This paper aims to provide insight into human occupation and landscape change during the Pleistocene in a central area of the Lower Tejo basin (Portugal). Detailed geomorphological mapping, coupled with lithostratigraphy, sedimentology and luminescence dating, supports the identification of a complete terrace staircase sequence. It consists of six gravely terraces located below the culminant (Pliocene) basin unit. A chronological framework for the sedimentary sequences and associated human industries is proposed and correlated with marine oxygen isotope stages (MIS): T1 terrace, not dated; T2, not dated; T3, >300 ka; T4, $300-160 ka (MIS8, MIS7 and MIS6); T5, $136-75 ka (MIS5); T6, $62-30 ka (MIS3); colluvium and aeolian sands, $30-14 ka (MIS2); valley fill deposits, $14 ka to present (MIS1). The oldest artefacts were found at the base of the T4 terrace, with the local stratigraphic level dated to !175 AE 6 ka (Middle Pleistocene). The lithic assemblages collected from distinct stratigraphic levels (T4, T5 top, T6 terraces and colluvium) are characterized by the predominance of opportunistic technological choices, a feature that can be attributed partly to the preferential exploitation of the available raw material, dominated by local-sourced quartzites and quartz pebbles. The adaptation to local raw material (texture and volume), together with subsistence patterns and behaviours, could explain the rarity of Acheulian types (handaxes and cleavers) and picks in the T4 terraces of the Tejo tributaries; this is in contrast to the same terrace of the Tejo valley, in which these types are found. Interpretation of the environmental conditions (controlled by climate and glacio-eustatic sea-level changes) affecting the hunter-gatherer human groups is also presented.

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In the Western Iberian Peninsula, staircases of fluvial terraces have been the subject of several recent studies. In particular, many recent publications have focused on the Quaternary fluvial chronostratigraphy of the Lower Tagus Basin. However, there are still doubts with respect to the timing of the first incision into the late Tertiary basin‐fill deposits, their upper part already recording a fluvial environment (‘basin inversion’), which was the start of terrace formation. This is because most dating methods are ineffective for this type of deposit (generally without organic and/or volcanic materials). In the last 10 years, new dating methods such as electron spin resonance (ESR) applied to sedimentary quartz now facilitate more accurate chronologies. This paper presents the results of the ESR dating of the older terraces of the lower Tagus Basin, Portugal, with extrapolation on the age of early drainage network evolution. According the results, the oldest fluvial terrace was formed around 900 ka, so the origination of the Portuguese Tagus River terrace system can be attributed to the final part of the Early Pleistocene.

La Serena region is a large plateau with open landscapes bounded in the south by a mountain chain formed by the Benquerencia, Tiros and La Rinconada Sierras. There are more than 300 painted and engraved sites in the region.Cueva Grande, Cueva de En medio and Cueva Pequeña are three Schematic rock art shelters located in the municipality of Benquerencia de la Serena, Badajoz, Spain. Over their panels have been documented more than a hundred of painted schematic figures (anthropomorphic figures, eye-shape figures and symbols) (Neolithic – Copper Age).Paintings are monochromatic with red or black coloration. A total of 13 samples (10 red and 3 black samples) from different panels were collected and analyzed using micro-Raman spectroscopy and ATR-FTIR.Micro-Raman spectroscopy was able to characterize the main mineral component, respectively hematite for the red figures and charcoal for the black paintings. ATR-FTIR was useful to possible ochre and possible organic identification. These latest results are particularly important for understanding manufacturing processes and addressing conservation problems.

O alto rio Uruguai é uma área importante para compreender o povoamento pré-histórico da bacia do rio da Prata. Nela foram localizados sítios de caçadores-coletores, referentes ao passado mais antigo da região, e de grupos ceramistas relacionados às unidades arqueológicas Tupiguarani e Taquara-Itararé. Este artigo apresenta os primeiros resultados das pesquisas realizadas no sítio ACH-LP-07 situado próximo à foz do rio Chapecó na margem direita do rio Uruguai, no oeste de Santa Catarina. O mesmo apresentou várias ocupações por caçadores-coletores no início do Holoceno, caracterizadas por uma variabilidade nas produções de pedra lascada, onde se destaca a produção de lâminas por uma debitagem específica. No último milênio o local também foi povoado por grupos ceramistas Guarani. O sítio tem trazido diferentes contribuições a respeito dessas antigas sociedades, especialmente as modalidades de ocupação e de sucessão dos grupos humanos no alto rio Uruguai.