História, Arqueologia e Património | Artigos em revistas internacionais / Papers in international journals
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- The necropolis of the Verdelha dos Ruivos Cave and the genesis of the Bell Beaker complex in Portuguese EstremaduraPublication . Cardoso, João Luís; Nicolis, Franco; Kulcsár, Gabriella; Heyd, VolkerThe Verdelha dos Ruivos Cave, located some 20 km NNE of Lisbon, is the only necropolis of the Bell Beaker Complex identified so far in Portugal in which it was possible to isolate individual burials and reconstruct the original position of the corpses. The cave was discovered in 1973, during the inspection of a Cretaceous limestone quarry. The exploitation of the quarry face sectioned the cavity, leaving only its distal part. The archaeological excavation was carried out by a team from the former Geological Services of Portugal, led by O. da Veiga Ferreira. The team included a medical doctor, which constituted an obvious added value for characterising the composition of the population and defining inhumation practices. All that remained of the original natural cavity was a small crypt, whose brown infill contrasted with the colour of the limestone; this was a hardened carbonate breccia, with abundant limestone blocks and containing archaeological remains. The hardness of this consolidated infill made it difficult to carry out the excavation, which began in October 1973 and ended only in May 1974. Four main levels were identified, consisting of successive individual tombs in lateral decubitus, on the left or right side, with the body coiled up in a foetal position. It was possible to identify the position of 11 graves, sometimes covered by small limestone slabs; the most fragile anatomical segments were missing. The archaeological remains included several artefacts, which were not very abundant, but showed a clear diversity, including all the objects deemed characteristic of the Bell Beaker Complex: sperm-whale tooth buttons, gold spirals, a Palmela point, idols and ceramics. All the decorated ceramics correspond to Beaker types, which leads to the conclusion that the funerary use of this cave should be exclusively attributed to a community belonging to the Bell Beaker Complex. Radiocarbon datings obtained support the beginning of this necropolis at ca. 2700 BC, extending into the second half of the 3rd millennium BC. These results are consistent with the remarkable antiquity of the emergence of the Bell Beaker Complex in the Tagus estuary region, as demonstrated by the results obtained at the prehistoric settlement of Leceia, located approximately 40 km to the SW, a fact that will also be enhanced and discussed in this paper.
- The genomic history of Iberian horses since the last Ice AgePublication . Garrido, Jaime Lira; Tressières, Gaétan; Chauvey, Lorelei; Schiavinato, Stéphanie; Calvière-Tonasso, Laure; Seguin-Orlando, Andaine; Southon, John; Shapiro, Beth; Bataille, Clément; Birgel, Julie; Wagner, Stefanie; Khan, Naveed; Liu, Xuexue; Rodanés, José María; Millán, Jesús V. Picazo; Giralt, Josep; Alonso, Natàlia; Aguilera, Isidro; Orsingher, Adriano; Trentacoste, Angela; Payà, Xavier; Morán, Marta; Eres, María Pilar Iborra; Albizuri, Silvia; Lamas, Silvia Valenzuela; Santandreu, Imma Mestres; Caixal, Montserrat Duran; Principal, Jordi; Huguet, Jordi Farré; Esteve, Xavier; Pasqual, Mireia Pedro; Sala, Nohemi; Pablos, Adrián; Martín, Patricia; Vergès, Josep Maria; Portero, Rodrigo; Arias, Pablo; Peredo, Roberto Ontañón; Detry, Cleia; Luís, Cristina; Cardoso, João Luís; Maeir, Aren M.; Valente, Maria J.; Grau, Elena; Poles, Vicent Estall i; Llorens, Joaquín Alfonso; González, Ana Miguélez; Gardeisen, Armelle; Cupitò, Michele; Tecchiati, Umberto; Bradley, Daniel G.; Horwitz, Liora Kolska; González, Esther Rodríguez; Espinet, Ariadna Nieto; Bover, Pere; Entrecanales, Rosa Ruiz; Estallo, Ignasi Garcés; Fragoso, Joaquín Jiménez; Celestino, Sebastián; Orlando, LudovicHorses have inhabited Iberia (present-day Spain and Portugal) since the Middle Pleistocene, shaping a complex history in the region. Iberia has been proposed as a potential domestication centre and is renowned for producing world-class bloodlines. Here, we generate genome-wide sequence data from 87 ancient horse specimens (median coverage = 0.97X) from Iberia and the broader Mediterranean to reconstruct their genetic history over the last ~26,000 years. Here, we report that wild horses of the divergent IBE lineage inhabited Iberia from the Late Pleistocene, while domesticated DOM2 horses, native from the Pontic-Caspian steppes, already arrived ~1850 BCE. Admixture dating suggests breeding practices involving continued wild restocking until at least ~350 BCE, with IBE disappearing shortly after. Patterns of genetic affinity highlight the far-reaching influence of Iberian bloodlines across Europe and north Africa during the Iron Age and Antiquity, with continued impact extending thereafter, particularly during the colonization of the Americas.
