Living in the southwest Portuguese coast during the Late Mesolithic: The case study of Vale Marim I

Abstract

A B S T R A C TThe Mesolithic base-camp of Vale Marim I is located on the seashore of Sines harbour domain and covers a surface of about 1 ha. The archaeological excavation encompassed an area of about 260 m 2 . Several domestic structures were recovered; the fireplaces probably polarized economic and social action, like manufacture of lithic artefacts, cooking and probably the fish smoking activity; some areas without domestic structures and with very low density of lithic artefacts have been interpreted as latent remains of probable huts. The idea of a society based on an incipient kinship structure is admitted. The charcoal analysis has provided substantial information on the spread of pinewood (Pinus pinea) in keeping with a progressively mild climate, in the transition to the sixth millennium cal BC, favouring the development of open-air settlements. In sum, dwelling structures will be discussed in accordance with environmental changes and social organization.

Fish resource exploitation in the southern Atlantic coast of the Iberian Peninsula: A view from the traceological analysis of flaked stone tools (sixth-fourth mill. cal BCE)

“…Chemical analysis of fat residues preserved in pottery vessels and archaeological structures are currently ongoing in the studied sites and will as well provide additional data on Meso-Neolithic cooking and food practises. In this sense, it is remarkable that at Vale Marim I, site excavators identified a domestic structure which contained Sparus aurata molar teeth and was composed of a fireplace within fire-cracked cobbles packed into sandy-grey sediment with traces of combustion remains, linked to a stoned posthole (Soares and Tavares da Silva, 2018). Despite the unfavourable conditions of organic materials preservation at the site, future analysis will explore whether this feature was related to fish conservation practises or not.…”

“…Data on Meso-Neolithic fishing practices can be obtained from other sites of the region. Fish remains are for example well documented in the Late Mesolithic site of Samouqueira I (Sines, Portugal), about 10 km south of Vale Pincel I and Vale Marin sites (Soares and Tavares da Silva, 2018). Data suggests that Mesolithic fishing economy was based on a diversity of prey, big and small.…”

“…Excavation works revealed a high concentration of dwelling structures, and flaked stone remains. The site is interpreted as a large base camp, occupied almost all year-round (Soares and Tavares da Silva, 2018). Flaking activities and artefact production probably played a major role in this site (Soares et al, 2017).…”

“…The Mesolithic-Neolithic transition in the southwestern Iberian Peninsula has been widely debated during the last decades (Carvalho, 2002(Carvalho, , 2018Soares and Tavares, da Silva, 2004;Ramos, 2005;Ramos et al, 2006;Cortés et al, 2012;Diniz and Neves, 2018). In this area, the first Neolithic populations largely settled in enclaves located in areas previously occupied by Mesolithic hunter-fisher-gatherer groups that depended on a broad range of coastal and terrestrial resources (Valente and Carvalho, 2009;Bicho et al, 2010;Ramos et al, 2011;Cortés et al, 2012;Soares and Tavares da Silva, 2018). Around 5500-5000 cal BCE, in southern Portugal Neolithic communities began a farming economy based on the exploitation of domesticated plants and animals, with ovicaprids and free-threshing wheat being the most frequent domesticated species in the archaeological record (Carvalho et al, 2013;Peña-Chocarro et al, 2014;Davis and Simões, 2016;López-Dóriga, 2015;Soares et al, 2016).…”

O sítio do Neolítico antigo de Montum de Baixo (Melides – Alentejo Litoral)

“…e C.T.S.) o Neolítico antigo da Costa Sudoeste portuguesa, através de prospecções e escavações arqueológicas promovidas pelo Grupo de Trabalhos de Arqueologia do Gabinete da Área de Sines, Unidade de Arqueologia do Parque Natural do Sudoeste Alentejano e Costa Vicentina e Centro de Estudos Arqueológicos do Museu de Arqueologia e Etnografia do Distrito de Setúbal (Soares -Tavares da Silva 1979;1993;2003;2018;Tavares da Silva -Soares 1981;1982;1987;1997;2007;2020a;Tavares da Silva -Soares -Penalva 1985;Soares 1992;1995;1996a;1996b;1997;Soares -Mazzuco -Clemente Conte 2016; Soares -Tavares da Silva -Canilho 2005-2007; Tavares da Silva -Soares -Coelho -Soares 2010). Foi assim possível contribuir para o conhecimento do Neolítico antigo desta região, cronologicamente situado entre o segundo quartel/meados do 6.º milénio cal BC e meados do milénio seguinte, a partir da escavação de povoados de ar livre, localizados quer na linha de costa, nas proximidades de antigas praias, quer no interior, nas margens de cursos de água, em áreas baixas e planas de terrenos arenosos; possuem indústria lítica na tradição da do Mesolítico final, tradição com expressão em outros domínios: padrões de assentamento e estratégias de mobilidade e de gestão de recursos naturais (Soares 2020).…”