéologiques menées dans la grotte de Benzú, située sur la rive nord-africaine du détroit de Gibraltar. Les gisements archéologiques, d'environ un mètre de profondeur, appartiennent à deux niveaux d'occupation datant du néolithique et de l'âge du bronze. Une large gamme d'artefacts ont été trouvés, ce qui a conduit à une étude interdisciplinaire qui nous a amenés à tirer de nouvelles conclusions concernant la vie matérielle, l'économie de subsistance et l'environnement des sociétés du Néolithique et de l'Age du Bronze en Afrique du Nord et au sud de la Péninsule Ibérique.

No abstract

The rock-shelter of Benzú is located near the city of Ceuta in North Africa. At the rock-shelter of Benzú there is a sequence of 7 archaeological levels, which are associated with a clearly defined Mode 3 lithic technology. The similarities with other assemblages found in the south of the Iberian Peninsula are clear. We emphasise the exploitation of marine resources by these hunteregatherer societies from the beginning of the Middle Pleistocene sequence. On the basis of this archaeological evidence and in the context of recent studies on North Africa, this work assesses the possible relationships and contacts between societies on both shores of the historical region of the Straits of Gibraltar.

The Cueva de Ardales is a hugely important Palaeolithic site in the south of the Iberian Peninsula owing to its rich inventory of rock art. From 2011–2018, excavations were carried out in the cave for the first time ever by a Spanish-German research team. The excavation focused on the entrance area of the cave, where the largest assemblage of non-figurative red paintings in the cave is found. A series of 50 AMS dates from the excavations prove a long, albeit discontinuous, occupation history spanning from the Middle Palaeolithic to the Neolithic. The dating of the Middle Palaeolithic layers agrees with the U/Th dating of some red non-figurative paintings in the entrance area. In addition, a large assemblage of ochre lumps was discovered in the Middle Palaeolithic layers. Human visits of the cave in the Gravettian and Solutrean can be recognized, but evidence from the Aurignacian and Magdalenian cannot be confirmed with certainty. The quantity and nature of materials found during the excavations indicate that Cueva de Ardales was not a campsite, but was mainly visited to carry out non-domestic tasks, such as the production of rock art or the burial of the dead.