Hunter-gatherer genetic persistence at the onset of megalithism in western Iberia: New mitochondrial evidence from Mesolithic and Neolithic necropolises in central-southern Portugal

Carvalho, Arsélio P.; Fernández‐Domínguez, Eva; Arroyo-Pardo, Eduardo; Robinson, Catherine; Cardoso, João Luís; Zilhão, João; Gomes, Mário Varela

doi:10.1016/j.quaint.2023.03.015

Cited by 5 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 41 publications

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“…The first two PCs (~ 27% variance) show that the Iberian Neolithic to Chalcolithic samples overlap with both the Iberian Mesolithic and Levantine Chalcolithic samples (which are statistically significantly different from each other) and show no significant differences when compared to any of all other populations. This intermediate position is expected given the relationship between mandibular morphology and population history 19 , 44 , 45 , and accords with the aDNA findings demonstrating diffusion of Neolithic Near Eastern populations into Iberia and some degree of subsequent admixture with the local pre-existing population 2 – 4 , 8 , 15 , 16 . Overall, these results confirm our prediction of rejection of the null hypothesis of no differences between Mesolithic Iberia and the Chalcolithic Levant, and that post-Mesolithic Iberians are morphologically intermediate between these groups.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 84%

“…Ancient DNA (aDNA) studies have shown that the expansion of this new mode of subsistence was associated with demic diffusion of Near Eastern populations and their flocks that reached Western Iberia (i.e., modern-day Portugal and Galicia) no later than ~ 5500 BCE 2 – 6 , 8 – 11 . This is evident since aDNA studies show marked genetic discontinuity between Iberian Mesolithic foragers and the Neolithic agro-pastoralist populations, despite some level of admixture 12 – 16 .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Mandibular morphology and the Mesolithic–Neolithic transition in Westernmost Iberia

Godinho,

Umbelino,

Valera

et al. 2023

Sci Rep

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Neolithic farming and animal husbandry were first developed in the Near East ~ 10,000 BCE and expanded westwards, reaching westernmost Iberia no later than 5500 BCE. It resulted in major social, cultural, economic and dietary changes. Yet, the impact of this change on human mandibular morphology in Iberia is yet to be assessed, which is regrettable because mandible form is impacted by population history and diet. In this study we used Mesolithic to Chalcolithic Iberian samples to examine the impact of this transition on mandibular morphology. We also compared these samples with a Southern Levantine Chalcolithic population to assess their relationship. Lastly, we assessed dental wear to determine if the morphological differences identified were related to the material properties of the diet. We found differences between samples in mandibular shape but not size, which we attribute to contrasting population histories between Mesolithic and later populations. Some differences in the severity of dental wear were also found between Mesolithic and later Iberian samples, and smaller between the Mesolithic Iberians and southern Levantines. Little relationship was found between wear magnitude and mandibular shape. Altogether, our results show that the Mesolithic–Neolithic Iberian transition resulted in a meaningful change in mandibular morphology, which was likely driven more by population history than by dietary change.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 84%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Mandibular morphology and the Mesolithic–Neolithic transition in Westernmost Iberia

Godinho,

Umbelino,

Valera

et al. 2023

Sci Rep

Self Cite

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“…BP [ 44 ]. The newcomer farmers and herders extend along the diverse territories adapting these new economic patterns to the ecological conditions in an arrhythmic process involving some fast trajectories (coastal areas and Ebro valley), in which interaction with foragers seems to be more rapidly blurred ([ 35 ]; see also [ 47 ] for Portugal). The new cultural package incorporates pottery, polished stone tools, and a renewed toolkit that integrates, among others, glossed blades, bifacial drills, and also, geometric projectiles including renewed shapes and retouch techniques [ 25 , 42 , 48 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Weaving social networks from cultural similarities on the neolithisation process in the Western Mediterranean: Evolutionary trajectories using projectile tools

Barrera-Cruz,

García-Puchol,

Jiménez-Puerto

et al. 2024

PLoS ONE

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In this paper, we concentrate on the neolithisation process in Mediterranean Iberia through a diachronic view (from 8600–6800 cal. BP), focusing on social interaction as a factor in articulating new cultural ties. To do this, we apply techniques centred on similarities in material culture by applying Social Network Analysis (SNA). For the first time, we point to the geometric projectiles, taking into account their recurrence in both Mesolithic and Neolithic groups as part of their characteristic hunting equipment. We hypothesise that patterns of cultural variability would express the changing flow of information between communities according to their mobility strategies (last hunter-gatherer groups), including economic and social behaviour, and that these relationships will be restructured with the arrival of the newcomer farmers and herders and their new spatial and social arrangement. The results obtained allow us to describe a connected and homogeneous Late Mesolithic network dramatically structured by the Neolithic arrival. Since then, a heterogenous pattern emerged, involving connected periods, network ruptures, and small-world phenomena. The emergence of this characteristic could support the flow of information when the network presents a clustered structure, the last probably due to regionalisation events. These diachronic dynamics fit well with demographic and socioecological trends observed from regional literature.

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The land of the last hunter-gatherer groups in the Ebro basin: Forgers of their own destiny

Alday,

Rodríguez-Lejarza,

Soto

et al. 2024

Journal of Anthropological Archaeology

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Hunter-gatherer genetic persistence at the onset of megalithism in western Iberia: New mitochondrial evidence from Mesolithic and Neolithic necropolises in central-southern Portugal

Cited by 5 publications

References 41 publications

Mandibular morphology and the Mesolithic–Neolithic transition in Westernmost Iberia

Mandibular morphology and the Mesolithic–Neolithic transition in Westernmost Iberia

Weaving social networks from cultural similarities on the neolithisation process in the Western Mediterranean: Evolutionary trajectories using projectile tools

The land of the last hunter-gatherer groups in the Ebro basin: Forgers of their own destiny

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