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- Hunter-gatherer genetic persistence at the onset of megalithism in western Iberia: New mitochondrial evidence from Mesolithic and Neolithic necropolises in central-southern PortugalPublication . Carvalho, AF; Fernández-Domínguez, Eva; Arroyo-Pardo, Eduardo; Robinson, Catherine; Luis Cardoso, João; Zilhão, João; Gomes, Mário VarelaDespite its strategic importance at the furthermost edge of the Neolithic expansion in Europe, archaeogenetic data from Mesolithic and Neolithic human remains from Portugal are still very limited. Here we present ancient mtDNA evidence (mostly unpublished) to fill the gap and discuss the pattern of "genetic resurgence" of huntergatherer (Mesolithic) ancestry, widely reported elsewhere in Europe, among the first megalith builders (Middle Neolithic) of western Iberia.A total of 11 Mesolithic and Neolithic necropolises located in the central and southern regions of Portugal dated to ca. 6200-3000 BC were studied. These sites comprise all Mesolithic-Neolithic cultural stages and include several funerary architectures and spaces. Reproducible mtDNA HVRI haplotypes were obtained from 23 individuals from six different archaeological sites spread across a >3000-year transect, from the Late Mesolithic to the Late Neolithic.Our results support a three-stage explanatory demographic and populational model: i) local hunter-gatherer populations constituted a highly homogeneous genetic pool; ii) the first farming practices were introduced by human groups carrying new, extraneous haplogroups and exhibiting the signature of admixture events occurring at the time of first contact with local hunter-gatherers; iii) the genetic pattern detected among the megalithbuilding populations, showing hunter-gatherer along with farming ancestry, may be explained by the segmentary principles, and attendant endogamic practices, that structured Neolithic societies.
- Southern Portugal animal exploitation systems: trends and changes from Neolithic to Bronze Age. A follow-up overviewPublication . Valente, Maria João; Carvalho, AntónioZooarchaeological studies in Neolithic, Chalcolithic and Early Bronze Age Portugal have witnessed important developments in recent years, even if still largely based on taxonomic analyses. Other approaches depend heavily on the abundance and preservation conditions of faunal collections, which are often inadequate
- Multi-isotope approaches to the Neolithic cemetery-cave of Bom Santo (Lisbon): new data and comparisons with fourth millennium BC populations from central-southern PortugalPublication . Carvalho, AF; Gonçalves, David; Bonilla, Marta Diaz-Zorita; João Valente, MariaPrevious multi-isotopic research on the human remains of the Neolithic cave-cemetery of Bom Santo (Lisbon, Portuguese Estremadura) led to the conclusion that this fourth millennium BC population was very heterogeneous at several levels. Two in particular were subsistence habits and mobility: although consumption of terrestrial foods was the norm, aquatic food sources totalling > 20% of overall diets were detected in 60% of the population, and, surprisingly, 79% of the individuals were classed as non-local, having lived most of their life in geologically older regions. These figures were however obtained on a sample of 15 individuals. Further isotopic analyses have enlarged the original sample to 35 individuals (i.e., half of the exhumed population) and were also employed in the study of the coeval cave-cemeteries of Barrao and Mureta. This has permitted a sounder depiction of past behaviours, with a structural difference being observed at both levels between Bom Santo and the latter sites: at the former cave, 70% of the population consumed > 20% of aquatic foods and 34% were non-local (23% from outside Estremadura), whereas the latter were all local and showed no signals of aquatic diets. Comparison with other fourth millennium BC populations in central-southern Portugal suggests a model where the exploitation of locally available aquatic/marine food sources was not mandatory but optional and that human mobility represented an important socio-economic behavioural feature of these (presumably) segmentary societies. How both aspects related to the then-emerging megalithic phenomenon is a question that should be investigated in future research.
