Loading...
12 results
Search Results
Now showing 1 - 10 of 12
- 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 Here we present ancient mtDNA evidence (mostly unpublished) to fill the gap and discuss the pattern of "genetic resurgence" of huntergatherer (Mesolithic) ancestry, widely reported elsewhere in Europe, among the first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.
- Distribution and consumption of fluorite and translucent beads in the Iberian peninsula from 6th to 2nd millennia BCPublication . Garrido-Cordero, José Ángel; Odriozola, Carlos P.; Sousa, Ana C.; Gonçalves, Victor S.; Cardoso, João LuísTranslucent minerals were valued in prehistoric societies for their rarity and socially used as highly symbolic elements. This work addresses the use and nature of Iberian translucent beads. We present the results of chemical (Raman spectroscopy, portable X-ray fluorescence, X-ray diffraction and visible (Vis)/near-infrared (NIR) spectroscopy) and contextual analyses and provide a review of the archaeological literature on the manufacture and use of translucent items during Iberian Late Prehistory. A total of 54 translucent beads from 47 sites, primarily burials, were analyzed; 33 were made from fluorite, while the remaining 21 were made of diverse translucent minerals (calcite, quartz and different silicates). The scarcity of translucent items in the archaeological record, the regional and supraregional scale of its exchange, and its recursive association to other valuables in singular contexts reinforces the idea that their owners/wearers enjoyed a high status.
- The Bom Santo Cave (Lisbon, Portugal): catchment, diet, and patterns of mobility of a Middle Neolithic populationPublication . Carvalho, António Faustino; Alves-Cardoso, Francisca; Gonçalves, David; Granja, Raquel; Cardoso, João Luís; Dean, Rebecca M.; Francisco Gibaja, Juan; Masucci, Maria A.; Arroyo-Pardo, Eduardo; Fernández-Domínguez, Eva; Petchey, Fiona; Price, T. Douglas; Mateus, José Eduardo; Queiroz, Paula Fernanda; Callapez, Pedro; Pimenta, Carlos; Regala, Frederico T.The study of the Bom Santo Cave (central Portugal), a Neolithic cemetery, indicates a complex social, palaeoeconomic, and population scenario. With isotope, aDNA, and provenance, analyses of raw materials coupled with stylistic variability of material culture items and palaeogeographical data, light is shed on the territory and social organization of a population dated to 3800-3400 cal BC, i.e. the Middle Neolithic. Results indicate an itinerant farming, segmentary society, where exogamic practices were the norm. Its lifeway may be that of the earliest megalithic builders of the region, but further research is needed to correctly evaluate the degree of this community's participation in such a phenomenon.
- 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.
- A necrópole de cistas da Idade do Bronze das Soalheironas (Alcoutim). Primeira notícia dos trabalhos realizados e dos resultados obtidosPublication . Cardoso, João Luís; Gradim, AlexandraA identificação da necrópole da Idade do Bronze de Soalheironas, pertencente à freguesia e concelho de Alcoutim, deve-se a Helena Catarino, que, no entanto, se limita a apresentar a sua localização cartográfica, e a indicar-lhe o nome, “Cerro das Soalheironas”, sem qualquer outro elemento (Catarino, 1997/1998, 3: 1222-1223). As coordenadas do sítio, na Carta Militar de Portugal à escala de 1/25 000 (folha 567, edição de 1991), são as seguintes: 7° 30’ 00’’ Long. W; 37° 30’ 34’’ Lat. N. A necrópole possui uma implantação no terreno claramente determinada pela sua topografia: com efeito, foi evidente a selecção de uma crista rochosa, estreita e alongada, com a altitude culminante de 133 m, constituída por alternâncias rítmicas de xistos e grauvaques do Carbonífero superior (fácies “flysh”) ao longo da qual se implantou a necrópole, ocupando uma extensão superior a 100 m (Figs. 1, 2). O local dista cerca de 3 km para Oeste, em linha recta, do Guadiana, situando-se no limite da linha de relevos que bordeja o topo da encosta direita em que o rio se encontra entalhado, sendo profundamente recortada por vales de numerosos tributários laterais.
