Loading...
5 results
Search Results
Now showing 1 - 5 of 5
- A estação solutrense do Olival do Arneiro (Rio Maior)Publication . Cardoso, João Luís; Cascalheira, João; Martins, FilipeThe Solutrean site of Arneiro, or Olival do Arneiro, was identified by Manuel Heleno in 1942 and successively explored by him, in several intermittent campaigns of limited duration, until October 1944. It had already been the subject of a preliminary study in the seventies by Zbyszewski and collaborators. However, the authors were not aware of the contents of Manuel Heleno’s field notebooks with importante informations on the spatial distribution of materials, as a result of the ditches that were opened, as well as their typology and stratigraphy. Such elements appear essential for the framing of the results now presented, corresponding to the study of the whole collection, in the light of new morphometric and morphological criteria performed. In this way, the study of the 30 bifacial points identified and separated from the rest of the collection by O. da Veiga Ferreira, constituting to date the most important set of solutrean points from one single place of the Portuguese territory, was completed by the studyof the remaining part of the original set, consisting of 391 bifacial points in different stages of execution belonging to the Museu Nacional de Arqueologia collections, of which only 51 are near the final stage of execution. The general conclusion obtained through the different analytical methodologies adopted led to the integration of this second set of pieces also in the Solutrean techno‑complex. However, as there is no possibility of confronting this operative chain with another one known to be solutrean or more modern, it remains to demonstrate its true chronology.
- Muge Portal: a new digital platform for the last hunter-gatherers of the Tagus Valley, PortugalPublication . Gonçalves, Célia; Umbelino, Cláudia; Gomes, Ana; Gonçalves, César; Costa, Claudia; Belmiro, Joana; Cascalheira, João; Cardoso, João Luís; Rodrigues, José; André, Lino; Zacarias, Marielba; Évora, Marina; Figueiredo, Mauro; Bicho, Nuno; Monteiro, Patrícia; Godinho, Ricardo Miguel; Matias, Roxane; Aldeias, VeraThis work presents ”The Muge Shellmiddens Project: a new portal for the last hunter-gatherers of the Tagus Valley, Portugal” that focuses on the requalification and valorization of the archaeological and paleoanthropological heritage of the Mesolithic complex of Muge (Tagus Valley, Portugal), classified as Portuguese National Monument since 2011. It is a new multidisciplinary and innovative approach that involves the development of cybernetic infrastructures and e-science initiatives, that in turn will allow: (1) a systematization of the archaeological data collected over the last 150 years in Muge, implementing an online database that offers the possibility of storing, consulting and performing analytical-interpretative and spa- tial queries of archaeological, paleoanthropological, paleoenvironmental and historiographic data; (2) the creation of interactive didactic and dissemination contents based on augmented and virtual reality technologies. With these approaches, the project intends to promote a new path of scientific and cultural access to the Muge shellmiddens, transporting the Mesolithic to the present in a vibrant, as well as informative way.
- 40,000 years later: what we know about the presence of Neanderthals in Portuguese territory and their extinctionPublication . Cardoso, João Luís; Cascalheira, JoãoBrief presentation of the theme addressing the history of investigations carried out in Portugal about the presence of Neanderthals, the sites with anhtropological and archaeological record and their antiquity. Considering their close resemblance with our own species and long‑term success across Eurasia, Neanderthals ought to have had all it takes to persist. However, sometime between c. 45,000 and 30,000 years ago, Neanderthals ultimately disappear from the archaeological record, being replaced by modern humans. This cultural and biological replacement process is considered one of the most significant turning points in human evolutionary history. In recent years, knowledge of the processes involved in the disappearance of the Neanderthals and the successful expansion of our species across Eurasia has substantially increased. Still, the spatiotemporal variability of the presumed mechanisms behind Neanderthals’ demise – climate change, fragile demography, inter‑species competition – makes evaluating the replacement at a continental scale very challenging. The Iberian Peninsula, due to its cul‑de‑sac position and the role of its southern regions as one of the last refugia for the Neanderthals, represents an ideal natural setting for testing models of cultural and demographic trajectories leading to the final disappearance of those populations. Focusing on the Iberian archaeological record, in this paper we address the current state of the art and future directions regarding the study of the latest Neanderthals on earth.
