The journal Science has published a study led by the ICREA researcher João Zilhão from the University of Barcelona on the excavation in Cueva de Figueira Brava, Portugal, which was used as shelter by Neanderthal populations about between 86,000 and 106,000 years ago. The study reveals fishing and shellfish gathering contributed significantly to the subsistence economy of the inhabitants of Figueira Brava. The relevance of this discovery lies in the fact that so far, there was little evidence of these practices as being common among Neanderthals.