Browsing by Author "Bicho, Nuno"
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- Charcoal analyses from Muge shellmidden (Portugal): Comparative analyses from Cabeco da Arruda and Cabeco da AmoreiraPublication . Monteiro, Patrícia Diogo; Caruso Fermre, Laura; Bicho, NunoCabeco da Arruda and Cabeco da Amoreira are shellmiddens that integrate the Mesolithic Muge shell-midden complex. Paleoenvironmental studies indicate that Muge valley was both rich in marine and terrestrial resources. The exploitation of diverse resources from the Muge landscape is a crucial issue to understand the economy, subsistence and social complexity of these Mesolithic societies. This paper aims to shed light on the exploitation and use of woodland resources through charcoal analyses. Results from new samples collected in Cabeco da Arruda are presented and compared with charcoal data from Cabeco da Amoreira in order to understand the acquisition modalities of both sites. The results demonstrate a prevalence of Pinus in Cabeco da Arruda as well as the presence of Quercus. The similar pattern of Pinus and Quercus occurs in the Cabeco da Amoreira assemblages, although in this case some minor taxa were also identified This seem to indicate that both sites were exploiting the same main wood resources and the main species in the environment. The meaning of the absence of minor taxa in Cabeco da Arruda assemblage is still uncertain, it might happen because of the different acquisition modalities of the wood or uses for fuel, or due to the size of the sample. (C) 2017 Elsevier Ltd and INQUA. All rights reserved.
- Comparing extraction method efficiency for high-throughput palaeoproteomic bone species identificationPublication . Mylopotamitaki, Dorothea; Harking, Florian S.; Taurozzi, Alberto J.; Fagernäs, Zandra; Godinho, Ricardo Miguel; Smith, Geoff M.; Weiss, Marcel; Schüler, Tim; McPherron, Shannon P.; Meller, Harald; Cascalheira, João; Bicho, Nuno; Olsen, Jesper V.; Hublin, Jean-Jacques; Welker, FridoHigh-throughput proteomic analysis of archaeological skeletal remains provides information about past fauna community compositions and species dispersals in time and space. Archaeological skeletal remains are a finite resource, however, and therefore it becomes relevant to optimize methods of skeletal proteome extraction. Ancient proteins in bone specimens can be highly degraded and consequently, extraction methods for well-preserved or modern bone might be unsuitable for the processing of highly degraded skeletal proteomes. In this study, we compared six proteomic extraction methods on Late Pleistocene remains with variable levels of proteome preservation. We tested the accuracy of species identification, protein sequence coverage, deamidation, and the number of post-translational modifications per method. We find striking differences in obtained proteome complexity and sequence coverage, highlighting that simple acid-insoluble proteome extraction methods perform better in highly degraded contexts. For well-preserved specimens, the approach using EDTA demineralization and protease-mix proteolysis yielded a higher number of identified peptides. The protocols presented here allowed protein extraction from ancient bone with a minimum number of working steps and equipment and yielded protein extracts within three working days. We expect further development along this route to benefit large-scale screening applications of relevance to archaeological and human evolution research.
- Complexity in the middle to Upper Paleolithic transition in Peninsular Southern Europe and application of refugium conceptsPublication . Carvalho, Milena; Bicho, NunoDuring the Middle to Upper Paleolithic transition in the Balkan, Italian and Iberian peninsulas of southern Europe, late Neanderthal and early Anatomically Modern Human (AMH) populations may have overlapped in some capacity. Many of the hypotheses and models for the transition interval suggest that Neanderthal populations remained in, or migrated to, refugial zones while AMHs colonized areas not suitable for, or abandoned by, Neanderthals. However, many hypotheses and models have not been conclusively tested due to general issues impeding a clear understanding of the relevant archeological record and because of a lack of specificity in defining and applying the term ‘refugium’. This paper briefly summarizes what is known about the Middle to Upper Paleolithic transition in southern European Peninsulas and discusses some new directions in the use of refugium concepts in the study of Neanderthal extinction and AMH dispersal. We highlight the complexity of the archeological record in each region and in the studies of refugia more generally. Finally, we make an appeal for generating local, multi‐proxy paleoenvironmental and paleoclimatic records to address these complexities so that hypotheses and models integrating refugial concepts in explanations of the Middle to Upper Paleolithic transition can be properly formulated and tested. © 2021 The Authors. Journal of Quaternary Science Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.
