Browsing by Author "Bicho, Nuno Gonçalo Viana Pereira Ferreira"
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- Changes in the exploitation dynamics of small terrestrial vertebrates and fish during the Pleistocene-Holocene transition in the SW Iberian Peninsula: A reviewPublication . Dias, Rita; Detry, Cleia; Bicho, Nuno Gonçalo Viana Pereira FerreiraThe Pleistocene-Holocene transition c. 11.5 ka cal. BP is associated with dramatic climatic changes. These events led to fundamental shifts in landscape and have, therefore, been seen as responsible for a major impact on the human ecological behavior of the last hunter-gatherers in the Western European territory. In the case of Iberian Peninsula, it is commonly assumed that these human ecological adaptations are reflected in the new settlement and subsistence patterns that characterized the Late Upper Paleolithic-Mesolithic transition. Following the argument, the main aim of this paper is to present the state-of-the-art and consider this theoretical model using zooarchaeological data of small terrestrial vertebrates and fish from SW Portugal. Archaeological data are reviewed and discussed in order to analyze the change in the exploitation of small game, birds, and aquatic resources during this period. In this paper, we reinforce the idea that in SW Iberia, subsistence intensification and diversification precede the transition itself and are more likely to be related to other long-term phenomena, cultural and/or demographical, than to the changes in settlement behavior. The state-of-the-art discussed here led to new research questions related to the role of small vertebrates on the changes in human subsistence behavior during the Pleistocene-Holocene from Western Iberia.
- Constructing Frames of Reference: an analytical method for archaeological theory building using ethnographic and environmental data setsPublication . Bicho, Nuno Gonçalo Viana Pereira FerreiraApesar do peso que a arqueologia de tradição francófona teve no desenvolvimento da pré-história europeia, a influência norte-americana cada vez mais se faz sentir nos estudos arqueológicos. Este facto, talvez disputado por muitos, deve-se a dois aspectos principais. O primeiro é que, finalmente, foi compreendido pela cultura científica arqueológica da Europa Ocidental que a investigação não se pode limitar a aspectos historicistas da cultura – é necessário tratar o passado humano também numa perspectiva antropológica; o segundo aspecto é a importância da teoria contemporânea resultante do emergir da Nova Arqueologia, nomeadamente nas perspectivas Processual, Contextual e Cognitiva-processual.
- Earliest known use of marine resources by NeanderthalsPublication . Cortés-Sanchez, Miguel; Morales-Muñiz, Arturo; Simón-Vallejo, María D.; Lozano-Francisco, María C.; Vera-Peláez, José L.; Finlayson, Clive; Rodríguez-Vidal, Joaquín; Delgado-Huertas, Antonio; Jiménez-Espejo, Francisco J.; Martínez-Ruiz, Francisca; Aranzazu Martinez-Aguirre, M.; Pascual-Granged, Arturo J.; Merce Bergada-Zapata, M.; Gibaja-Bao, Juan F.; Riquelme-Cantal, José A.; Antonio López-Saez, J.; Rodrigo-Gamiz, Marta; Sakai, Saburo; Sugisaki, Saiko; Finlayson, Geraldine; Fa, Darren A.; Bicho, Nuno Gonçalo Viana Pereira FerreiraNumerous studies along the northern Mediterranean borderland have documented the use of shellfish by Neanderthals but none of these finds are prior to Marine Isotopic Stage 3 (MIS 3). In this paper we present evidence that gathering and consumption of mollusks can now be traced back to the lowest level of the archaeological sequence at Bajondillo Cave (Malaga, Spain), dated during the MIS 6. The paper describes the taxonomical and taphonomical features of the mollusk assemblages from this level Bj(19) and briefly touches upon those retrieved in levels Bj(18) (MIS 5) and Bj(17) (MIS 4), evidencing a continuity of the shellfishing activity that reaches to MIS 3. This evidence is substantiated on 29 datings through radiocarbon, thermoluminescence and U series methods. Obtained dates and paleoenvironmental records from the cave include isotopic, pollen, lithostratigraphic and sedimentological analyses and they are fully coherent with paleoclimate conditions expected for the different stages. We conclude that described use of shellfish resources by Neanderthals (H. neanderthalensis) in Southern Spain started similar to 150 ka and were almost contemporaneous to Pinnacle Point (South Africa), when shellfishing is first documented in archaic modern humans.
