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Projeto de investigação
BACK TO SADO: A CASE STUDY BETWEEN LAST HUNTER-GATHERERS AND FIRST AGRO-PASTORALIST SOCIETIES IN SOUTHERN PORTUGAL
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Lithic materials in the Sado River’s shell middens: geological provenance and impact on site location
Publication . Pimentel, Nuno; Nukushina, Diana; Diniz, Mariana; Arias, Pablo
This work presents a geological approach to the characterization of lithic materials collected at the Mesolithic Sado River’s shell middens, located between Alcácer do Sal and São Romão do Sado, 80 km SE of Lisbon. These shell middens contain abundant lithic materials from different lithologies, including mainly Siliceous Slates, Chert, Jasper and Quartz. A first look at the geological map pointed to a provenance from the Paleozoic terrains located close to the Torrão area, c. 20 km E of the sites, or from the Quaternary terraces along the Sado River. However, regional geological field studies and the macroscopic analysis of both the raw and transformed lithic materials, led to a different conclusion–most, if not all, of the lithic materials may have been collected in Paleogene conglomerates covering the region between Torrão and Alcácer.
The comparison between the regional extension of these conglomerates and the distribution of the shell middens, points to “material availability” as a crucial factor for its location along the Sado River.
Analysis of Site Formation and Assemblage Integrity Does Not Support Attribution of the Uluzzian to Modern Humans at Grotta del Cavallo
Publication . Zilhão, João; Banks, William E.; d’Errico, Francesco; Gioia, Patrizia
Based on the morphology of two deciduous molars and radiocarbon ages from layers D and E of the Grotta del Cavallo (Lecce, Italy), assigned to the Uluzzian, it has been proposed that modern humans were the makers of this Early Upper Paleolithic culture and that this finding considerably weakens the case for an independent emergence of symbolism among western European Neandertals. Reappraisal of the new dating evidence, of the finds curated in the Taranto Antiquities depot, and of coeval publications detailing the site's 1963-66 excavations shows that (a) Protoaurignacian, Aurignacian and Early Epigravettian lithics exist in the assemblages from layers D and E, (b) even though it contains both inherited and intrusive items, the formation of layer D began during Protoaurignacian times, and (c) the composition of the extant Cavallo assemblages is influenced in a non-negligible manner by the post-hoc assignment of items to stratigraphic units distinct from that of original discovery. In addition, a major disturbance feature affected the 1960s excavation trench down to Mousterian layer F, this feature went unrecognized until 1964, the human remains assigned to the Uluzzian were discovered that year and/or the previous year, and there are contradictions between field reports and the primary anthropological description of the remains as to their morphology and level of provenience. Given these major contextual uncertainties, the Cavallo teeth cannot be used to establish the authorship of the Uluzzian. Since this technocomplex's start date is ca. 45,000 calendar years ago, a number of Neandertal fossils are dated to this period, and the oldest diagnostic European modern human fossil is the <41,400 year-old Oase 1 mandible, Neandertal authorship of the Uluzzian remains the parsimonious reading of the evidence.
Macrobotanical remains and shell-midden formation processes, are they related? The case of Poças de São Bento (Portugal)
Publication . López-Dóriga, Inés; Diniz, Mariana; Arias, Pablo
The analysis of plant macroremains from Poças de São Bento, a shell-midden in the Sado Valley (Portugal), has provided interesting insights into the shell-midden formation processes and the presence of resources which are often invisible^ in this kind of sites. Preservation and representationissues are discussed in a bidirectional way. Potential complementary explanations for the presence of such plant remains in hunter-gatherer open-air sites are offered. The understanding of plant exploitation patterns by these last huntergatherers in Portugal is crucial for the comprehension of the multifaceted phenomena of Neolithisations, in this case, characterised by a long availability phase and ultimate adoption of domesticates.
The microstratigraphic record of human activities and formation processes at the Mesolithic shell midden of Poças de São Bento (Sado Valley, Portugal)
Publication . Duarte, Carlos; Iriarte, Eneko; Diniz, Mariana; Arias, Pablo
Shell midden formation is largely controlled by an-thropogenic processes, resulting from human exploitation of aquatic resources. This makes shell middens archives of bothhuman behaviour and palaeoenvironmental records.However, their often complex stratigraphy hampers the isola-tion of individual anthropogenic events. In the central/ southern coast of Portugal, extensive inland estuaries were preferential settings for Mesolithic groups from c. 6200 calBC. Here, we present a microstratigraphic approach to theshell midden of Poças de São Bento, one of the largest and best-knownsitesintheSadoValley.Themicrofaciesapproachwas based on sedimentary components, their abundance andarrangement, and post-depositional processes. Anthropogenic processes identified as tossing events and anthropogenicallyreworked deposits allowed inferences on spatial organisation, preferential refuse areas, occupational surfaces, and temporal-ity of the occupations. The presence of calcareous pebbles inthe anthropogenic, shell-rich sediments, together with forami-nifera, presumably from the estuarine marshes, is compared with the regional geology, providing a hypothetical location of the shellfish gathering. The microstratigraphy described reveals a full internal dynamic in the formation of the apparently homogeneous shell midden layer. The human activities inferred at Poças de São Bento have many similarities with those reported for Cabeço da Amoreira in the nearby Tagus palaeo-estuary. This evidence points to the need for further micro-morphological approaches in similar deposits. The study of shell midden formation processes, through integrative microcontextual approaches, plays a major role in understanding Mesolithic societies in the large early Holocene estuary environments of Atlantic Iberia.
Caçadores-recolectores no vale do Sado, ambiente, recursos e tecnologia lítica: o caso de Arapouco (Alcácer do Sal)
Publication . Diniz, Mariana; Nukushina, Diana
No vale do Sado, Arapouco apresenta-se como um sítio-chave para discussão das modalidades de implantação e funcionamento do conjunto de concheiros do Mesolítico final, desta região. Perspectivas anteriores têm defendido o carácter especializado e temporário de Arapouco, no contexto deste complexo de concheiros, tratando-se do sítio mais a jusante até agora identificado e com maior abundância de restos de ictiofauna (ARNAUD 1989, 2000; GABRIEL 2010). A análise isotópica realizada sobre um esqueleto humano proveniente do concheiro de Arapouco demonstra a importância dos recursos marinhos, na dieta deste indivíduo (CUNHA & UMBELINO 2001). Não obstante, a cultura material deste sítio não foi alvo de estudo sistemático até à data, apesar da sua reconhecida importância para o conhecimento do povoamento e da paleo-economia pré-históricas. Neste sentido, a análise da indústria lítica de Arapouco afigurou-se como uma tarefa imperativa, apresentando-se aqui os primeiros resultados. Detectar na indústria lítica de Arapouco elementos específicos que conectem o sítio com a exploração especializada de recursos aquáticos constitui o objectivo central desta análise.
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Entidade financiadora
Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia
Programa de financiamento
3599-PPCDT
Número da atribuição
PTDC/HIS-ARQ/121592/2010