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- The “Ferradeira” individual burial of Herdade do Álamo (Beja): facets of social change in the late 3rd millennium BC in South PortugalPublication . Valera, António Carlos; do Pereiro, Tiago; Nogueira, Sofia; Evangelista, Lucy; Maurer, Anne-France; Barrocas Dias, Cristina; Ribeiro, Sara; Bottaini, CarloThe individual burial of the Herdade do Alamo, located in Beja municipality, South Portugal, is presented along with its bioanthropological study, radiocarbon dating and isotopic approaches on diet and mobility. The results show a male, with a terrestrial diet and youth mobility, dating from the last quarter of the 3rd millennium BC. The archaeometallurgical study of the metal votive assemblage (one tongue dagger and three Palmela points) indicates a copper metallurgy with high values of Arsenic (As), typical of this period of transition. The burial is contextualized in a process of individuation of the funerary practices and in the "Ferradeira Horizon", considered as a facet of the diversified funerary practices and of the complex social changes of the late 3rd millennium BC in the South of Portugal.
- A large-scale environmental strontium isotope baseline map of Portugal for archaeological and paleoecological provenance studiesPublication . James, Hannah F.; Adams, Shaun; Willmes, Malte; Mathison, Kate; Ulrichsen, Andrea; Wood, Rachel; Valera, António Carlos; Frieman, Catherine J.; Grün, RainerStrontium isotopes (Sr-87/Sr-86) provide valuable information to help reconstruct past mobility. For the analysis of archaeological tooth enamel to provide a direct assessment of mobility, a comparison to the baseline Sr-87/Sr-86 in a region is required. In this study, a large-scale Sr-87/Sr-86 baseline of Portugal is created based on 151 paired plant and soil leachate samples combined with previously published data (20 additional plant and 33 additional soil leachate sites). Spatial patterns of Sr-87/Sr-86 are evident, following Portugal's geology and terrain, with higher Sr-87/Sr-86 in the granite dominated north and further inland. Influences from sea spray are observed along the coastal regions of the country. The bioavailable strontium range for Portugal is 0.70575-0.73487, and paired plant-soil leachate site measurements show a strong positive relationship. Empirical Bayesian Kriging (EBK) alongside mean Sr-87/Sr-86 per geological unit are used to provide predictive surfaces for bioavailable Sr-87/Sr-86. We find that the addition of archaeological site-specific measurements is required in archaeological mobility studies to ensure local-scale Sr-87/Sr-86 variation is captured, illustrated in this study using the Late Middle Neolithic to Early Bronze Age site of Perdigoes. The bioavailable strontium isoscape for Portugal provides a baseline map for future archaeological and palaeoecological studies in this region and contributes to the global efforts to map strontium isotope variability.
- Mercury in archaeological human bone: biogenic or diagenetic?Publication . Emslie, Steven D.; Alderman, Audrey; McKenzie, Ashley; Brasso, Rebecka; Taylor, Alison R.; Molina Moreno, Maria; Cambra-Moo, Oscar; Gonzalez Martin, Armando; Silva, Ana Maria; Valera, António Carlos; Garcia Sanjuan, Leonardo; Vijande Vila, EduardoWe investigated mercury (Hg) in human bone from archaeological sites in the Iberian Peninsula where the cultural use of cinnabar (HgS) as a pigment, offering or preservative in burial practices has been documented from the 4th to 2nd millennia cal B.C. (Late Neolithic, Copper Age and Bronze Age). Previous analyses have shown high levels of total mercury (THg) in human bone at numerous Neolithic and Chalcolithic sites in this region, but the question remains if this mercury entered the bones via diagenetic processes in the soil, especially where cinnabar powder and paint was found associated with the burials, or if it entered the bone via biogenic pathways from exposure to mercury from using cinnabar in life. We analyzed the humerus, femur, and tibia from a total of 30 individual burials from four Neolithic to Bronze Age sites in Iberia and found low to high values of THg in these bones, with the humerus showing significantly more THg concentrations than other skeletal elements when the THg was greater than 1 ppm. This pattern of Hg deposition in skeletal material from different sites and ages strongly suggests a biogenic origin for the mercury. In addition, absence of detectable Hg in bones with high to low values of THg using SEM EDS analysis further discounts diagenetic intrusion of Hg or cinnabar particles into the bone from the soil. It is likely that greater stress and bone remodeling rates from use of heavy tools and other activities in life are responsible for higher THg in the humerus than other skeletal elements, but additional research is needed to verify this.