- Early upper paleolithic colonization across Europe: Time and mode of the gravettian diffusionPublication . Bicho, Nuno Gonçalo Viana Pereira Ferreira; Cascalheira, João; Gonçalves, CéliaThis study presents new models on the origin, speed and mode of the wave-of-advance leading to the definitive occupation of Europe's outskirts by Anatomically Modern Humans, during the Gravettian, between c. 37 and 30 ka ago. These models provide the estimation for possible demic dispersal routes for AMH at a stable spread rate of c. 0.7 km/year, with the likely origin in Central Europe at the site of Geissenklosterle in Germany and reaching all areas of the European landscape. The results imply that: 1. The arrival of the Gravettian populations into the far eastern European plains and to southern Iberia found regions with very low human occupation or even devoid of hominins; 2. Human demography was likely lower than previous estimates for the Upper Paleolithic; 3. The likely early AMH paths across Europe followed the European central plains and the Mediterranean coast to reach to the ends of the Italian and Iberian peninsulas.
- Embedded behavior: human activities and the construction of the mesolithic shellmound of Cabeco da Amoreira, Muge, PortugalPublication . Aldeias, Vera; Bicho, Nuno Gonçalo Viana Pereira FerreiraShellmound formation processes are greatly influenced by human inputs associated with an intensive exploitation of marine and estuarine resources. The complex stratigraphy of shellmounds has been difficult to decipher and few studies have focused on the microstratigraphic record of midden formation, especially in European Mesolithic contexts. Cabeco da Amoreira is a long-known Mesolithic shellmound located on the shores of the Muge River, a tributary of the Tagus River in central Portugal. The abundance of shellfish refuse favors an intricate and laterally variable stratigraphic succession of layers and lenses, which results in an extensive artificial mound. Here, we use micromorphological and microfacies analysis to investigate aspects pertaining to site formation, and the nature of individual anthropogenic activities at the site. This methodology allowed for a distinction between primary activities (e.g., discrete shell tossing events, trampled occupational surfaces, and activity areas), and secondary position of the sediments in intentionally raked-up and dumped deposits. Nondepositional hiatuses and discrete geogenic sedimentation are associated with periods of abandonment. The complex superposition of events seen at Cabeco da Amoreira underlines the role of micromorphology for the identification of behavioral signatures and its relevance in deciphering shellmound adaptations. (C) 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
- First results of a Middle Stone Age survey in the Kerma region, northern SudanPublication . Bicho, Nuno Gonçalo Viana Pereira Ferreira; Haws, Jonathan; Honegger, MatthieuSudan is a vitally important region for understanding the migrations of Anatomically Modern Humans from the African continent. Here, the authors present the results of a preliminary survey in the Kerma region, during which, 16 new Middle Stone Age sites were discovered.
- Fuel uses in Cabeco da Amoreira shellmidden: an insight from charcoal analysesPublication . Monteiro, Patrícia Diogo; Zapata, Lydia; Bicho, Nuno Gonçalo Viana Pereira FerreiraWood charcoal is an important tool for inferring human use of fire and exploitation of woodland resources. Using Cabeco da Amoreira shellmidden as study case, this paper aims to understand fuelwood use in the site, identifying patterns of wood exploitation and combustion related to different activities. Pine wood and presence of oak are the most common and are present in almost every context. Minor taxa is present, but the relation with specific activities in the site is not conclusive. However, data seem to indicate a usage of deadwood and exploitation of the most abundant taxa in the Muge valley. (C) 2016 Elsevier Ltd and INQUA. All rights reserved.
