Dive into the past of Mediterranean marine ecosystems
- Research
- Sustainable Development
Published on June 23, 2025
–
Updated on June 23, 2025
Dates
on the June 18, 2025
Immerse yourself in the past of the Mediterranean seas through a unique exhibition and discover how marine ecosystems have evolved over time. Visit the Terra Amata Museum of Prehistory until September 29, 2025, for the "Prehistory at the Beach" exhibition!
From rising sea levels since prehistoric times to the impact of insularity, this interactive exhibition highlights recent discoveries made by our teams.
Frescoes, stories and archaeological remains tell of a sea teeming with life. Yet today, the Mediterranean is facing the effects of human activity and climate change. How can this degradation be explained? And when did it begin? What can past civilizations teach us about the evolution of marine ecosystems and the preservation of marine stocks?
Tatiana Theodoropoulou, researcher at the Cultures & Environnements, Préhistoire, Antiquité, Moyen Age(CEPAM) laboratory, with the collaboration of researchers from Côte d'Azur laboratories(ECOSEAS, LOV-IMEV), is leading the European programen MERMAID program, dedicated to exploring the links between man and the sea and analyzing the traces left by ancient societies, from prehistory to antiquity.
This research project aims to provide descriptive and measurable results on the evolution of marine biodiversity in the Mediterranean, by exploring the state of ecosystems before the advent of large-scale fishing activities. Researchers are assessing how our current perceptions of the natural state of the seas may be biased by the gradual transformations that have occurred over the centuries, a phenomenon known as shifting reference lines. Using the archaeofaunal record, i.e. the remains of marine animals found in archaeological excavations (fish skeletons, shells), the researchers attempt to trace the natural conditions of Mediterranean marine emarine ecosystems and assess their capacity to adapt to major environmental pressures. They also seek to identify sustainable or more intensive modes of exploitation adopted by Mediterranean coastal communities.
Tatiana Theodoropoulou's team uses techniques such as ecological modeling to reconstruct ancient biotopes. By analyzing the isotopes contained in fish skeletons found at Mediterranean sites dating from prehistoric times to Roman antiquity, they deduce trophic relationships between marine species. These approaches make it possible to identify periods of stability and transformation in Mediterranean ecosystems, by correlating paleoclimatic data with changes in marine populations.
They also reconstitute the fishing strategies of coastal populations and assess the share of marine resources in the Mediterranean diet during these periods. The results show that past communities relied on an extraordinary variety of marine resources. Fishing was local, and the main species consumed were those caught inshore and on foot. Although large marine species, such as tuna, were exploited very early on, their exploitation was much less intensive at the time. This would explain why fish consumption is surprisingly low in isotope analyses of human skeletons from the past. The real turning point came in Roman times, with the industrialization of marine products. The ancestors of our modern tuna cans were found in the form of amphorae containing salted tuna, transported from one end of the Mediterranean to the other.
Find out more about the "Prehistoric people on the beach" exhibition
Frescoes, stories and archaeological remains tell of a sea teeming with life. Yet today, the Mediterranean is facing the effects of human activity and climate change. How can this degradation be explained? And when did it begin? What can past civilizations teach us about the evolution of marine ecosystems and the preservation of marine stocks?
How is marine biodiversity evolving in the Mediterranean?
Tatiana Theodoropoulou, researcher at the Cultures & Environnements, Préhistoire, Antiquité, Moyen Age(CEPAM) laboratory, with the collaboration of researchers from Côte d'Azur laboratories(ECOSEAS, LOV-IMEV), is leading the European programen MERMAID program, dedicated to exploring the links between man and the sea and analyzing the traces left by ancient societies, from prehistory to antiquity.This research project aims to provide descriptive and measurable results on the evolution of marine biodiversity in the Mediterranean, by exploring the state of ecosystems before the advent of large-scale fishing activities. Researchers are assessing how our current perceptions of the natural state of the seas may be biased by the gradual transformations that have occurred over the centuries, a phenomenon known as shifting reference lines. Using the archaeofaunal record, i.e. the remains of marine animals found in archaeological excavations (fish skeletons, shells), the researchers attempt to trace the natural conditions of Mediterranean marine emarine ecosystems and assess their capacity to adapt to major environmental pressures. They also seek to identify sustainable or more intensive modes of exploitation adopted by Mediterranean coastal communities.
An approach with concrete results
Tatiana Theodoropoulou's team uses techniques such as ecological modeling to reconstruct ancient biotopes. By analyzing the isotopes contained in fish skeletons found at Mediterranean sites dating from prehistoric times to Roman antiquity, they deduce trophic relationships between marine species. These approaches make it possible to identify periods of stability and transformation in Mediterranean ecosystems, by correlating paleoclimatic data with changes in marine populations.They also reconstitute the fishing strategies of coastal populations and assess the share of marine resources in the Mediterranean diet during these periods. The results show that past communities relied on an extraordinary variety of marine resources. Fishing was local, and the main species consumed were those caught inshore and on foot. Although large marine species, such as tuna, were exploited very early on, their exploitation was much less intensive at the time. This would explain why fish consumption is surprisingly low in isotope analyses of human skeletons from the past. The real turning point came in Roman times, with the industrialization of marine products. The ancestors of our modern tuna cans were found in the form of amphorae containing salted tuna, transported from one end of the Mediterranean to the other.
Find out more about the "Prehistoric people on the beach" exhibition
