Mariscadores en las costas del Caribe colombiano en época prehispánica y moderna: una reflexión para evaluar el impacto humano en los ecosistemas marinos desde la arqueoma- lacología y la etnoarqueología.

Abstract

This work compares the sizes of molluscs from the human exploitation of ancient and current inhabitants in marine ecosystems in the Colombian Caribbean. The purpose is to initiate research on the impact of human populations on marine ecosystems by measures of the length of the Melongena melongena (Linnaeus, 1758) snail in pre-Hispanic contexts comparing these measures with ethnoarcheological research in the community of Leticia (Bahía de Barbacoas, Cartagena). Excavations carried out in 2018 in the Pozón neighborhood of the city of Cartagena (Colombia) allowed the documentation of archaeological levels of the Formative period (5250 a. P).). The identified site, La Islita de El Pozón, is a shellmound deposited on a coastal plain and sea terrace, whose dominant malacological species are the Melongena melongena snail and the bivalve Anomalocardia brasiliana. Although there is no temporal depth and information from various sites on the pattern of molluscs’ consumption and the impact of humans on marine ecosystems that allows statistically significant validation, the reduction of the average size of the Melongena melongena gastropod can be attributed to the predation pressure on this resource.