In this paper, we investigate the microarchaeological traces and archaeological visibility of shellfish cooking activities through a series of experimental procedures with direct roasting using wood-fueled fires and controlled heating in a muffle furnace. An interdisciplinary geoarchaeological approach, combining micromorphology, FTIR (in transmission and ATR collection modes), TGA and XRD, was used to establish a baseline on the mineralogical transformation of heated shells from aragonite to calcite and diagnostic sedimentary traces produced by roasting fire features. Our experimental design focused on three main types of roasting procedures: the construction of shallow depressions with heated rocks (pebble cuvette experiments), placing shellfish on top of hot embers and ashes (fire below experiment), and by kindling short-lived fires on top of shellfish (fire above experiments). Our results suggest that similar shellfish roasting procedures will largely create microstratigraphic signatures of anthropogenically reworked combusted material spatially Bdisconnected^from the actual combustion locus. The construction of shallow earth ovens might entail an increased archaeological visibility, and some diagnostic signatures of in situ hearths can be obtained by fire below roasting activities. We also show that macroscopic visual modifications and mineralogical characterization of discarded shellfish might be indicative of specific cooking activities versus secondary burning.

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ResumoNo Museu de Arte Pré-Histórica do Sagrado do Vale do Tejo, a educação (desde o ensino básico ao universitário) e a didática (para todos os tipos de público) são prioridades operacionais essenciais, cujo programa e respectivas atividades se inserem numa estratégia de combate à desertificação e exclusão social, bem como na transmissão de idéias de identificação com o patrimônio cultural e ambiental, sua conservação e proteção. O conceito fundamental desta instituição é integrador, não separando as artes, o patrimônio e as ciências, sejam "sociais/humanas" ou "exatas", procurando, através de um discurso museográfi-co educador, interativo, estimulante e menos elitista, ser um espaço de interrogação e de ação.Palavras-chave: Educação em museus, Arqueologia pública, Inclusão social. AbstractIn the Museum of Prehistoric Art of Mação, education (from elementary school to college) and didactics (for all kinds of public) are among the main programmatic vectors. The programme relies both on a strategy against human desertification and social exclusion, as well as in

Abstract:The lithic assemblage of Ribeira da Ponte da Pedra site (OIS8-9) was produced, almost exclusively, through the exploitation of good quality quartzite fluvial pebbles with a regular morphology. Quartzite fluvial pebbles are the most common raw material found in the Middle Pleistocene occupation sites in Portugal. Such feature results from the easy availability of these pebbles in the valleys where the great majority of the archaeological sites within this chronology are located, and also because of the quartzite's physical properties and suitability for knapping.In a techno-typological point of view, its lithic assemblage is characterized by the application of two main reduction sequences that result in abundant worked pebbles, retouched pebbles, cortical and semi-cortical flakes, retouched flakes, a few cores and rare bifacial artefacts. Some artefacts present irregular and variable edge modifications described as 'atypical' edge modifications that could edge damage resultant from their utilization. From a strictly technical point of view the assemblage can be described as quite simple, however we can envisage an inherent complexity starting in an accurate selection and exploitation of the quartzite pebbles, whose regular morphology allows a 'predetermined' production of regular blanks through simple actions.In order to better understand patterns of raw material selection and technical schemes adopted in the exploitation of the quartzite pebbles we compared a sample of pebbles collected in the same deposits identified in the site (t4 fluvial terrace deposits) with worked pebbles that have 1 or 2 removals that had not altered significantly the original morpho-volumetry of the pebbles. The goal of this comparison was to verify if there was a selection of the fluvial pebbles based on texture and morpho-volumetry and if so, relate such selection with the technical schemes identified by technological study of the assemblage.

A core problem of contemporary society is rooted in the educational system and the divides created between the humanities and sciences that have prevented integrated reasoning. This problem affects society at large and has severely impacted the mindset of leadership, precluding in-depth debates involving citizens that lack an understanding of the basic notions and concepts that drive other agencies. Thus, the Lisbon Declaration, approved at the European Humanities Conference based on proposals by UNESCO, CIPSH, and FCT, calls for the integrated teaching of humanities and sciences units at all levels of education, including the doctoral level. This chapter discusses the potential contribution of geoarchaeology towards that aim, as this discipline sits at the heart of the humanities-sciences interaction, thus bridging science methods with human behavior. Geoarchaeology is one of the most important archaeological research methods that offers unprecedented levels of integration between disciplines and geoarchaeological research. It is a good example of how geosciences can contribute towards re-thinking education, in terms of research-based education: learning to research, learning that research on the earth and humans is by nature interdisciplinary, learning to design answerable questions, learning to frame scientific analysis within wider meanings and prospects, and fostering an understanding of the truth and the criteria for truth. This topic is a unique bridge between both human and earth sciences and between science and human behavior, which play pivotal roles in communicating and educating about sustainability. The multidisciplinary dimensions of geoarchaeological approaches have encouraged continuous development and innovation of methods and approaches that have provided new possibilities for explorations in geosciences, research on earth and humans, learning to design answerable questions, and fostering an understanding of truth and the criteria for truth. This text discusses two examples: pigment analysis and micromorphology. Pigment analysis relates scientific methods with rock and mobile art, and also involves experimentation in the making of the art itself, which is a powerful didactic tool, thus linking science with daily observed realities and related cultural traits. Micromorphology is a geoarchaeological methodology currently applied to research, which provides a unique insight into the interdisciplinarity and multidisciplinary relationships associated with humans and society. Despite the complexity of this approach, it provides easily understood information on various segments of society; e.g., soil formation, thus making it one of the most effective tools in the Earth Sciences sector contributing to sustainability and related to daily behavior practices.

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