- The genomic history and global expansion of domestic donkeysPublication . Todd, Evelyn T.; Tonasso-Calvière, Laure; Chauvey, Loreleï; Schiavinato, Stéphanie; Fages, Antoine; Seguin-Orlando, Andaine; Clavel, Pierre; Khan, Naveed; Pérez Pardal, Lucía; Patterson Rosa, Laura; Librado, Pablo; Ringbauer, Harald; Verdugo, Marta; Southon, John; Aury, Jean-Marc; Perdereau, Aude; Vila, Emmanuelle; Marzullo, Matilde; Prato, Ornella; Tecchiati, Umberto; Bagnasco Gianni, Giovanna; Tagliacozzo, Antonio; Tinè, Vincenzo; Alhaique, Francesca; Luis Cardoso, João; Valente, Maria João; Telles Antunes, Miguel; Frantz, Laurent; Shapiro, Beth; Bradley, Daniel G.; Boulbes, Nicolas; Gardeisen, Armelle; Horwitz, Liora Kolska; Öztan, Aliye; Arbuckle, Benjamin S.; Onar, Vedat; Clavel, Benoît; Lepetz, Sébastien; Vahdati, Ali Akbar; Davoudi, Hossein; Mohaseb, Azadeh; Mashkour, Marjan; Bouchez, Olivier; Donnadieu, Cécile; Wincker, Patrick; Brooks, Samantha A.; Beja-Pereira, Albano; Wu, Dong-Dong; Orlando, LudovicDonkeys transformed human history as essential beasts of burden for long-distance movement, especially across semi-arid and upland environments. They remain insufficiently studied despite globally expanding and providing key support to low- to middle-income communities. To elucidate their domestication history, we constructed a comprehensive genome panel of 207 modern and 31 ancient donkeys, as well as 15 wild equids. We found a strong phylogeographic structure in modern donkeys that supports a single domestication in Africa similar to 5000 BCE, followed by further expansions in this continent and Eurasia and ultimately returning to Africa. We uncover a previously unknown genetic lineage in the Levant similar to 200 BCE, which contributed increasing ancestry toward Asia. Donkey management involved inbreeding and the production of giant bloodlines at a time when mules were essential to the Roman economy and military.
- A tholos do cerro do Malhanito (Alcoutim). Resultados das escavações arqueológicas efectuadasPublication . Cardoso, João Luís; Gradim, AlexandraA tholos do Cerro do Malhanito, perto do lugar do Monte da Estrada, da Freguesia de Martinlongo, concelho de Alcoutim, foi identificada por um de nós (A. G.), no decurso do acompanhamento de acções de repovoamento florestal, constando do respectivo Relatório apresentado ao Instituto Português de Arqueologia com o número de inventário A-225 (Gradim, 1999). Possui as seguintes coordenadas: 37° 23’ 21’’ lat. N; 7° 51’ 49’’ long. W. Sobre os resultados das escavações deste importante monumento calcolítico, publicaram- se já dois trabalhos: o primeiro, destinou-se a dar a conhecer os principais resultados obtidos, incidindo especialmente sobre a arquitectura do sepulcro e considerações genéricas sobre a natureza de pelo menos uma inumação nele realizada, no Bronze Final / I Idade do Ferro, apresentado em 2003 ao 2.º Encontro de Arqueologia do Algarve. (Cardoso & Gradim, 2005). Este último aspecto, incluindo a publicação do espólio cerâmico que àquela ou àquelas pôde ser reportado, foi desenvolvido em estudo próprio, publicado por um de nós (J. L. C.) no volume de homenagem ao Professor Jorge de Alarcão (Cardoso, 2004). Faltava, no entanto, publicar o espólio calcolítico exumado, ainda totalmente inédito, bem como concluir a publicação dos materiais relacionados com a ocupação mais moderna do monumento. O presente trabalho destina-se a satisfazer aquele objectivo, apresentando e actualizando a discussão e as conclusões de tudo quanto até agora dele se publicou.
