The Bom Santo Cave (Lisbon, Portugal): Catchment, Diet, and Patterns of Mobility of a Middle Neolithic Population

Abstract

The study of the Bom Santo Cave (central Portugal), a Neolithic cemetery, indicates a complex social, palaeoeconomic, and population scenario. With isotope, aDNA, and provenance, analyses of raw materials coupled with stylistic variability of material culture items and palaeogeographical data, light is shed on the territory and social organization of a population dated to 3800–3400 cal BC, i.e. the Middle Neolithic. Results indicate an itinerant farming, segmentary society, where exogamic practices were the norm. Its lifeway may be that of the earliest megalithic builders of the region, but further research is needed to correctly evaluate the degree of this community's participation in such a phenomenon.

L’étude de la nécropole néolithique découverte dans la grotte de Bom Santo (Portugal central) révèle un scénario social, économique et démographique complexe. Les analyses des isotopes, de l'ADN ancien et de la provenance des matières premières ainsi que l'examen des variations stylistiques du mobilier et des données de la paléogéographie donnent un aperçu du territoire et de l'organisation sociale d'une population datant du Néolithique moyen, soit entre 3800 et 3400 cal BC. Nos résultats indiquent la présence d'une communauté agricole itinérante et segmentée où les pratiques de l'exogamie étaient en vigueur. Ce mode de vie était peut-être aussi celui des premiers constructeurs de mégalithes de la région mais cette hypothèse devra être testée par des études ultérieures ayant pour but d’évaluer le degré de participation de notre communauté au phénomène mégalithique. Translation by Madeleine Hummler

Die Untersuchung der Betsattungsstätte in der Höhle von Bom Santo (Zentralportugal) ergibt ein komplexes soziales, wirtschaftliches und demografisches Bild. Die Auswertung der Isotopen, der alten DNA (aDNA), der Herkunft der Rohstoffe, sowie auch der stilistischen Variationen in der materiellen Kultur und der paläogeografischen Angaben verdeutlicht wie eine mittelneolithische Gemeinschaft wischen 3800 und 3400 cal BC räumlich und sozial organisiert war. Die Ergebnisse zeigen, dass es sich um eine wandernde, segmentierte Bauerngesellschaft handelte, die wahrscheinlich Exogamie ausübte. Die ersten Megalithbauer der Gegend haben vielleicht auch solch eine Lebensweise gefolgt, aber weitere Untersuchungen müssen noch unternommen werden, um das Ausmaß der Beteiligung der Bom Santo Bevölkerung am megalithischen Phänomen richtig zu bewerten. Translation by Madeleine Hummler

Keywords:

• Portugal
• Neolithic
• burial caves
• bioanthropology

Mots-clés:

• Portugal
• Néolithique
• grottes funéraires
• bio-anthropologie

Stichworte:

• Portugal
• Neolithikum
• Bestattungshöhlen
• Bio-anthropologie

Acknowledgements

This manuscript was written by António Faustino Carvalho and reviewed by David Gonçalves, Eduardo Arroyo-Pardo, Eva Fernández-Domínguez, Francisca Alves-Cardoso, Fiona Petchey, Raquel Granja, and T. Douglas Price. This study was supported by the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology within the project Bom Santo Cave and the Neolithic societies of Portuguese Estremadura, 6^th–4th millennia BC (PTDC/HIS-ARQ/098633/2008), directed by AFC in 2010–2013, being the outcome of previous work at the site by Cidália Duarte, whom we thank for sharing her data. Reference must be made to the speleologists from the Associação de Estudos Subterrâneos e Defesa do Ambiente who discovered the cave; were it not for their ethical conduct and responsible attitude in re-closing the cave until professional archaeological work could be started, the integrity of its scientific potential could have been compromised and this work would have been impossible. We also thank three anonymous reviewers for their encouraging comments and suggestions that helped improve a first version of our text.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

António Faustino Carvalho

Biographical Note

António Faustino Carvalho is former archaeologist of the Côa Valley Archaeological Park and the Portuguese Institute for Archaeology. PhD in Prehistoric Archaeology by the University of Algarve, Faro (Portugal). Main research areas: Mesolithic–Neolithic archaeology, lithic technology, megalithism, rock-art studies.

Address: Universidade do Algarve, F.C.H.S., Campus de Gambelas, 8000-117 Faro, Portugal

Francisca Alves-Cardoso

Francisca Alves-Cardoso PhD in Bioanthropology at Durham University (UK). Grant holder of the Foundation for Science and Technology Investigator Programme (Portugal). Main research areas: biological anthropology, palaeopathology, curation of past human osteological collections.

Address: Universidade Nova de Lisboa, Av. de Berna, 26-C, 1069-061 Lisbon, Portugal [email: [email protected]]

David Gonçalves

David Gonçalves PhD in Bioanthropology at the University of Coimbra (Portugal). Post-doctoral grant holder of the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology. Main research areas: human osteology, paleobiology, and funerary anthropology.

