La explotación de la concha en Bahía de Banderas y Playa del Tesoro

Archaeological studies about maritime exploitation along Mexican Pacific coast reveal the important place that mollusks had in the cultural development of coastal societies in west Mexican coast. Playa del Tesoro in Manzanillo and Punta Mita in Banderas Bay show clearly different aspects of coastal subsistence. These bays functioned as dive centers, as well as showing evidence for the storing, processing and distribution of diverse ocean products. Mollusks were the largest and the best preserved zoological group, with one hundred and sixty species found during the archaeological excavations in both bays. This research focuses on the species of mollusks that were collected for subsistence, such as clam shells and oysters, which supplied people along the coast. Other species were selected and transformed into personal ornaments and utilitarian items of material culture. Some of these materials were traded long distances. Taxonomic identification provides information on the ecological niches that were exploited as well as the mobility patterns of different communities. It also gives us insights into the different ways in which mollusks were captured as well as the technology used for this purpose. The presence of exogenous items indicates the importance of trade between western Middle America and other continental regions that were involving in long distance resource procurement and exchange. Shell is an archaeological material of great significance to the understanding of the processes of cultural interaction that took place between cultural regions. Shell materials such as Spondylus, Strombus, Pinctada and Murex, as well as metal artifacts, turquoise and other luxury items, were exchanged and distributed along the Pacific coast and inland.Los estudios arqueológicos desarrollados sobre la explotación marina en el litoral del Pacífico Mexicano, muestran claramente la importancia que tuvo la concha en el desarrollo cultural de las sociedades costeras del occidente de Mesoamérica. Estos trabajos realizados en las bahías de Banderas y de Manzanillo, han permitido conocer algunos importantes aspectos de la dinámica cultural existente, destacando entre otros materiales, la presencia de 160 especies de moluscos provenientes de contextos arqueológicos, ofreciéndonos una aproximación sobre los nichos ecológicos explotados y sobre las técnicas utilizadas en su captura, lo mismo que sobre los principales materiales y productos procesados. La presencia de materiales arqueológicos tanto locales como foráneos, permitió conocer la existencia de intercambios mercantiles con alejadas regiones continentales, ya que los géneros preciosos de concha y caracol presentes en las bahías, especialmente Spondylus, Strombus, Murex y Pinctada, junto con los artefactos de metal, turquesa y otros materiales exóticos tuvieron una gran demanda en el mundo precolombino, a lo largo de la costa del Pacífico y tierra adentr