- Multi-purpose fossils? The reappraisal of an Elephas antiquus molar from El Pirulejo (Magdalenian; Córdoba, Spain)Publication . Cortés-Sánchez, Miguel; Morales-Muñiz, Arturo; Jiménez-Espejo, Francisco; Évora, Marina; Simón-Vallejo, Maria Dolores; García-Alix, Antonio; Martínez Aguirre, Aránzazu; Riquelme-Cantal, José Antonio; Odriozola, Carlos P.; Parrilla Giraldez, Rubén; Álvarez-Lao, Diego J.Fossil gathering by humans has been rarely documented in the Iberian Peninsula. In the present paper, a multidisciplinary approach has been taken to analyze a straight-tusked elephant (Elephas antiquus) molar retrieved in a Magdalenian deposit at the rock shelter of El Pirulejo in southern Spain. The taphonomical analyses revealed a multifarious use of a tooth that had not only been worked into an anvil-sort-of-tool but also used as a core and partly tainted with a composite pigment. The dating and geochemical analyses further evidenced that the molar derived from an animal that had lived in a rather arid landscape with a temperature range between 12.3 and 14.3 °C, coincident with a cold episode within marine isotope stage (MIS) 6.6, and probably fed on herbaceous plants. These analyses evidence the potential fossils from archaeological sites bear for addressing a wide range of issues that include both the cultural and paleoenvironmental realms.
- Osseous industry and exploitation of animal resources in Southern Iberia during the Upper PalaeolithicPublication . Évora, Marina; Haws, Jonathan; Bicho, NunoDuring the Upper Palaeolithic, several climatic events were recorded in some archaeological sites in the Southern Iberian Peninsula. The aim is to focus on the relations between those phenomena and the mammal species hunted by hunter-gatherers groups, and whose bones were used, along with lithics, as raw material for manufacturing their bone toolkits. Hunter-gatherers seemed to have had a preference on hunting ungulates species that are gregarious such as red deer and goat, one of the characteristics of the faunal assemblages from the archaeological sites located near the coastal zones, including Vale Boi and Cendres in Southern Iberia. Regarding their toolkits, there was a preference in choosing mammal bone for the manufacture of their hunting and fishing equipment, as well as other utensils of daily life, during the Gravettian and Solutrean. Hunter-gatherers were preferably hunting juvenile and female red deer that do not have antlers. The opposite occurred during the Magdalenian, where red deer antler was used much more as a raw material. The Final Magdalenian and Epimagdalenian saw a decrease in the quantities of osseous artefacts and even a total absence of harpoons in Southern Iberian archaeological assemblages.
- Species identification of osseousmuseum artefacts through peptide mass fingerprinting illustrated by a study on objects from Neolithic to Iron Age ArmeniaPublication . Antonosyan, Mariya; Mkrtchyan, Satenik; Amano, Noel; Davtyan, Ruben; Yeranyan, Nzhdeh; Badalyan, Mikayel; Poghosyan, Svetlana; Telunts, Anahit; Stepanyan, Karine; Amiryan, Mariam; Zakyan, Tigran; Eloshvili, Mariami; Zarikian, Noushig; Adigyozalyan, Ani; Gyonjyan, Andranik; Simonyan, Hasmik; Sargsyan, Vahe; Saribekyan, Mariam; Hovhannisyan, Anahit; Simonyan, Hakob; Martirosyan-Olshansky, Kristine; Piliposyan, Ashot; Khachatryan, Zaruhi; Évora, Marina; Paladugu, Roshan; Bobokhyan, Arsen; Roberts, Patrick; Yepiskoposyan, LevonIdentifying animal species used in osseous industry production is crucial for reconstructing humananimal interactions in ancient societies. However, bone artefact manufacture often involves intensive modifications to raw materials that hamper taxonomic identifications. Here, for the first time in central Eurasia, we taxonomically assess bone objects stored in museum collections, recovered from Late Neolithic to Iron Age contexts in Armenia, using a minimally invasive peptide mass fingerprinting technique, also known as Zooarchaeology by Mass Spectrometry (ZooMS). Our pilot study shows remarkable collagen preservation in the bone artefacts, demonstrating the rich potential of ZooMS for examining legacy collections. The successful ZooMS screening provided taxonomic identification for 86% of the artefacts, offering insights into species selection for bone manufacturing, as well as broader socioeconomic developments and interregional links. Our study underscores the utility of minimally invasive proteomic techniques, enabling the preservation of cultural and historical artefacts while addressing limitations of studying museum collections.