- Conociendo las foicinhas líticas del poblado prehistórico de Leceia (Oeiras, Portugal)Publication . Cardoso, João Luis; Gibaja, Juan F.Bifacial tools made of flint are some of the most representative elements of the Late Neolithic-Chalcolithic in much of the western Iberia. In Portugal these pieces, traditionally called foicinhas, are currently known as "foliaceous blades". Many sites of this period are fortified settlements, Leceia being one of the best-known examples. Surprisingly, in spite of their abundance the lithic instruments in general, and foliaceous blades in particular, in sites of this period have not been studied in detail. Here we address the raw material, technology, morphology, and function of these tools. This allows us to evaluate the supply areas, the possible social relations established with other groups (based on the origin of certain types of flint), the technological capacity of the inhabitants of Leceia, and the function of some of these blades.
- The Early Neolithic settlement of Carrascal (Oeiras, Portugal)Publication . Cardoso, João LuisThe Early Neolithic site of Carrascal is located on a soft slope of the valley of Barcarena (municipality of Oeiras, district of Lisbon), about 3 km from the northern margin of the Tagus estuary, and in the vicinity of a paleo-estuary located downhill and supplying an abundant collector activity, namely of oysters (Ostrea edulis). The abundance of cores and flakes recovered and the occurrence of silex in the cretaceous recifal limestones that exist around the site, is compatible with the inference of an important workshop; likewise, the production of polished stone artefacts made essentially with rocks of local origin has been proven; and, in the register of ceramic productions, with decorations typical of the Early Neolithic – incised and printed – large vessels occur, for the storage of various products, such as cereals. In effect, a manual millstone was collected, still in its original position. The faunal remains are rich and diversified, with the following taxa present: Bos primigenius; Bos taurus; Sus sp. and Ovis aries, showing the abundance of domestic animals as well as wild game. Finally, domestic structures are represented essentially by two cuvettes, excavated in the geological substrate, filled with basalt blocks collected in the vicinity, corresponding to fireplaces. Together, the abundance and diversity of the remains found indicates a perennial establishment corresponding to an important occupation dating to the last quarter of the 6th millennium BC, according to the six radiocarbon dates performed on faunal remains.
- A anta de Monte Serves (Vialonga, Vila Franca de Xira, Lisboa): arquitectura, cronologia e integração sócio‑cultural de um pequeno sepulcro megalíticoPublication . Andrade, Marco António; Cardoso, João Luis; Mataloto, Rui; Moita, Patrícia; Pereira, André; Pimenta, JoãoThe dolmen of Monte Serves, located in Vila Franca de Xira (Lisbon peninsula), corresponds to a small megalithic tomb with a trapezoidal plan built using limestone slabs. It was identified in 1972 by Octávio da Veiga Ferreira, being excavated that same year under the direction of Christopher Thomas North. In 2014, within the scope of the project MEGAGEO – Moving Megaliths in the Neolithic, this monument was the subject of new archaeological works, directed by Rui Boaventura and João Luís Cardoso, intending to define its specific architecture and the respective construction sequences, mainly regarding the Tumulus and the Atrium areas. Despite the practical absence of votive materials, it was possible to collect human osteological samples, thus allowing to perform radiocarbon dating – whose average result places at least one use episode of this tomb (not necessarily its first) in the transition from the first to the second quarter of the 3rd millennium BCE (median probability: 2706 cal BCE 2σ; mean: 2715 cal BCE 2σ). Indeed, this result differs greatly from the chronological framework established for this type of small tombs in Southwestern Iberia (mid‑4th millennium BCE), but is close to the chronology (relative and absolute) documented in the contiguous funerary contexts of Casal do Penedo and Verdelha dos Ruivos, as well as in the settlements of Moita da Ladra and Pedreira do Casal do Penedo, culturally included in the typical Chalcolithic of Portuguese Estremadura. This paper thus intends to present the results obtained with the excavation of this small tomb, in terms of its architecture and chronology, framing it within the socio‑cultural dynamics documented in Lower Extremadura during the Neolithic and Chalcolithic, mainly regarding the origin and development of the megalithic phenomenon.