In 2017, a team from UNIARQ – School of Arts and Humanities of the University of Lisbon and the Association of Portuguese Archaeologists presented a research project to the Directorate-General for Cultural Heritage, entitled Vila Nova de São Pedro in the 3rd millennium (VNSP3000), with the intention to resume excavations in VNSP. Within the scope of a seminar of the Degree in Archaeology at the School of Arts and Humanities of the University of Lisbon, Ana Costa Francisco, analysed the remains recovered in the first campaign of 2017. The fauna recovered in the following campaigns were studied by Cleia Detry. The remains of domestic fauna demonstrate the presence of sheep/goat (Ovis/Capra), cattle (Bos taurus) and pig (Sus scrofa domesticus). Hunting is also highly prevalent with the presence of rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus) and red deer (Cervus elaphus). The auroch (Bos primigenius) and wild boar (Sus scrofa), although difficult to distinguish from their domesticated counterparts, were also identified in the assemblage.
The archaeological site of Vila Nova de São Pedro (Azambuja) was discovered in 1936 through the surveys carried out by Hipólito Cabaço. In 1937, the first excavation campaign was led by Eugénio Jalhay and Afonso do Paço. With the death of the first, in 1950, Paço assumed, with occasional collaborations, the direction of the archaeological works on the site, until 1967. This article intends to analyse the fauna collected and described by Afonso do Paço during these campaigns, about which, however, there is no information on the stratigraphic provenance of artifacts and ecofacts. The data from these campaigns are also compared with the fauna collected during the 2017 and 2018 excavations, carried out under the VNSP3000 project. From this faunistic material without context, it was still possible to acquire some knowledge about species present in the vicinity of Vila Nova de São Pedro during the Chalcolithic.
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