The impact of cognitive evolution in the use of raw materials: the cases of Iberian and southern African prehistoric hunter-gatherers

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Evidence of specialized resource exploitation by modern humans in Western Iberia associated to Pleistocene and Holocene extreme environmental conditions

Publication . Pereira, Telmo; Monteiro, Patrícia; Paixão, Eduardo; Nora, David; Évora, Marina; Simões, Carlos; Detry, Cleia; Assis, Sandra; Carvalho, Vânia; Holliday, Trenton

Throughout prehistory, landscapes were repeatedly subjected to both global and localized climatic fluctuations that changed the regional environments where human groups lived. This instability demanded constant adaptation and, as a result, the functionality of some sites changed over time. In this light, the western coast of Iberia represents an exceptional case study due to the proximity between at least some oceanic cores and archaeological sites, which should facilitate an accurate reconstruction of the relationships between paleoenvironmental conditions and the coeval patterns of human behavior. This region, and in particular the valley of the River Lis, is marked by wide exposed plateaus cut by narrow and deep canyons. In this paper we present the stratigraphic, archaeometric, technological and archaeobotanical record of Poço Rock Shelter, located in one of these canyons, which hints at the human responses to such changes, and discuss the link between its Solutrean and Epipaleolithic occupations to specific activities. During the coldest part of the Last Glacial Maximum, we hypothesize that there was intensive exploitation of a chert outcrop above the roof to produce blades and Solutrean tips. Later, during Bond Event 6, after that outcrop had been exhausted, there was intensive consumption of shellfish gathered between the mouth of the canyon and the sea. We hypothesize that these strikingly different roles demonstrate how hunter-gatherers adapted to local conditions, and exploited specific resources, promising to provide a better understanding about its functional role during specific extreme climate events.

2022Journal article

Open access

Raw material procurement at Abrigo do Poço Rock shelter (Central Portugal)

Publication . Pereira, Telmo; Paixão, Eduardo; Évora, Marina; Marreiros, João; Nora, David; Monteiro, Patrícia; Assis, Sandra; Carvalho, Vânia; Holliday, Trenton

Abrigo do Poço is a rock shelter located in the karstic canyon of Ribeira das Chitas in the River Lis basin (Central Portugal). The site has an Epipaleolithic occupation overlying a Solutrean occupation. Despite the multiple available resources in the vicinity, the main activity during the Upper Paleolithic occupation seems to have been the exploitation of a small chert outcrop located right above it. This outcrop extends in patches throughout the vicinity due to the combination of tectonic activity and fluvial erosion that results in multiple canyons. Interestingly, the outcrop above the site is one in which the chert is less expressive, probably due to exhaustion during the Solutrean, during which the site was used to heat-treat chert for the production of blades and, especially, bifacial points. The chert from this site has different colors, patterns and textures due to internal variability and to external agents (tectonic, patina). Here we present the macroscopic and geochemical characteristics of this outcrop throughout the valley and discuss the issue of potentially misleading interpretations when only one of these approaches is used.

2021Conference object

Open access