Santos, A. T.; Aubry, Th.; Barbosa, A. F.; Garcia-Díez, M.; Sampaio, J. D., O final do ciclo gráfico paleolítico do Vale do Côa:A arte móvel do Fariseu …, ABSTRACTWe present in this work the integral study of the portable art of Fariseu (Côa Valley). Eighty-five engraved pieces and four painted ones form the studied collection. The chronological attribution to the Late Dryas/ beginning of the Pre-boreal is perfectly assured by the stratigraphic origin of the pieces. The technical and stylistic attributes of the figures are similar to some of the rock art of the Côa valley, making the collection an important chronological referent to a vast number of engraved and painted panels of the region. Those technical and stylistic attributes are also similar to others from Southwest Europe that are dated from the end of the Late glacial period, which denotes the affiliation of this rock art facies in a graphic tradition of a broader geographic range. RESUMONeste trabalho apresenta-se o estudo integral da arte móvel identificada no Fariseu (Vale do Côa). Trata-se de um conjunto de oitenta e cinco peças gravadas e quatro pintadas. Dada a proveniência estratigráfica segura da coleção, a adscrição da maior parte das peças ao Dryas recente/ inícios do Pré-boreal está perfeitamente assegurada. As caraterísticas técnicas e estilísticas dos grafismos nela presentes são comparáveis a alguma da arte rupestre do Vale do Côa, o que faz da série do Fariseu um importante referente para a datação de um vasto número de painéis gravados e pintados desta região. Essas caraterísticas são igualmente semelhantes às de grafismos de diversas estações do Sudoeste europeu, datados dos finais do Tardiglaciar, o que denota a filiação deste fácies rupestre numa tradição gráfica de âmbito geográfico mais vasto. Palavras-chave: Arte Móvel -Fariseu -Tardiglaciar -Azilense -Vale do Côa

The timing of the Neanderthal-associated Middle Palaeolithic demise and a possible overlap with anatomically modern humans (AMH) in some regions of Eurasia continues to be debated. The Iberian Peninsula is considered a possible refuge zone for the last Neanderthals, but the chronology of the later Middle Palaeolithic record has undergone revision and has increased the debate on the timing of Neanderthal extinction. Here we report on a study of the 5-m-thick archaeological stratigraphy of the Cardina-Salto do Boi, an open-air site located in inland Iberia, from which optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) ages were obtained for Middle and Upper Palaeolithic occupations preserved in overbank alluvial deposits. Geomorphology, archaeostratigraphy, stone-tool evolution, and OSL dating support the persistence of Neanderthals after 41 ka in central Iberia; the transition between the Middle Palaeolithic material culture and the AMH-associated Aurignacian blade and bladelet production is estimated to lie between 34.0 ± 2.0 ka and 38.4 ± 1.9 ka. Our results demonstrate that investigations focusing on different geomorphological situations are necessary to overcome the current limitations of the evidence and to establish more consistent models for Neanderthal disappearance and AMH expansion in the Iberian Peninsula.

Differing from most of European Upper Palaeolithic record, the Côa Valley lithic assemblages reveal an intensive use of a large variety of quartz and quartzite available locally. New surveys of the lower Côa Valley quartz veins were carried out in order to establish potential areas of raw material exploitation by hunter-gatherers through the identification of the raw material sources present in the archaeological record. Upper Palaeolithic lithic assemblages are produced on local quartz varieties, regional fine-grained quartz veins and flint and silcrete from long distance sources. The proportion of raw material and their choice for different tool types reveal some variation through the Upper Palaeolithic sequence, but present the same diversity and large geographical range of supply. Middle Palaeolithic assemblages from the same region are essentially based on local lithic material, showing a more restricted exploitation area and revealing different technology and procurement strategies, possibly evidence of changes in mobility and social networks.

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The geomorphological context of the Côa Valley open-air Palaeolithic rock art offers a unique opportunity to analyse its stratigraphic relationship with preserved Quaternary deposits and to reconstruct those that may have since disappeared. Litho-stratigraphic units, discontinuities and their architecture are interpreted in the context of the valley’s evolution and its environment. The spatial distribution of rock art panels, chronological attribution of the rock art and their geomorphological context can help us to reconstruct the topography of the valley at the time of its production and to identify where rock art panels could be buried, as well as to establish their chronology.