- IntroduzionePublication . Alessandrini, Nunziatella; Avelar, Ana Paula; Sabatini, Gaetano; Russo, Mariagrazia; Russo
- A imagem de Magalhães pelas vozes de António Pigafetta e Giovan Battista RamusioPublication . Avelar, Ana PaulaTendo como nódulo analítico a compilação de viagens, Delle Navigationiet Viaggid e Giovan Battista Ramusio, analisa- se como, no século XVI, se construiu uma imagem de Fernão de Magalhães e da sua viagem de 1519 às “Índias”. Aplicando instrumentos hermenêuticos usados pelos “Encounter studies“ e conceitos como tradução cultural desoculta-se, a partir da descrição da viagem magalhânica de Antonio Pigafetta, e da sua incorporação numa colectânea de textos, o perfil de um comandante. Nesta análise expõe-se como Pigafetta transmite as acções que testemunhou e com o seu olhar se transfigura quando as suas palavras são incorporadas numa compilação de viagens como a Giovan Battista Ramusio.
- El final de un camino: las primeras hoces neolíticas documentadas en yacimientos portuguesesPublication . Gibaja, Juan F.; Carvalho, António Faustino; Cardoso, João Luís; Martins, FilipePocas son las evidencias de agricultura vinculadas a las primeras ocupaciones neolíticas de Portugal. De hecho, la escasa conservación de restos carpológicos no ha facilitado conocer la realidad de las prácticas agrícolas en relación con las especies explotadas. En este contexto, han surgido dudas sobre el papel que esta actividad tenía entre las primeras comunidades agricultoras y pastoras. En este artículo hemos abordado el estudio de cinco asentamientos del Neolítico Antiguo con el objetivo de documentar la existencia o no de útiles tallados empleados como hoces. Los resultados confirman el uso de estos instrumentos durante este periodo y su similitud con los hallados en otros yacimientos peninsulares.
- Estudo dos mamíferos da ocupação fenícia (século IX a.C.) de La Rebanadilla (Málaga): um primeiro contributoPublication . Sánchez, Vicente Marcos; Martins, Filipe; Galindo, Lorenzo; Cardoso, João Luís; Bartolomé MoraNeste artigo estudam-se os restos faunísticos da primeira fase urbana da ocupação fenícia de La Rebanadilla (Málaga), correspondendo à Fase IV, dos finais do séc. IX a.C., provenientes de um conjunto de fossas escavadas no substrato natural. Observou-se claro predomínio de animais domésticos, representados, por ordem decrescente, pelos caprinos (ovelhas e cabras) e boi doméstico. Residualmente identificaram-se outros animais de grande, médio e pequeno porte: porco/javali, auroque, cavalo e coelho. Foram observadas acções antrópicas, tais como marcas de corte e vestígios de fogo bem como outras modificações presentes na superfície dos ossos. A comparação destes resultados faunísticos com os obtidos em outras estações arqueológicas da mesma época evidencia o domínio dos animais domésticos na economia destas populações, e consequentemente o escasso aproveitamento dos recursos cinegéticos, revelador de comunidades estáveis e complexas, com uma economia de produção especializada.
- "Hands-on archaeology”: an experimental program based on bone tool assemblages created during the osseous industry course, University of Algarve (Faro, Portugal)Publication . Aleixo, Patrícia; Teixeira, Cátia; Matias, Roxane; Évora, MarinaThe aim of this paper focuses on the analysis of osseous raw materials through experimental archaeology. The lack of studies on experimental archaeology at the MSc degree in Archaeology from the University of Algarve gave way to the creation of a brand-new course based on Osseous Industry. The main goal of this study was to provide a better understanding and interpretation of the traces left on bone tools during the emergence of Homo sapiens in Europe. The results of this work include femur bone needles from swine (Sus domesticus), an arrow and harpoon head antler from red deer (Cervus elaphus), and a comb antler from fallow deer (Dama dama). This approach gained knowledge by experience and a broader view about a hypothetical image of how human communities used to live. The implementation of the experimental activity is an important empirical function in the studies of archaeology, though often is overlooked. We hope that this work can provide an example of how fundamental an experimental approach to archaeology is for filling gaps in our knowledge about the past.