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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 Here we present ancient mtDNA evidence (mostly unpublished) to fill the gap and discuss the pattern of "genetic resurgence" of huntergatherer (Mesolithic) ancestry, widely reported elsewhere in Europe, among the first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.
- 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.
- 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).
- Population dynamics during the Neolithic transition and the onset of megalithism in Portugal according to summed probability distribution of radiocarbon determinationsPublication . Pardo-Gordo, Salvador; Carvalho, AFAs field data accumulates, the study of Neolithic Portugal has been receiving increasing attention recently, from material culture and subsistence to ideology. However, little is known about population dynamics. In this paper, we use a judicious selection of radiocarbon determinations to evaluate demographic phenomena within the 9.500-5.000 cal BP range (thus, starting in the Late Mesolithic) making use of "summed probability distribution" analysis. In greater Portugal, results show a negative deviation (i.e. demographic decrease) at 6.400-6.300 cal BP and a positive deviation (i.e. demographic increase) at 5.350-4.950 cal BP. These can be explained, respectively, by the impact of farming about one millennium after its introduction (confirming the "Neolithic demographic transition" model) and by the full establishment of the "secondary products revolution" in the Late Neolithic. However, individual analyses of the northern and southern halves of the country-i.e. using the Mondego river valley as an ecological-geographical divide-show rather contrasting trajectories, with scarce Mesolithic populations and a demographic increase in the megalithism in the North, whereas in the South a demographic crisis occurred at the onset of megalithism (which remains to be fully explained) being followed in the Late Neolithic by a sharp demographic increase. Further summed probability distribution analyses of radiocarbon determinations, particularly if combined with other populational proxies, will be able in the future to detect other demographic events taking place in space and time.
- NeoNet Atlantic. Radiocarbon dates for the late mesolithic/early neolithic transition in the Southern European Atlantic CoastPublication . Huet, Thomas; Basílio, Ana Catarina; Faustino de Carvalho, António Manuel; Cubas, Miriam; Gibaja, Juan F.; López-Romero, Elías; Oms, F. Xavier; Mazzucco, NiccolòNeoNet Atlantic dataset complements the NeoNet Mediterranean dataset by providing new curated radiocarbon dates for the study of the pioneer farming front (i.e. Neolithisation, ca. 7500 to 3500 cal BC) in the Southern European Atlantic Coast river basin (Portugal, Western Spain, Southwestern France). The complete dataset is formed by the id00164_doc_elencoc14.tsv file, a data frame with tab -separated values, and a related dataframe: id00164_doc_thesaurus.tsv. The dataset contains 1,143 radiocarbon dates from 254 archaeological sites and 817 different archaeological contexts (stratigraphic units, structures, negative features, hearths, etc.) informed by 233 bibliographical references. As for the NeoNet Mediterranean dataset, particular attention has been paid to homogenisation of the laboratory code, the archaeological context, and the references, in order to facilitate further data extractions. Indeed, the dataset is linked to an open source R Shiny interactive web app (NeoNet app), a series of functions hosted on GitHub, and a getter function (R package c14bazAAr, R function get_c14data("neonetatl").
- Arqueologia do Neolítico MediterrâneoPublication . Faustino de Carvalho, António ManuelHá sete mil e quinhentos anos foram introduzidas as primeiras formas de agricultura no espaço atualmente português, definindo-se assim o início do período neolítico. Tratou-se de um acontecimento complexo, de transformação económica, eventos migratórios e fenómenos de aculturação, que implicaram alterações profundas nos modos de vida destas sociedades humanas. Inicialmente restrito ao centro-sul do país, este nova realidade propagou-se pelo restante território em menos de meio milénio. O pleno entendimento dos seus traços estruturantes consegue-se numa perspetiva alargada, isto é, nos processos de domesticação de plantas e animais no Próximo Oriente, há doze mil anos, e na sua expansão pelo Mediterrâneo.
- El final de un camino. Las primeras hoces neolíticas documentadas en yacimientos portuguesesPublication . Gibaja, Juan F.; Cardoso, João Luis; Martins, Filipe; Faustino de Carvalho, António ManuelPocas son las evidencias de agricultura vinculadas a las primeras ocupaciones neolíticas de Portugal. De hecho, la escasa conservación de restos carpológicos no ha facilitado conocer la realidad de las prácticas agrícolas en relación con las especies explotadas. En este contexto, han surgido dudas sobre el papel que esta actividad tenía entre las primeras comunidades agricultoras y pastoras. En este artículo hemos abordado el estudio de cinco asentamientos del Neolítico Antiguo con el objetivo de documentar la existencia o no de útiles tallados empleados como hoces. Los resultados confirman el uso de estos instrumentos durante este periodo y su similitud con los hallados en otros yacimientos peninsulares.