After a lapse of about two decades (1950-1970), and partly because of gener
ational replacement, Late Upper Paleolithic and Mesolithic hunter-gatherer
adaptations along the Atlantic coasts of Iberia have been the subject of re
newed research efforts. Conducted under a broadly defined ecofunctionalist
paradigm, post-1970 work has yielded a move complete picture of regional va
riability than was previously available. Although differences are apparent
in the tempo and intensity of research along the Cantabrian coast of Spain
and in Atlantic Portugal, similar processes of resource diversification and
intensification appear to be documented in both areas. These processes can
be traced back to the pleniglacial maximum and are explained by population
-resource imbalances created by an influx of immigrants from the north into
already densely populated coastal areas.