- The preburning condition of Chalcolithic cremated human remains from the Perdigoes enclosures (Portugal)Publication . Godinho, Ricardo Miguel; Goncalves, David; Carlos Valera, AntónioThe Iberian Chalcolithic displayed a remarkable variety of funerary practices, which has been related to interpopulation differences, intrapopulation social-cultural differences, and complex multistage funerary rituals. Perdigoes, a Chalcolithic set of ditched enclosures, reflects such diversity including a wide array of funerary practices. Among those practices is cremation, which, despite relatively rare, is represented in different structures in Perdigoes. One of these structures (Pit 40) presents an unparalleled high minimum number of individuals (n = 240), contrasting with nearby and coeval structures. In this study, we analyse heat-induced bone changes and other archaeothanatological variables to tentatively assess the preburning condition of the human remains. The results of Pit 40 are also compared with other comparable contexts to assess if this unique context presents further funerary differences relative to those other contexts in, for example, body processing. Our results suggest preferential cremation of fleshed human remains, but burning of at least a minority of skeletonised remains and deposition of possibly unburned remains also likely occurred. Body processing appears to be comparable with that of the cremation contexts of Perdigoes but contrasts with that of another nearby context (Dolmen of Olival da Pega 2b) in which burned bones were also found.
- Fingerprinting ceramics from the chalcolithic Santa Vitória Enclosure (SW Iberia)Publication . Marques, Rosa; Rodrigues, Ana Luisa; Russo, Dulce; Gméling, Katalin; Valera, António Carlos; Dias, Maria I.; Prudêncio, Maria I.; Basílio, Ana Catarina; Fernandes, Paula G.; Ruiz, FranciscoThe Santa Vitória Chalcolithic site (southern Portugal) prompts several questions related to the provenance and production technology of artefacts. Archaeological ceramics from two sections of Ditch 1 of the Santa Vitória site were studied by neutron activation analysis and X-ray diffraction for the first time, with the main goal of contributing to the contextualization of the artefacts and better understanding their production processes/technologies and the provenance of raw materials. The results point to a local production of ceramics, since their mineral phases reflect the geological contexts around the archaeological site. The mineralogical assemblage indicates a firing temperature below 850 ◦C. Iron is the better discriminator of ceramics from both sections, which could be related to the addition of different proportions of temper grains during the ceramics’ production. Although trace elements do not serve as discriminating geochemical indicators for the analyzed samples, they do imply a slightly higher heterogeneity in the composition of the ceramic paste from section 2. The negative Eu anomaly found in two samples is in accordance with the lower contents of Na2O, related to plagioclase weathering. Detailed studies on ceramics and potential raw materials are foreseen to assist in discussing the role of this Chalcolithic archaeological site at a regional level.
- A case of human bone chalcolithic technology from the perdigoes site (Alentejo, Portugal)Publication . Cunha, C.; Almeida, N. J.; Santander, B.; Tomé, T.; Saladié, P.; Valera, António Carlos; Cabaco, N.; Silva, A. M.A human femur diaphysis in the form of a burin was excavated from a secondary burial context containing osteological remains and industry in the Archaeological Complex of Perdigoes (Portugal). The majority of these evidences are thermo- altered and highly fragmented. Radiocarbon dates for this context place it in the middle 3rd millennium BC. Typological analyses indicate that the human femur fragment is a burin, and use- wear comparisons suggest that it was used to drill hide. Copyright (C) 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
- The embodiment of craft production in Bronze Age Portugal: exceptional dental wear grooves in an individual from Monte do Vale do Ouro 2 (Ferreira do Alentejo, Portugal)Publication . Willman, John Charles; Valera, António Carlos; Silva, Ana MariaTwo human lateral mandibular incisors exhibiting exceptional dental wear in the form of lingual surface grooves along the cementoenamel junction were recovered from the superficial levels of a pit grave attributed to the Bronze Age at the archaeological site of Monte do Vale do Ouro 2 (Ferreira do Alentejo, Beja, Portugal). Although a number of analyses of dental wear features acknowledge the relatively common use of the dentition for nondietary purposes (using the 'teeth as tools') during the Early/Middle Bronze Age (2200-1200 BC) of southwest Iberia, the form of dental wear documented at Monte do Vale do Ouro 2 is not only a novel finding in this region but also has seldom been described in any bioarchaeological context. the present study provides a macroscopic and low-magnification description of the atypical dental wear for this individual. Results indicate that the incisors are likely antimeres. In addition to the deep lingual grooves, asymmetrical wear removed a substantial portion of the laterolingual crown volume of each tooth. Occlusal and lingual surface wear accumulated slowly enough for tertiary dentin to form. An occlusal groove is also present on the right I-2. A review of ethnohistoric and bioarchaeological literature suggests that some form of craft production involving the manipulation of cordage or fibre with the mouth and teeth can account for the unique wear patterns from Monte do Vale do Ouro 2. the hand-spinning of flax requires wetting which can be accomplished by passing flax fibres through the mouth in a mediolateral direction while using a hand spindle. Similar habitual behaviours were probably practiced by the Bronze Age individual from Monte do Vale do Ouro 2. the wear grooves represent the embodiment of aspects of craft production and maintenance activities that occurred during this individual's lifecourse.
