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- Resilience, replacement and acculturation in the Mesolithic/Neolithic transition: The case of Muge, central PortugalPublication . Bicho, Nuno; Cascalheira, João; Gonçalves, Célia; Umbelino, Cláudia; García-Rivero, Daniel; André, LinoEvidence for the first Neolithic population in central Portugal dates to as early as c. 7600 cal BP. These first farmers were exogenous groups arriving to the Atlantic coast from the Mediterranean Sea. For a few centuries there seems to have occurred an overlap in the region between the Mesolithic Muge huntergatherers and the regional early Neolithic populations. While the trajectory of these first farmers seems to be well established, the fate of the Mesolithic populations is unknown and in generally assumed as resulting in extinction. The recent results from research in the Muge Mesolithic shellmounds (Tagus valley) with the new recovery of various loci with Neolithic occupations including human burials, human DNA, and Strontium analyses seem to indicate evidence of cultural and genetic integration between the Mesolithic and Neolithic populations. This paper will focus on the Mesolithic-Neolithic transition in Portuguese Estremadura and examines the hypothesis that human resilience promoted the cultural and biological integration of the Mesolithic groups into the new exogenous Neolithic communities in central Portugal. (C) 2016 Elsevier Ltd and INQUA. All rights reserved.
- Perforation techniques and traces of use on the Mesolithic adornments of the Trench Area at Cabeco da Amoreira Shellmidden (Muge, central Portugal)Publication . André, Lino; Bicho, Nuno Gonçalo Viana Pereira FerreiraThe opening of a new excavation area, in 2010, at the Mesolithic shell mound of Cabeco da Amoreira (Muge, central Portugal), known as Trench, uncovered a set of personal adornments made of gastropod shells (Theodoxus fluviatilis and Trivia arctica/monacha), a cervid tooth and a clay ring fragment. This paper reports the provenance, the description of the objects, their distribution in the archaeological context, the techno-typological analysis of the perforations and the presence of traces regarding their use as adornments. The perforation analysis was made by comparison to experimental actions performed on sets from other archaeological contexts, but with similar characteristics regarding the taxa and tools that were used to perform these actions. (C) 2016 Academie des sciences. Published by Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.
- Portable art and personal ornaments from Txina-Txina: a new later stone age site in the Limpopo River Valley, southern MozambiquePublication . Bicho, Nuno Gonçalo Viana Pereira Ferreira; Cascalheira, João; André, Lino; Haws, Jonathan; Gomes, Ana; Gonçalves, Célia; Raja, Mussa; Benedetti, Michael M.This paper reports on preliminary fieldwork at the Later Stone Age site of Txina-Txina in Mozambique. Excavation yielded a long stratigraphic sequence, a large lithic assemblage, a unique decorated gastropod shell fragment and two ostrich eggshell beadsthe first of their type recovered from a Stone Age context in Mozambique.
- The non-adult burials of cabeço da amoreira, muge (Portugal): recent discoveries and new insights into mesolithic funerary practicesPublication . Coutinho-Nogueira, Dany; Godinho, Ricardo Miguel; Gaspar, Rosa Ramos; Andre, Lino; Bicho, Nuno; Cascalheira, João; Gonçalves, Célia; Umbelino, CláudiaCabeço da Amoreira, a key Mesolithic shell mound in the Muge region (central Portugal) provides critical insights into the funerary and socio-cultural practices of Western Europe’s last hunter-gatherer-fisher populations. Recent systematic excavations have provided new data into biological diversity and funerary practices, particularly in relation to non-adult individuals. This study focuses on three non-adult burials uncovered since 2019. By employing state-of-the-art imaging techniques, we digitally recorded, virtually excavated, and analysed the biological profiles of these individuals. Our results demonstrate a notable variability in funerary practices, including differences in burial orientation, the presence or absence of artefacts, and even the construction of a purposeful burial feature for one individual. These discoveries contribute significantly to the growing body of research on Mesolithic funerary traditions, illustrating the complexity of social and ritual behaviours in southwestern Iberia’s last hunter-gatherer-fisher societies and opening new avenues for comparative research on childhood and burial practices in prehistory.