- Lapa do Picareiro (Alcanede, Portugal): análisis traceológico de los materiales líticos de los niveles F/GPublication . Gibaja, Juan Francisco; Bicho, Nuno Gonçalo Viana Pereira Ferreira; Haws, Jonathan; Hockett, BryanLapa do Picareiro (Cueva de Picareiro) está situado al noroeste de Lisboa, cerca de la ciudad de Fátima, en la Serra d’Aire (Figura 1). La cueva, que se localiza a 540 metros de altitud, muestra una morfología triangular, un alto techo y una entrada de aproximadamente 10´8 metros (Figura 2). Debajo de la línea del goteo aparece un cono marcado por la presencia de grandes bloques de piedra caliza, formando uno pasillo abierto de entre 3 y 5 metros de ancho entre la línea del goteo y la boca de la cueva. La entrada se abre dirección norte-noreste y tiene cerca de 5 metros de anchura y un máximo de 1.2 metros de altura (Bicho et al. , 2003; 2006a). Las excavaciones arqueológicas se iniciaron en 1994 con la limpieza de un corte estratigráfico realizado por Gustavo Marques en los años 50 (Marques y Andrade, 1974). En 2001 finalizan los trabajos de campo iniciados en 1996 con motivo de los proyectos dirigidos por N. Bicho: “A Ocupação Humana Paleolítica do Algarve” y “ A importância dos recursos aquáticos no Paleolítico do Algarve (Portugal)” (Bicho et al. , 2003). Durante estos años se excavan unos 35 m2 con una profundidad de 4.5 metros.
- Mapping the stone age of MozambiquePublication . Gonçalves, Célia; Raja, Mussa; Madime, Omar; Cascalheira, João; Haws, Jonathan; Matos, Daniela; Bicho, Nuno Gonçalo Viana Pereira FerreiraUnder the auspices of the Portuguese colonial government, Lereno Barradas and Santos Junior (coordinator of the Anthropological Mission of Mozambique) carried out several archaeological field surveys from 1936 to 1956 that resulted in a data set that includes a total of close to 90 sites, mostly attributed to the Stone Age. This early research added to the previous work of Van Riet Lowe in the Limpopo Valley of southern Mozambique. With the new millennium, Mozambique has emerged as a crucial geographic area in which to understand the various hypotheses about recent human evolution. Specifically, its coastal location between southern and eastern Africa is ideal for testing ideas about the link between early coastal adaptations and the appearance of anatomically modern humans (AMH). Except for the recent work by Mercader's team in northern Mozambique, the number of researchers and projects on this topic in Mozambique is still limited because of the general predominance of interest in later periods among archaeologists working in the country, mainly due to their focus on issues related to precolonial heritage and national identity. Based on the early maps from Santos Junior and more recent data acquired through various projects, we present a series of maps for the Stone Age prehistory of Mozambique. The maps are also based on a critical evaluation of the sites and a review of some of the materials that are presently curated at the Instituto de Investigacao Cientifica e Tropical (IICT) in Lisbon, Portugal, as well as the materials stored at the Department of Archaeology of Universidade Eduardo Mondlane, Maputo. The sites are also presented in an online database with the information on all sites used in this study. This database is open to all and will be updated continuously. A preliminary interpretation of the regional distribution of the sites is also attempted, linking aspects that include region, topography and altitude, geomorphology, and cultural phase. These results will be the first step for research and knowledge in Mozambique on Stone Age prehistory and the emergence and settlement pattern of AMH.
- Middle and late stone age of the Niassa region, Northern Mozambique. Preliminary resultsPublication . Bicho, Nuno Gonçalo Viana Pereira Ferreira; Haws, Jonathan; Raja, Mussa; Madime, Omar; Gonçalves, Célia; Cascalheira, João; Benedetti, Michael M.; Pereira, Telmo; Aldeias, VeraLocated between modern-day South Africa and Tanzania, both of which have well-known and extensive Stone Age records, Mozambique's Stone Age sequence remains largely unknown in the broader context of African Pleistocene prehistory. Such lack of data occurs despite the key geographical location of the country, in southern Africa at the southeastern tip of the Great Rift Valley. As such, Mozambique is an area of interest to evaluate the origins and dispersion of Homo sapiens within Africa, particularly in relation to Middle Stone Age contexts and associated early modern human ecology and cognition.This paper focuses on preliminary survey results from the Niassa District, near Lake Niassa (also known as Lake Malawi) in northern Mozambique. The results include the discovery and location of more than 80 new surface lithic concentration localities, as well as data from two new sites, the open air surface site of Ncuala and the rock shelter of Chicaza. For Chicaza we provide a series of new radiocarbon dates for the Iron Age and Late Stone Age occupations based on preliminary testing carried out at the site. (C) 2015 Elsevier Ltd and INQUA. All rights reserved.
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