- 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.
- Faunal remains associated with human cremations: The chalcolithic pits 16 and 40 from the Perdigões ditched enclosures (Reguengos de Monsaraz, Portugal)Publication . Almeida, Nelson J.; Carlos Valera, AntónioDifferent funerary behaviors are recorded in the Iberian Peninsula during Late Prehistory. Cremation is not the most common practice and the association between human cremains and fauna is even scarcer. We present two Chalcolithic pits (pits 16 and 40) from the Perdigoes ditched enclosures, Reguengos de Monsaraz, Portugal. Humans were accompanied by animals and other votive materials such as arrowheads, ivory anthropomorphic figurines, and marble idols. Differences between the two contexts are discussed regarding the selection of faunal anatomical parts, the abundance of species, and the manipulation of remains. The results obtained were compared to previously published data from anthropological analysis. Burning damage intensity is different among pits and between humans and fauna. Hence, this suggests that the latter also resulted from diverse practices, including the possible selection of animal body portions for cremation and/or the deposition of selected burned bones or even related to patterns existing in the contexts of the provenance of the cremated materials before the cremation events.
- A multidisciplinary study of Iberian Chalcolithic dogsPublication . Blaschikoff, Ludmilla; Daza-Perea, Arantxa; Requicha, João; Detry, Cleia; Rasteiro, Rita; Guimarães, Sílvia; Ureña, Irene; Serra, Octávio; Schmidt, Ryan; Valera, António Carlos; Almeida, Nelson J.; Porfírio, Eduardo; Santos, Ana Beatriz; Delicado, Cátia; Simões, Fernanda; Matos, José António; Amorim, Isabel Rosário; Petrucci-Fonseca, Francisco; Davis, Simon J.M.; Muñoz-Mérida, Antonio; Götherström, Anders; Fernández-Rodríguez, Carlos; Cardoso, João Luis; Ginja, Catarina; Pires, Ana ElisabeteDomesticated dogs have been present in the Iberian Peninsula long before other domesticated species, back to the late Palaeolithic period. Their origin is still uncertain, but dogs were already well established during the Chalcolithic period (ca. 5000-4000 BP). This study employed a multidisciplinary approach comprising osteometric, radiographic and palaeogenomic analyses to characterize Chalcolithic Iberian Canis remains. Two Chalcolithic archaeological sites - Leceia, Oeiras, in Portugal, and El Caset ' on de la Era, Villalba de los Alcores, Valladolid, in Spain - were the main focus of this study. Osteometric and odontometric data from eleven other sites in Iberia were also included. Osteometric results show signs of phenotypic variability, likely the result of human-driven selective pressure. Dental radiographic and dental wear analyses allowed age at death estimation for four individuals (two juvenile and two adults). Three Chalcolithic Iberian dogs had their mitogenomes resequenced and the mitochondrial DNA analysis allowed to assign each individual to two of the major known haplogroups - A and C. Molecular sex infered by the chromosomeX/chromosome1 coverage ratio allowed to identify one female and two males. This study unveils some aspects of the Iberian Chalcolithic dogs: these dogs already exhibited various morphotypes whose profiles might be associated to the performance of certain tasks, as well as mitogenomes of two distinct lineages that help tracking the evolutionary paths of Iberian dogs.