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The spatial patterning of Middle Palaeolithic human settlement in westernmost Iberia

Publication . Cascalheira, João; Gonçalves, Célia; Maio, Daniela

Currently available data on the Pleistocene human occupation of the westernmost territories of Iberia attest to the presence of Middle Palaeolithic industries from c. 240 ka cal bp until c. 37 ka cal bp. Previous studies focusing on this time frame have suggested that Middle Palaeolithic populations were highly mobile and predominately utilised locally available raw materials, with many cave and open-air sites being located near fluvial settings. Other than these observations, no specific studies have focused on exploring the factors influencing human site location choice during that time range. Employing statistical and GIS approaches, this paper provides an initial assessment of spatial patterning in human settlement during the Middle Palaeolithic of westernmost Iberia. Results show that site locations are biased towards lower elevations and riverine settings and suggest that distance to rivers might have impacted the diversity and specific types of lithic raw materials used at each site. These results help to shed light on the particularities of Neanderthal adaptations in a region regarded as a refugium during periods of unfavourable climate during the Middle Palaeolithic.

2021Journal article

Restricted

SPIN enables high throughput species identification of archaeological bone by proteomics

Publication . Rüther, Patrick Leopold; Husic, Immanuel Mirnes; Bangsgaard, Pernille; Gregersen, Kristian Murphy; Pantmann, Pernille; Carvalho, Milena; Godinho, Ricardo Miguel; Friedl, Lukas; Cascalheira, João; Taurozzi, Alberto John; Jørkov, Marie Louise Schjellerup; Benedetti, Michael; Haws, Jonathan; Bicho, Nuno; Welker, Frido; Cappellini, Enrico; Olsen, Jesper Velgaard

Species determination based on genetic evidence is an indispensable tool in archaeology, forensics, ecology, and food authentication. Most available analytical approaches involve compromises with regard to the number of detectable species, high cost due to low throughput, or a labor-intensive manual process. Here, we introduce “Species by Proteome INvestigation” (SPIN), a shotgun proteomics workflow for analyzing archaeological bone capable of querying over 150 mammalian species by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS). Rapid peptide chromatography and data-independent acquisition (DIA) with throughput of 200 samples per day reduce expensive MS time, whereas streamlined sample preparation and automated data interpretation save labor costs. We confirm the successful classification of known reference bones, including domestic species and great apes, beyond the taxonomic resolution of the conventional peptide mass fingerprinting (PMF)-based Zooarchaeology by Mass Spectrometry (ZooMS) method. In a blinded study of degraded Iron-Age material from Scandinavia, SPIN produces reproducible results between replicates, which are consistent with morphological analysis. Finally, we demonstrate the high throughput capabilities of the method in a high-degradation context by analyzing more than two hundred Middle and Upper Palaeolithic bones from Southern European sites with late Neanderthal occupation. While this initial study is focused on modern and archaeological mammalian bone, SPIN will be open and expandable to other biological tissues and taxa.

2022Journal article

Open Access

Mandibular morphology and the Mesolithic–Neolithic transition in Westernmost Iberia

Publication . Godinho, Ricardo Miguel; Umbelino, Cláudia; Valera, António Carlos; Carvalho, António; Bicho, Nuno; Cascalheira, João; Gonçalves, Célia; Smith, Patricia

Neolithic 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.

2023Journal article

Open Access