Anna J. Waterman

The Neolithic-Early Bronze Age Mortuary Rockshelter of Bolores, Torres Vedras, Portugal

Abstract The Late Neolithic-Early Bronze Age mortuary rockshelter of Bolores (Torres Vedras, Lisbon) is a collective burial located in the archaeologically rich landscape of the Portuguese Estremadura. Excavations were conducted in 2007 and 2008 as part of the Sizandro-Alcabrichel Research Project (SARP), a collaboration between the German Archaeological Institute-Madrid and The University of Iowa which seeks to investigate the dynamics of social evolution and paleoecology of human populations between the Neolithic and Bronze Age in the Sizandro and Alcabrichel River valleys. To generate a high-resolution history of Bolores and document the variability of human biographies throughout the site’s use, we applied interdisciplinary methods, including GIS, AMS dating of multiple individuals, micromorphology, bioarchaeology, bone refitting, biodistance studies, and stable isotope analyses. Four AMS dates bracket activity at the site between 2800 and 1800 cal B.C., which is coeval with the settlement of Zambujal, located 2km to the SE, and other burials in caves, rockshelters, and tholoi in the region. Bolores is somewhat unusual for this time period and region because it housed a relatively high percentage of subadults (over 50%) and associated artifacts are rare. This report contextualizes Bolores within the variability of Late Neolithic-Early Bronze Age burial practices in the Portuguese Estremadura.

The maternal genetic make-up of the Iberian Peninsula between the Neolithic and the Early Bronze Age

Agriculture first reached the Iberian Peninsula around 5700 BCE. However, little is known about the genetic structure and changes of prehistoric populations in different geographic areas of Iberia. In our study, we focus on the maternal genetic makeup of the Neolithic (~ 5500–3000 BCE), Chalcolithic (~ 3000–2200 BCE) and Early Bronze Age (~ 2200–1500 BCE). We report ancient mitochondrial DNA results of 213 individuals (151 HVS-I sequences) from the northeast, central, southeast and southwest regions and thus on the largest archaeogenetic dataset from the Peninsula to date. Similar to other parts of Europe, we observe a discontinuity between hunter-gatherers and the first farmers of the Neolithic. During the subsequent periods, we detect regional continuity of Early Neolithic lineages across Iberia, however the genetic contribution of hunter-gatherers is generally higher than in other parts of Europe and varies regionally. In contrast to ancient DNA findings from Central Europe, we do not observe a major turnover in the mtDNA record of the Iberian Late Chalcolithic and Early Bronze Age, suggesting that the population history of the Iberian Peninsula is distinct in character.

Assessing change in diet and biological affinity between the 4th and 3rd millennia cal BCE in the Portuguese Estremadura: a preliminary dental comparison of Feteira II and Bolores.

Although the social and political changes accompanying the transition from the Neolithic through Copper Age, between the 4th and 3rd millennia cal BCE, in southwestern Iberia are reasonably well understood, much less is known about whether population movements and dietary changes accompanied these transformations. To address this question, human dental remains from the Middle through Late Neolithic site of Feteira II (3600-2900 cal BCE) and the Late Neolithic site of Bolores (2800-2600 cal BCE) in the Portuguese Estremadura were used to examine diet (microwear) and affinity (dental non-metrics). Microwear features were not found to be significantly different between Feteira II and Bolores, suggesting that the emergence of social complexity during this period did not result in large-scale changes in subsistence practices during the period of use at these sites. Using the Arizona State University Dental Anthropology System and supporting statistics, no significant difference between the samples from Feteira II and Bolores was observed, suggesting that no population replacement occurred between the Middle Neolithic and Late Neolithic/Copper Age. However, at Bolores there is some indication that there may have been demographic exchanges between southern Iberian and North African populations during the Late Neolithic/Copper Age.