- Mandibular morphology and the Mesolithic–Neolithic transition in Westernmost IberiaPublication . Godinho, Ricardo Miguel; Umbelino, Cláudia; Valera, António Carlos; Carvalho, António; Bicho, Nuno; Cascalheira, João; Gonçalves, Célia; Smith, PatriciaNeolithic farming and animal husbandry were first developed in the Near East similar to 10,000 BCE and expanded westwards, reaching westernmost Iberia no later than 5500 BCE. It resulted in major social, cultural, economic and dietary changes. Yet, the impact of this change on human mandibular morphology in Iberia is yet to be assessed, which is regrettable because mandible form is impacted by population history and diet. In this study we used Mesolithic to Chalcolithic Iberian samples to examine the impact of this transition on mandibular morphology. We also compared these samples with a Southern Levantine Chalcolithic population to assess their relationship. Lastly, we assessed dental wear to determine if the morphological differences identified were related to the material properties of the diet. We found differences between samples in mandibular shape but not size, which we attribute to contrasting population histories between Mesolithic and later populations. Some differences in the severity of dental wear were also found between Mesolithic and later Iberian samples, and smaller between the Mesolithic Iberians and southern Levantines. Little relationship was found between wear magnitude and mandibular shape. Altogether, our results show that the Mesolithic-Neolithic Iberian transition resulted in a meaningful change in mandibular morphology, which was likely driven more by population history than by dietary change.
- Neolithic archaeology at the Penedo dos Mouros rock-shelter (Gouveia, Portugal) and the issue of primitive transhumance parctices in the Estrela mountain rangePublication . Carvalho, Antonio Faustino; Pereira, Vera; Duarte, Carlos; Tente, CatarinaLocated in the foothills of the north-western sector of the Estrela Mountain (Beira Alta province in central-north Portugal), Penedo dos Mouros Rock-shelter revealed a succession of three distinct archaeological horizons datable to the evolved Early Neolithic and initial Middle Neolithic, thus partially coinciding with the onset of the regional Megalithism. The find of a few caprine remains at least one possible sheep, among a large spectrum of species - swine, rabbit, hare, Iberian lynx and toad-, makes this site the oldest in the region to provide direct evidence for herding practices. Small-sized pots, expedient use of local lithic raw materials together with curated use of exogenous flint, and low density of artefacts indicate a strategy of residential mobility in line with similar evidence observed elsewhere in Beira Alta. Given previous claims of Neolithic vertical transhumance between montane plateaux -in the summer- and lowland plains -in the winter-, this hypothesis is here discussed -and refuted- based on spatial analysis of Neolithic sites, economic characterization of the period and local orographic and bioclimatic constraints.
- Micro-EDXRF investigation of Chalcolithic gold ornaments from Portuguese EstremaduraPublication . Valerio, P.; Soares, A. M. M.; Araujo, M. F.; Carvalho, AntónioChalcolithic gold artefacts assigned to the Bell Beaker Culture in Portuguese Estremadura were analysed by micro-energy dispersive X-ray fluorescence spectrometry. These high-status jewels comprise beads of tubular, spiral and double-conical type, a spiral ring and a wire fragment. The collection is mainly composed of gold with 8.7-16.3 wt% Ag and <0.04 wt% Cu. Additionally, there is a typologically uncommon double-conical bead showing a lower Ag content (6.7 wt%). The relative intensity of the Ag-K and Ag-L X-rays from artefacts established the existence of a surface layer depleted in silver, while the reasonable effective penetration depth of the Ag-K (about 25-30m) provided suitable results for such high fineness gold alloys. A uniform Au-Ag composition at the joint indicates that the double-conical bead was made by joining two sheets without solder. Overall, the collection shows a composition that is similar to known Chalcolithic gold in Portuguese Estremadura but different from coeval gold in Southwestern Iberian Peninsula. The distinct compositional pattern of Chalcolithic gold in Portuguese Estremadura seems to be inconsistent with the natural variability of silver content in alluvial deposits of gold in Iberian Peninsula, thus suggesting a continuous use of particular sources and limited exchange of nuggets and jewels with the neighbouring region. Copyright (c) 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
- The Mesolithic-Neolithic transition: The view from Southwest Europe and the American SouthwestPublication . Vierra, Bradley J.; Carvalho, AFThe transition from foraging to farming is certainly one of the most dramatic processes in human history. The use of domesticated plants and animals spread widely across Southwest Europe from the Near East. By contrast, domesticated plants solely moved across the American Southwest from Mexico. Research in Western Europe has traditionally focused on the movement of farming communities across the region which displaced or subsumed local foragers. Recently various aspects of this process have been debated including Mesolithic and Neolithic subsistence packages, continuity versus replacement, regional mobility and sedentism, the nature of early Neolithic villages, and the forager to farmer transition. We will explore this dynamic and varied process through studies conducted in Southwest Europe and the American Southwest. Although these two regions seem quite different, researchers in both areas are grappling with similar research issues. (C) 2017 Elsevier Ltd and INQUA. All rights reserved.
