Neolithic Archaeology at the Penedo dos Mouros Rock-Shelter (Gouveia, Portugal) and the Issue of Primitive Transhumance Practices in the Estrela Mountain Range

Abstract

Located in the foothills of the north-western sector of the Estrela Mountain (Beira Alta province in central-north Portugal), Penedo dos Mouros Rock-shelter revealed a succession of three distinct archaeological horizons datable to the evolved Early Neolithic and initial Middle Neolithic, thus partially coinciding with the onset of the regional Megalithism. The find of a few caprine remains at least one possible sheep, among a large spectrum of species –swine, rabbit, hare, Iberian lynx and toad–, makes this site the oldest in the region to provide direct evidence for herding practices. Small-sized pots, expedient use of local lithic raw materials together with curated use of exogenous flint, and low density of artefacts indicate a strategy of residential mobility in line with similar evidence observed elsewhere in Beira Alta. Given previous claims of Neolithic vertical transhumance between montane plateaux –in the summer– and lowland plains –in the winter–, this hypothesis is here discussed –and refuted– based on spatial analysis of Neolithic sites, economic characterization of the period and local orographic and bioclimatic constraints.

Keywords

• neolítico
• beira alta
• megalitismo
• sistemas de asentamiento
• ganadería
• pastoreo