Abstract:We present the results of the study of lithic raw materials used in Upper Palaeolithic occupations preserved in caves, rockshelters and open-air sites from two different geological environments in Portugal. For the sites located in the Lusitanian Basin, flint or silcrete sources are easily available in close vicinity. The Côa Valley sites, located in the Iberian Massif, are within a geological environment where restricted fine-grained vein quartz and siliceous metamorphic rocks are available, but no flint or silcrete, even though both are present in the archaeological assemblages. Data from the two clusters of sites are compared with a third newly located site in the Lower Vouga valley, at the limit of the Iberian Massif with the Lusitanian Basin, where quartz vein raw material types are locally available and flint is about 40 kilometres distant. This study reveals prehistoric adaptations to these different geological contexts, with shorter networks for the Lusitanian basin sites contrasting with the long distance ones for the Côa Valley, and the Vouga site at an intermediary position. Finally, we propose that lithic raw material supply networks, defined by a GIS least-cost algorithm, could be used as a proxy not only for territoriality in the case of local and regional lithic raw material sources, but also to infer long-distance social networks between different Palaeolithic human groups, created and maintained to promote the access to asymmetrically distributed resources.

This paper presents the first results of the archaeological work carried out in the Chalcolithic ditched enclosure of Folha do Ouro 1 (Serpa, Beja). The site was identified in an aerial image and integrated in the research developed by NIA-Era Arqueologia regarding this type of contexts and submitted to geophysics and surface prospection with collection of archaeological materials. Here, we address the assemblage of archaeological materials, the chronological scope of the site, its topographical location and architectonic characteristics observed in the magnetogram. The site is integrated in the regional context, comparing with the known characteristics of the Alentejo’s ditched enclosures.

This paper presents some new contextual data on five Neolithic ditched sites located in Alentejo hinterland (Perdigões, Horta do Pinheiro 6, Horta Nova 4, Estácio 6 and Cortes 1). An inventory of the available radiocarbon dates for the Neolithic (with twelve new dates) is provided and several aspects on the arising and early developments of the regional ditched enclosures are debated, e.g. spatial distribution, construction procedures, social re-cutting practices, infilling and depositional processes, diversity and possible relation among megalithic structures and ditched enclosures. Recintos de fossos neolíticos no Sul de Portugal (IV milénio AC): novos dados e novas perspectivas - O texto apresenta os dados contextuais recentemente obtidos para cinco sítios neolíticos com fossos localizados no interior alentejano (Perdigões, Horta do Pinheiro 6, Horta Nova 4, Estácio 6 e Cortes 1), reúne um inventário das datações de radiocarbono disponíveis para recintos de fossos neolíticos (publicando doze novas datas) e aborda vários aspectos relativos à emergência e desenvolvimento inicial dos recintos de fossos na região: distribuição espacial, processos construtivos, práticas sociais de recorte, processos de enchimento e deposições, diversidade e uma possível relação entre recintos megalíticos e recintos de fossos são várias das questões discutidas.

Archaeology is constantly adopting technological innovations to improve the record and reduce costs. The LiDAR sensor is a good example, only affordable to research niches. Using Apple mobile devices equipped with LiDAR sensors, this work presents a brief review/workflow to apply this tool to optimise archaeological work, safeguarding our heritage.

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