**Man and the sea** ::HAB 
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Around 20,000 years ago, the sea lay roughly 10 kilometres from the caves of Deba, yet our ancestors clearly understood that the long journey was worthwhile. They likely set up temporary coastal camps to gather abundant marine resources, which they later transported inland. The presence of small Littorina obtusata molluscs in Praileaitz I indicates that they consumed or used seaweed, and in the caves, archaeologists have also found limpets, periwinkles, barnacles, mussels, oysters, sea urchins and crabs, showing that shellfish gathering was a key activity. Fishing also originated in prehistoric times: Homo sapiens crafted precise bone hooks and sharp harpoons that could be thrown from a distance. At sites such as Urtiaga, Aizkoltxo, Praileaitz I and Ermittia, remains of salmon, cod, flatfish and trout have been discovered, evidence of their deep knowledge of the marine environment.
However, the sea offered more than food; it also created exceptional opportunities. The stranding of cetaceans must have been a major event due to the large quantities of meat, fat, skin and bone they provided, and perhaps also a chance for different human groups to meet and maintain social ties. In Urtiaga and Ermittia, harpoons and spear points made from whale bone have been recovered, highlighting the value of these animals even far from the coast. The first vertebra of a cetacean found in Santimamiñe and the worked whale bones discovered inland reveal that these materials were highly prized and that long-distance communication networks existed. Altogether, the evidence shows that in the Prehistory of the Deba region, the relationship between humans and the sea was intense, continuous and essential for survival.

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