Coastal shell middens and agricultural origins in Atlantic Europe

This project was funded by the AHRB from 2002-2005. It aimed to examine the role of marine resources and especially shellfish in the diet and economy of prehistoric hunters and gatherers living in Northwest Europe between about 8000 and 5000 years ago and the influence of these patterns on the spread and adoption of agriculture after about 5000 years ago. The archive presents the database which was constructed for Naomi Belshaw's PhD project on the distribution of coastal sites in Scotland between 9000 and 3000 cal BC in relation to sea level change, resource availability and past archaeological research.