Researchers at the Nerja Caves have revealed that they have found evidence that the early cave dwellers had whale meat as part of their diet.

An international team of scientists working at the Nerja Caves have found small barnacles, dated as being between 13,500 and 14,500 years old. These barnacles, live on the skin of whales so scientists have concluded that this is the earliest evidence of the use of cetaceans in European prehistory.

Between 13,500 and 14,500 years ago, the settlement of hunters and fishermen in Nerja were separated from the coast by about 2.5 miles. To survive, the community walked for hours to the shore and fished there and moved their prey, such as dolphins and seals, to the cave where they lived. However, when they found the remains of whales, they had to change their strategy, as shown by a study published in the journal Quaternary International.

“They took pieces of meat, fat and skin to the cave, but left the bones of the animal on the beach,” says Jesus F. Jorda, researcher at the Department of Prehistory and Archaeology at UNED and one of the authors of the study. Reserachers have discovered remains of hundreds of barnacles, small crustaceans that live on the skin of whales. Read the rest of this entry »