- Cortical bone loss in a sample of human skeletons from the Muge Shell middensPublication . Umbelino, Cláudia; Curate, Francisco; Perinha, Andreia; Ferreira, Teresa; Cunha, Eugenia; Bicho, NunoThe Muge shell middens of Cabeco da Arruda, Cabeco da Amoreira and Moita do Sebastiao (central Portugal) have been key sites of archaeological research for 150 years, possibly working as residential sites occupied by semi-sedentary communities during the final Mesolithic. The purposes of this article include the biocultural assessment of metacarpal cortical bone fragility and its associations with age at death, sex and osteoporotic fractures in the Portuguese Mesolithic, as well as a diachronic comparison of cortical bone health in Mesolithic (N = 34) and modern reference (N = 219) samples. Cortical bone at the Muge shell middens displays age and sex-specific trajectories of periosteal apposition and endosteal bone loss, most likely associated with hormonal and behavioural/cultural influences. Metacarpal endocortical bone loss seems to increase with age at death in females, with a simultaneous expansion of the diaphysis. The overall pattern of cortical bone health is similar to the pattern observed in a reference skeletal collection, but elderly women from Muge seem to lose less cortical bone than late twentieth century counterparts from Coimbra. Two older males exhibited vertebral compression fractures, but only one is possibly related with bone fragility.
- Cross-scale adaptive behaviors during the Upper Paleolithic in Iberia: The example of Vale Boi (Southwestern Portugal)Publication . Cascalheira, João; Bicho, Nuno; Manne, Tiina; Horta, PedroIt is now rather evident that, concomitant with the advent, growth and disappearance of the traditionally defined Western European Upper Paleolithic techno-complexes, a series of discrete eco-cultural niches would have existed within Iberia. Vale Boi, and its surroundings, may represent one of these niches, since its lengthy and fairly complete archaeological record clearly attests that the region was an attractive location for hunter-gatherer communities for over 10,000 years. From the first Modern Human occupations, c. 32 ka cal BP ago, a set of very specific cultural adaptive markers seem to have been developed in response to the particularities of the regional ecological background. Some of these strategies, such as intensive subsistence practices, raw-material specialized use, among others, were resilient through time and apparently impermeable to the major shifts in the techno-typological novelties brought about with the advent of each Upper Paleolithic phase. Even with the appearance of quite unique and broad-scale technologies, e. g. Solutrean, regional markers and identity have been kept, clearly showing that each level of the adaptive system seem to have operate at its own pace. This paper focus on long-term adaptive choices and on how and why hunter-gatherers inhabiting Vale Boi manage to absorb change and re-organize their system under new techno-complex cultural patterns while still retaining, efficiently, the same regional adaptive idiosyncrasies. Within the theoretical framework of Panarchy and the cross-scale resilience model we argue that cross-scale interactions between creative and conserving niche-specific behavioral adaptations were the keystone for the sustainability of hunter-gatherer cultural systems across the Late Pleistocene. c (C) 2017 Elsevier Ltd and INQUA. All rights reserved.
- From stone to tool: how raw materials influenced upper palaeolithic technology in southwestern Iberia (Vale Boi)Publication . Belmiro, Joana; Bicho, Nuno; Terradas, Xavier; Cascalheira, JoãoThe Upper Palaeolithic (UP) of westernmost Europe was marked by technological and cultural transformations and abrupt climatic shifts. The Iberian Peninsula, particularly southwestern Iberia, served as a refugia and key eco-cultural niche, making it a key region for UP studies. Vale Boi, the only site in southwestern Iberia with a nearly complete UP sequence, provides critical insights into technological, economical and mobility patterns over time. This study examines lithic raw material procurement and technological organisation at Vale Boi, focusing on the differences between local and non-local cherts. We analysed chert assemblages from Gravettian, Proto-Solutrean, and Solutrean levels, integrating previously published techno-typological and raw material macroscopic and petrographic data. Our results indicate that non-local cherts were intensively reduced. The presence of varied techno-typological classes suggests that non-local cherts were not exclusively transported as finished tools, instead highlighting their role as versatile, transportable raw material volumes. Gravettian occupations exhibited greater reliance on non-local cherts, suggesting short-term occupations and higher mobility, while Proto-Solutrean and Solutrean occupations showed increased dependence on local materials, suggesting long-term occupations. These findings expand our understanding of UP technological adaptations in southwestern Iberia, emphasising the complex role of lithic resources in mobility, settlement, and social networks.