- 40,000 years later: what we know about the presence of Neanderthals in Portuguese territory and their extinctionPublication . Cardoso, João Luís; Cascalheira, JoãoBrief presentation of the theme addressing the history of investigations carried out in Portugal about the presence of Neanderthals, the sites with anhtropological and archaeological record and their antiquity. Considering their close resemblance with our own species and long‑term success across Eurasia, Neanderthals ought to have had all it takes to persist. However, sometime between c. 45,000 and 30,000 years ago, Neanderthals ultimately disappear from the archaeological record, being replaced by modern humans. This cultural and biological replacement process is considered one of the most significant turning points in human evolutionary history. In recent years, knowledge of the processes involved in the disappearance of the Neanderthals and the successful expansion of our species across Eurasia has substantially increased. Still, the spatiotemporal variability of the presumed mechanisms behind Neanderthals’ demise – climate change, fragile demography, inter‑species competition – makes evaluating the replacement at a continental scale very challenging. The Iberian Peninsula, due to its cul‑de‑sac position and the role of its southern regions as one of the last refugia for the Neanderthals, represents an ideal natural setting for testing models of cultural and demographic trajectories leading to the final disappearance of those populations. Focusing on the Iberian archaeological record, in this paper we address the current state of the art and future directions regarding the study of the latest Neanderthals on earth.
- Os Neandertais e a emergência dos humanos anatomicamente modernos no território portuguêsPublication . Cascalheira, João; Cardoso, João LuisThe Neanderthal presence in Portugal is well documented, with anthropological remains in several karst caves. Their presence extends from around 200,000 to around 40,000 years ago. For a long time, it was considered that anatomically modern humans would only have reached the center and south of the Peninsula around 34,000 years ago. This absence was explained by the difficulty of adapting to local conditions and by the still active presence of Neanderthals. Thus, the less accessible territories would have functioned as the last strongholds of these populations. Portugal, Mediterranean Spain, Greece and Italy frequently appear as examples of this trend. In the specific case of the Iberian Peninsula, the model called the “Ebro frontier” has been proposed by some researchers as a biogeographic line located in the Ebro valley that would have separated the two human populations for millennia. However, this model has been the target of increasing opposition. Problems with radiocarbon dating and divergences in the results obtained for the various sites that supported the model have recently raised doubts about the validity of this division. However, this vision of stable territories exclusively inhabited by Neanderthals until the late arrival of modern humans has recently been challenged. One of the most significant pieces of evidence comes from Lapa do Picareiro, in central Portugal. Excavations at this site have revealed lithic assemblages attributed to the Early Aurignacian, associated with anatomically modern humans, directly dated to between approximately 41,100 and 38,100 calibrated years before present (cal BP). These results, obtained through high-resolution dating techniques, represent some of the strongest evidence for the early presence of modern humans in central Portugal. What makes Picareiro especially important is not only its chronology but also its geographic and cultural context. Located south of the proposed “Ebro Frontier,” the site challenges the idea of a long-standing geographic separation between Neanderthals and modern humans on the Iberian Peninsula. Additionally, Aurignacian occupations at Bajondillo (Andalusia), with even earlier dates, reinforce this scenario of a rapid and early dispersal of our species across southwestern Europe. Although these interpretations have faced criticism, particularly regarding the stratigraphic associations between materials and dates, the growing body of recent data points to a more complex mosaic of transitions. This suggests that the replacement of Neanderthals by modern humans was not a sudden or geographically linear process, but rather one marked by chronological overlaps, intermittent occupations, and different ecological adaptation strategies. Thus, the archaeological record from Lapa do Picareiro is currently a key piece in the debate on the emergence of anatomically modern humans in Portugal. It not only provides one of the earliest chronologies for their presence south of the Ebro but also integrates Portugal into a broader narrative of mobility, cultural diversity, and demographic complexity during the initial phases of the Upper Paleolithic in Europe.