How well is Patella vulgata Linnaeus 1758 reflecting changes in sea surface temperatures (SST)? First results using living and archaeological samples from Northern Spain

Human populations have been exploiting coastal regions in different parts of the planet, at least since the Middle Palaeolithic. In Cantabrian Spain, the study of the exploitation of molluscs and shell middens formation during the late Pleistocene and early Holocene has shown the importance of these resources in human diets, being one of the most commonly collected species the limpet Patella vulgata which is present from the upper Palaeolithic to the Neolithic (ca. 40,000-5700 cal BP).