Coastal wetlands and the Neanderthal settlement of Portuguese Estremadura

Abstract

Coastal wetlands are ecotone settings that offer diverse sets of resources for human exploitation, yet evidence for Pleistocene occupation rarely preserves due to recent postglacial sea-level rise. During an ongoing geoarchaeological survey of Portuguese Estremadura we identified uplifted Pleistocene sediments that record coastal features including raised beaches, tidal channels, muds, peat, and coastal dunes. Stratified concentrations of Middle Paleolithic artifacts were found at Mira Nascente and Praia Rei Cortiço, two new sites in coastal wetland settings. The Mira Nascente locality yielded a chert-dominated lithic assemblage in a tidal flat setting dated to MIS 3. The raw material economy differs markedly from sites found in other landscape settings. Praia Rei Cortiço is located near a thick peat deposit that formed in a freshwater coastal swamp and marsh likely dated to the Last Interglacial. These two sites represent a novel expression of Neanderthal land use strategies in Portugal.

Mid‐Holocene Iberian hydroclimate variability and paleoenvironmental change: molecular and isotopic insights from Praia Rei Cortiço, Portugal

“…The OSL age of 5170 ± 490 a from a sandy lens near the top of the organic deposit (30 cm) overlaps with the radiocarbon age from 10 cm lower in the section (Table ). These ages demonstrate that the PRC‐South organic deposit is approximately the same age as the Holocene paleosol overlying the archeological and paleobotanical sections previously investigated at PRC (Haws et al ., ; Minckley et al ., ). Both the PRC paleosol and the PRC‐South organic deposit are buried by late Holocene eolian sands that mantle much of the Estremadura coastline (Benedetti et al ., ).…”

Last interglacial vegetation and climate history from the Portuguese coast

“…The age of the pollen section is inferred from stratigraphic relationships and OSL samples collected at two vertical sections (Fig. ): a ‘Paleobotanical Section’ where the pollen samples were collected for this study, and an ‘Archaeological Section’ to the north where a Middle Paleolithic site was excavated (Haws et al ., ).…”

“…At the archaeological section, PC5 is composed of interstratified muddy and sandy alluvium that grades laterally into colluvial deposits on the northern margin of the paleovalley. Archeological excavations in the toe-slope colluvium recovered hundreds of Middle Paleolithic quartzite and chert artifacts, evidence of Neanderthal presence in the paleovalley during the late Pleistocene (Haws et al, 2010). At the archaeological site, the PC5 floodplain deposit is overlain by 4 m of cross-bedded eolian sand in unit PC4.…”

“…The age of the pollen section is inferred from stratigraphic relationships and OSL samples collected at two vertical sections (Fig. 2): a 'Paleobotanical Section' where the pollen samples were collected for this study, and an 'Archaeological Section' to the north where a Middle Paleolithic site was excavated (Haws et al, 2010). At the paleobotanical section, PC5 includes a 1.3-m-thick lens-shaped organic sediment deposit resting directly on Cretaceous conglomerate bedrock (Fig.…”

Use wear analysis of quartzite lithic implements from the Middle Palaeolithic site of Lagoa do Bando (Central Portugal)

“…The predominance of unretouched flakes might be explained by the exploitation of the abundant local raw materials with technological exploitation resulting in adequate functional morphologies suitable for use without the need for retouch. (2016) (Hosfield 2005) to Greece (in the terra rossa, or "red beds") and Germany (e.g., Wallertheim) (van Andel 1998;van Andel & Runnels 2005;Haws et al 2010;).…”