- All different, all equal: Evidence of a heterogeneous Neolithic population at the Bom Santo Cave necropolis (Portugal)Publication . Gonçalves, D.; Granja, Raquel; Alves-Cardoso, F.; Carvalho, A. F.The objective of this paper was to contribute to the discussion regarding the socio-political organization of south-western Iberian Middle Neolithic populations. To that end, the preservation and distribution of human remains and the dispersion of grave goods within two rooms of the Born Santo Cave (Rooms A and B) were investigated and combined with, genetic and isotopic data previously published. Grave goods distribution and skeletal analyses highlighted an important diversity in terms of funerary practices thus corroborating data from ancient DNA and Sr/O isotopic analyses that suggested a great genetic and geographic diversity. Grave goods presented an uneven spatial distribution and were made of raw materials from different sources and using different pottery manufacturing styles albeit typologically homogeneous. The preservation and distribution of human remains suggested that Room A was mainly used for secondary depositions while Room B was used for both primary and secondary depositions. No link between the two rooms was found since remains from the same individuals were apparently exclusive of one room or another. The results suggest that this society presented substantial inner genetic, social and geographical heterogeneity. Most probably, this was due to the presence of distinct but coeval groups in the cave that shared a larger-scale social identity (as in "segmentary societies") or, less likely, to the presence of one single, but internally heterogeneous society (as in fully sedentary, societies) that assimilated foreigners. (C) 2016 Elsevier GmbH. All rights reserved.
- Insights on the changing dynamics of cemetery use in the neolithic and chalcolithic of southern Portugal. Radiocarbon dating of Lugar do Canto Cave (Santarém)Publication . Carvalho, António; Luis Cardoso, JoaoLugar do Canto Cave is one of the most relevant Neolithic burial caves in Portugal given not only its extraordinary preservation conditions at the time of discovery but also the quality of the field record obtained during excavation. Its material culture immediately pointed to a Middle Neolithic cemetery but recent radiocarbon determinations also allowed the recognition of an apparent two step phasing of its use within the period (ca. 4000-3400 cal BC): an older one characterized by a single burial and a later reoccupation as a collective necropolis. Comparisons with other well-dated cave cemeteries in Southern Portugal permitted the recognition of changing funerary practices and strategies of cemetery use during the later stages of the Neolithic and the Chalcolithic: 1) ca. 3800 cal BC as the possible turning point from the practice of individual to collective burials; 2) alternating periods of intensive use and deliberate abandonment of cemeteries (evidenced by their intentional closure). Research avenues to investigate the social organization and ideological context underlying these aspects of the Neolithic communities in greater depth are tentatively pointed out in this paper.
- Individual vessels, individual burials? new evidence on early neolithic funerary practices on the Iberian Peninsula's western façadePublication . Cardoso, João Luís; Carvalho, AF; Rebelo, Paulo; Neto, Nuno; Simões, CarlosDespite previous attempts, the Early Neolithic of Portugal was poorly understood until the latter part of the twentieth century. It is only when Guilaine and Ferreira (1970) re-analysed pottery assemblages kept in museums across the country and compared them with parallels elsewhere in Iberia and southern France that they were able to distinguish between an earlier Cardial phase and a more recent stage, named ‘Furninha horizon’ after an important burial cave excavated in 1880. Essentially, most Portuguese prehistorians still use this scheme today. Though some have argued in favour of pre-Cardial phases, either of African or Andalusian origin (e.g. Silva & Soares, 1981) or represented by impressa-type ceramics of Italic origin (e.g. Guilaine, 2018), these hypotheses are still lacking sound empirical support (Carvalho, 2020). It should, however, be noted that these hypotheses are still sometimes taken up in discussions of new finds. This is the case in a recently-published ovoid vase, with a flat base and impressed decoration, retrieved from so-called ‘hearth 8’ at the open-air site of Vale Pincel (coastal Alentejo), which was dated to c. 5650 cal BC. As this predates the oldest Cardial in Portuguese territory and is not a Cardial vessel, the author claims that this ‘ceramic decoration is part of the pre-Cardial impressed world’ (Soares, 2020: 311–2 and fig. 4).