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- 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.
- 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.
- O concheiro do Meu Jardim (Nazaré) no contexto das estratégias de produção e circulação de suportes lâmino lamelares no neolítico médio da Estremadura portuguesaPublication . Coelho, Eliana; Carlos Valera, António; Carvalho, AntónioNa planície aluvial da várzea da Nazaré (província da Estremadura Portuguesa, na região centro litoral do país), numa área que estabelece o contacto entre o antigo estuário lagunar interior e o oceano, foi identificado um sítio arqueológico conhecido por Meu Jardim, datado do Neolítico Médio (finais do V e IV milénios A.N.E.), com diversos momento de ocupação registados em estratigrafia, e localizado nas proximidades das jazidas de sílex que terão provavelmente sido exploradas pelos seus ocupantes. Trata-se de um concheiro com vários níveis de ocupação de contexto doméstico. Em face das lacunas de conhecimento que caracterizam os estudos líticos deste período, optou-se por analisar apenas, neste primeiro estudo, as suas produções lâmino-lamelares e integrá-las no contexto regional. Estamos perante material de pequenas dimensões, sobretudo em sílex (o quartzo está menos representado), produzido a partir de núcleos prismáticos pré-formatados (o principal método de produção de suportes lâmino-lamelares), que teve lugar nas próprias jazidas de sílex exploradas na área envolvente. As lâminas e lamelas apresentam atributos compatíveis com uma debitagem por pressão, com talões facetados, e terão, no caso do Meu Jardim, sido utilizadas de modo expedito para suprir as necessidades decorrentes de estadias episódicas no local. De um modo geral, as inferências produzidas a partir do material do sítio do Meu Jardim e da sua comparação com outros contextos revelam, para o período em causa, um comportamento económico e tecnológico muito diversificado no que respeita à exploração e circulação do sílex. As estratégias subjacentes a estas práticas parecem determinadas pela proximidade (maior ou menor) de jazidas de sílex e pelo fim a que se destinavam os suportes alongados (uso imediato, dilatado no tempo, ou uso como oferenda funerária).
- Produção cerâmica no início do Neolítico em Portugal: dados recentes sobre os VI e V milénios A.C.Publication . Carvalho, António FaustinoA characterisation of the earliest pottery productions in Neolithic Portugal (6th millennium BC) was published in the pages of this journal a few years ago. However, three aspects have been receiving further attention by current research and are discussed here: 1) the relation between Cardial and Boquique-decorated potteries, in which the former are clearly more ancient i f a critical evaluation of the available chrono-stratigraphic evidence is carried out; 2) new finds of so-called "symbolic pottery", which includes abundant evidence for anthropomorphic and zoomorphic depictions along with more scarce examples of plant and solar representations; and 3) petrographic and chemical analyses of ceramics and clays, both pointing to the conclusion that Cardial and corded pots were being transported through long-distance, maritime travels. Some sites currently under analyses may provide in the near future new insights into those research topics.
- A two-stage economic evolution at the inception of farming in Central Portugal. Preliminary examination of possible causes and consequencesPublication . Carvalho, AFNotwithstanding their scarcity and uneven distribution, zooarchaeological and stable isotope data sets on the Early and Middle Neolithic (5500-3200 cal BC) in the region of Estremadura in Central Portugal strongly suggest that two succeeding stages in subsistence strategies took place: sheep and goat itinerant pastoralism (across large areas) and/or renewed focus on wild food sources (cervid hunting, harvesting marine and freshwater food) which replaced livestock farming within smaller areas and less specialised hunting practices. This economic shift seems to have coincided with two other dramatic changes: the 5.9 kyr cal BP climate event and the onset of megalithism. Possible correlations between these past cultural and palaeoenvironmental phenomena are herein preliminarily outlined.