Address: Research Centre for Anthropology and Health, Universidade de Coimbra, Cç Martins de Freitas, 3000-456 Coimbra, Portugal [email: [email protected]]

Raquel Granja

Raquel Granja MA in Archaeology at the University of Algarve (Portugal). Main research areas: biological anthropology, palaeopathology, and funerary practices.

Address: Universidade do Algarve, Campus de Gambelas, 8000-117 Faro, Portugal [email: [email protected]]

João Luís Cardoso

João Luís Cardoso PhD in Palaeontology at the New University of Lisbon (Portugal). Main research areas: zooarchaeology, geoarchaeology, megalithism, bell beakers, and history of archaeology.

Address: Universidade Aberta, Rua da Escola Politécnica, 141-147, 1269-001 Lisbon, Portugal [email: [email protected]]

Rebecca M. Dean

Rebecca M. Dean PhD in Anthropology at the University of Arizona, Tucson (USA). Main research areas: zooarchaeology, subsistence strategies, and Neolithic archaeology.

Address: University of Minnesota-Morris, 600E, 4th Street, Morris, MN 56267, USA [email: [email protected]]

Juan Francisco Gibaja

Juan Francisco Gibaja PhD in Prehistory at the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (Spain). Main research areas: Mesolithic–Neolithic archaeology, use-wear studies, and funerary practices.

Address: C.S.I.C., C/ Egipciaques 15, 08001 Barcelona, Spain [email: [email protected]]

Maria A. Masucci

Maria A. Masucci PhD in Anthropology at the Southern Methodist University, Dallas (USA). Main research areas: Latin American Archaeology, ceramic technology, and petrography.

Address: Drew University, Madison, NJ 07940, USA [email: [email protected]]

Eduardo Arroyo-Pardo

Eduardo Arroyo-Pardo PhD in Biological Sciences at the Complutense University of Madrid (Spain). Main research areas: forensic genetics, ancient DNA, and population studies.

Address: Universidad Complutense de Madrid, 28040-Madrid, Spain [email: [email protected]]

Eva Fernández-Domínguez

Eva Fernández-Domínguez PhD in Anthropology at the University of Barcelona (Spain). Main research areas: biological anthropology, ancient DNA, and population studies.

Address: Liverpool John Moores University, Liverpool L3 3AF, UK [email: [email protected]]

Fiona Petchey

Fiona Petchey PhD on Radiocarbon Dating at the Waikato University (New Zealand). Main research areas: radiocarbon dating, reservoir effect, and stable isotope analyses from human tissues.

Address: University of Waikato, Gate 9, Hillcrest Road, Hamilton 3240, New Zealand [email: [email protected]]

T. Douglas Price

T. Douglas Price PhD in Anthropology at the University of Michigan (USA). Main research areas: European prehistory, archaeological chemistry, hunter–gatherers, and origins of agriculture.

Address: University of Wisconsin–Madison, 1180 Observatory Drive, Madison, WI 53711, USA [email: [email protected]]

José Eduardo Mateus

José Eduardo Mateus PhD in Biology at the Utrecht University (Netherlands). Main research areas: anthracology and palynology studies, palaeoecology.

Address: Terra Scenica, Largo Frei Heitor Pinto, 4, 2° Esq., 1700-204 Lisbon, Portugal [email: [email protected]]

Paula Fernanda Queiroz

Paula Fernanda Queiroz PhD in Biology at the University of Lisbon (Portugal). Main research areas: anthracology and palynology studies, palaeoecology.

Address: Terra Scenica, Largo Frei Heitor Pinto, 4, 2° Esq., 1700-204 Lisbon, Portugal [email: [email protected]]

Pedro Callapez

Pedro Callapez PhD in Stratigraphy and Palaeontology at the University of Coimbra (Portugal). Stratigraphy, invertebrate Palaeontology, mollusc systematics, palaeoecology.

Address: Universidade de Coimbra, Largo Marquês de Pombal, 3001-401, Coimbra, Portugal [email: [email protected]]

Carlos Pimenta

Carlos Pimenta BA in Biology at the Faculty of Sciences of the University of Lisbon (Portugal). Main research areas: ecology of microvertebrates and ethnozoology.

Address: Direção-Geral do Património Cultural, Rua da Bica do Marquês, 2, 1300-087 Lisbon, Portugal [email: [email protected]]

Frederico T. Regala

Frederico T. Regala MA in Archaeology at the University of Algarve, Faro (Portugal). Main research areas: cultural heritage, archaeology, speleology.

Address: A.E.S.D.A., Av. Tenente Valadim, 17, 1°, 2564-909 Torres Vedras, Portugal [email: [email protected]]