Shell middens as archives of past environments, human dispersal and specialized resource management

From Worsaae's pioneering research onwards, shell middens have been a focus of interest in archaeological enquiry, and a great deal of innovative research has been carried out. The aim of this paper is to make a general review of the state of art in shell midden research, taking into account three main areas: a) the study of aquatic resource exploitation; b) the antiquity of shell middens in relation to human dispersal and group diversification; and c) the methodological improvement enhanced by shell midden enquiry. The record preserved in shell middens is particularly valuable for the development of interdisciplinary approaches in investigating human-environment interaction, social relations and the role of aquatic resource exploitation in the evolutive trajectory of human groups.