- Human adaptive responses to climate and environmental change during the Gravettian of Lapa do Picareiro (Portugal)Publication . Haws, Jonathan; Benedetti, Michael; Carvalho, Milena; Ellis, Grace; Pereira, Telmo; Cascalheira, João; Bicho, Nuno; Friedl, LukasOn the Iberian Peninsula, abrupt climate shifts during the Late Pleistocene impacted human and natural systems. Our knowledge of human adaptive responses to these climatic perturbations has improved in recent years with the development of new radiocarbon techniques that have increased the temporal resolution of cultural chronologies. At the same time, new high-resolution paleoclimatic records from Greenland ice cores, deep-sea sediment cores, speleothems, and microfaunal assemblages have permitted detailed paleoenvironmental reconstructions. Combined with the archaeological record of culture change, these data sets allow for a better understanding of the nature of human socio-ecological systems during the Late Pleistocene. Here we present new data on the Gravettian occupations at Lapa do Picareiro, a cave site in Portugal with a long continuous stratigraphic sequence spanning MIS 3 and 2. The ongoing excavation of Lapa do Picareiro has revealed at least three Gravettian levels with very different patterns of raw material use and technological reduction. The Early Gravettian levels contain a quartzite flake assemblage with several refitting clusters and a small chert assemblage with nosed endscrapers and bladelet technology. The Late or Terminal Gravettian level contains carinated endscraper/core-bladelet technology, mainly quartz, with chert blade production, and a few bone tools. The faunal assemblages also have a different character. Both contain a similar range of medium and large ungulates but the earlier Gravettian has a much richer and more diverse assemblage of small animals. These combined archaeological data sets provide a new perspective on Gravettian human adaptations in response to climate shifts, especially Heinrich Event 3 and Greenland Interstadials 4 and 3.
- Late Glacial and Early Holocene human demographic responses to climatic and environmental change in Atlantic IberiaPublication . McLaughlin, T. Rowan; Gómez-Puche, Magdalena; Cascalheira, João; Bicho, Nuno; Fernández-López de Pablo, JavierSuccessive generations of hunter-gatherers of the Late Glacial and Early Holocene in Iberia had to contend with rapidly changing environments and climatic conditions. This constrained their economic resources and capacity for demographic growth. The Atlantic façade of Iberia was occupied throughout these times and witnessed very significant environmental transformations. Archaeology offers a perspective on how past human population ecologies changed in response to this scenario. Archaeological radiocarbon data are used here to reconstruct demographics of the region over the long term. We introduce various quantitative methods that allow us to develop palaeodemographic and spatio-temporal models of population growth and density, and compare our results to independent records of palaeoenvironmental and palaeodietary change, and growth rates derived from skeletal data. Our results demonstrate that late glacial population growth was stifled by the Younger Dryas stadial, but populations grew in size and density during the Early to Middle Holocene transition. This growth was fuelled in part by an increased dependence on marine and estuarine food sources, demonstrating how the environment was linked to demographic change via the resource base, and ultimately the carrying capacity of the environment. This article is part of the theme issue 'Cross-disciplinary approaches to prehistoric demography'.
- Late Pleistocene Landscape and Settlement Dynamics of Portuguese EstremaduraPublication . Haws, Jonathan; Benedetti, Michael; Funk, Caroline L.; Bicho, Nuno; Pereira, Telmo; Marreiros, Joao; Daniels, J. Michael; Forman, Steven L.; Minckley, Thomas A.; Denniston, Rhawn F.Here we report the results of an integrated geoarchaeological survey to study Palaeolithic human settlement dynamics in the coastal region of Portuguese Estremadura. The region has been an important focus of human occupation across multiple glacial-interglacial cycles, including periods of well-documented abrupt climate instability during MIS 3 and 2. The pedestrian survey covered a roughly 10 km wide strip of land between Sao Pedro de Muel and Peniche. The survey intensively targeted three landscape settings with Pleistocene-age surfaces and sediments: the coastal bluffs with exposed aeolian, fluvial, and colluvial sands; the Caldas da Rainha diapiric valley and associated fluvial/estuarine fills; and, Cretaceous chert-rich limestone uplands that bound the inland margin of the study area. We discovered dozens of new Palaeolithic sites, analyzed numerous Pleistocene sedimentary sections, and applied widespread OSL-dating to establish age control that allowed us to build a regional geomorphic history to contextualize Late Pleistocene human settlement across the region.
- Lithic bipolar methods as an adaptive strategy through space and timePublication . Horta, Pedro; Bicho, Nuno; Cascalheira, JoãoThe use of bipolar (on anvil) methods for resource exploitation has been identified in the archaeological record from the late Pliocene through to the Holocene. During all phases of human evolution, bipolar knapping and wedging were applied by different hominin species in a wide range of ecological settings. Studies on lithic bipolar methods have mainly focused on understanding the functional aspects of this technology. This paper explores the variability of the application of these methods during the Paleolithic on a macro scale. Through the meta-analysis of published data from 167 sites, it is posited that the use of bipolar methods may have had a significant impact on hominin expansion, adaptation, and survival strategies. Furthermore, the recurrent use of bipolar methods is not only an indicator of its success as an adaptive strategy, but also of how hominins were able to evaluate different types of efficiency through time.
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