La malacofaune marine d''un site neolithique de l''Ile d''Oleron (Charente-Maritime): Questions posees au biologiste

The species which have been identified in this Neolithic site are still living along the Bay of Biscay coasts. One of them, Haliotis , has recently disappeared from the Oleron Island. Some of them, as the very fruitful Patella and Monodonta lineata , have certainly been gathered and devoted to food. Others, as Nucella lapillus , have only been used to make pearls. And some others, Cardium for instance, could have been devoted at the same time to food and pearls. The study of the current biota of the different species allows the biologist to indicate where the shells might have lived: rocky or sandy shores, sheltered or exposed shores, intertidal or subtidal environment. The knowledge of the possible biota is an indication of the areas of the prehistoric prospected. Of course, the biologist has to take into account the relative variations in the sea level and the climatic variations.