MIDDLE PALAEOLITHIC ARCHAEOLOGY OF THE ALMONDA KARSTIC SYSTEM

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Publications

New macaque remains from the Middle Pleistocene of Gruta da Aroeira (Almonda karst system, Portugal)

Publication . Alba, David M.; Daura, Joan; Sanz, Montserrat; Santos, Elena; Yagüe, Almudena S.; Delson, Eric; Zilhão, João

2019Journal article

Restricted access

Assessing site formation and assemblage integrity through stone tool refitting at Gruta da Oliveira (Almonda karst system, Torres Novas, Portugal): A Middle Paleolithic case study

Publication . Deschamps, Marianne; Zilhão, João

We use stone tool refitting to assess palimpsest formation and stratigraphic integrity in the basal units of the Gruta da Oliveira archeo-stratigraphic sequence, layers 15-27, which TL and U-series dating places in late Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 5 or early MIS 4. As in most karst contexts, the formation of this succession involved multiple and complex phenomena, including subsidence, bioturbation, carnivore activity and runoff as agents of potential post-depositional disturbance. During phases of stabilization, such as represented by layers 15, 21 and 22, the excavated area was inhabited and refits corroborate that post-depositional displacement is negligible. Layers 23-25 and 16-19 correspond to subdivisions that slice thick geological units primarily formed of material derived from the cave's entrance via slope dynamics. Refit links are consistent with rapid fill-up of the interstitial spaces found in the Karren-like bedrock (for layers 23-25), or left between large boulders after major roof-collapse events (for layers 16-19). Layers 26 (the "Mousterian Cone") and 27 are a "bottom-of-hourglass" deposit underlying the main sedimentary body; the refits show that this deposit consists of material derived from layers 15-25 that gravitated through fissures open in the sedimentary column above. Layer 20, at the interface between two major stratigraphic ensembles, requires additional analysis. Throughout, we found significant vertical dispersion along the contact between sedimentary fill and cave wall. Given these findings, a preliminary analysis of technological change across the studied sequence organized the lithic assemblages into five ensembles: layer 15; layers 16-19; layer 20; layers 21-22; layers 23-25. The lower ensembles show higher percentages of flint and of the Levallois method. Uniquely at the site, the two upper ensembles feature bifaces and cleavers.

2018Journal article

Open access

Raw material sourcing in the Middle Paleolithic site of Gruta da Oliveira (Central Limestone Massif, Estremadura, Portugal)

Publication . Matias, Henrique

The cave site of Gruta da Oliveira is located in the Almonda karst system, at the interface between the Central Limestone Massif of Portuguese Estremadura (CLM) and the adjacent Sedimentary Basin of the River Tagus (TSB). The cave presents a stratification dated to ~37-107 ka containing hearth features, Neanderthal skeletal remains, as well as fauna, microfauna and wood charcoal remains. The lithic assemblages are large and feature a diverse range of raw materials. Knappable lithic raw materials in primary, sub-primary and secondary position in the CLM and the TSB were systematically surveyed and sampled. The characterization of the geological samples was carried out at both the macro- and the microscopic scales and data were systematized under the petroarcheological and “evolutionary chain of silica” approaches. The study of the lithic assemblage from layer 14 (dated to the ~61-93 ka 95.4% probability interval by TL) indicates that the Gruta da Oliveira Neanderthals used quartzite, quartz and flint from sources located less than 30 km away in both the CLM and the TSB.

2016-09-15Journal article

Open access

New Evidence from Galeria da Cisterna (Almonda) and Gruta do Caldeirão on the Phasing of Central Portugal’s Early Neolithic

Publication . Zilhão, João

Funerary usage of Galeria da Cisterna (Almonda) and Gruta do Caldeirão began at the onset of the Neolithic and continued until Early Medieval times. At Cisterna, the thin Holocene deposit was unstratified; at Caldeirão, the stratigraphic sequence underwent post-depositional disturbance. Using radiocarbon dating, typological considerations, spatial distribution patterns, and physical anthropological data, these palimpsests can be disentangled to a significant extent. At both sites, the earliest depositions fall in the c. 5250–5500 cal BC interval and are associated with large numbers of beads. Wares extensively decorated with shell and comb impressions are likely to belong in this phase. Another style of decoration – shell impressions forming bands below the rim and garlands between prehension knobs – probably dates to a slightly later time. Burial continued at both sites through the c. 5000–5250 cal BC time range, but which decorative styles were then in fashion remains difficult to ascertain; it is likely that the irregular arrangements of shell impressions seen in some Cisterna vessels are among them. At Caldeirão, non-Cardial impressed and incised wares date to c. 4500–5000 cal BC, while undecorated wares are associated with human bone samples demonstrating two different periods of burial during the c. 3500–4000 cal BC interval. Most if not all of the nine Cardial individuals directly dated at the two sites died coevally with the more recent of the Mesolithic interments found in the shell-midden sites of the Tagus estuary.

2021Journal article

Open access

We will be known by the tracks we leave behind: Exotic lithic raw materials, mobility and social networking among the Côa Valley foragers (Portugal)

Publication . Aubry, Thierry; Luís, Luís; Mangado Llach, Javier; Matias, Henrique

The aim of this study is to establish different socio-cultural models based on lithic raw material sourcing integrated with regional rock art distributions to infer social behaviours within the context of central Iberian Upper Palaeolithic societies. Specifically, we focus on Upper Palaeolithic hunter–gatherer mobility and social interaction in the Côa Valley. This study relies on a knowledge of regional geology and field work to identify the sources of the lithic raw material found at Côa Valley Upper Palaeolithic sites. We expose the context of use and discard of flint, which is naturally absent from the region, and other local materials. From this, we present a GIS based analysis concerning space, time and least-cost paths travelled. This analysis, along with the environmental data available, forms a baseline to evaluate different anthropological models on hunter–gatherer lithic use, mobility, and social networks. We conclude with a three-level model for social interaction, in the context of aggregation activities between different social meta-groups, which involves embedded procurement, long-distance raw material exchange, and symbolic community, reflected in the largest known open-air Upper Palaeolithic rock art concentration.

2012-12Journal article

Open access