Os Neandertais e a emergência dos humanos anatomicamente modernos no território português

Cascalheira, João; Cardoso, João Luis

http://hdl.handle.net/10400.2/19936

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Authors

Cascalheira, João

Cardoso, João Luis

Abstract(s)

The 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.

Keywords

Neandertais Humanos modernos Paleolítico Miscigenação Península Ibérica Portugal Neanderthals Modern humans Paleolithic Miscegenation Iberian Peninsula