Vera Aldeias
Biographic Data
| ID | 631703 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Vera Aldeias |
| GIVEN NAMES | Vera |
| FAMILY NAME | Aldeias |
| SIGNATURE | ALDEIAS V |
| AFFILIATIONS | University of Algarve |
| ORCID | 0000-0002-7680-182X |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 35 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 664 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 35 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2011 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2026 |
| H-INDEX | 15 |
Can freeze–thaw cycles erase traces of fire use? An experimental approach to understanding combustion residues preservation
The use of fire by past hominins is widely considered an ubiquitous and essential technology for survival in cold conditions. However, recent research on fire use shows a surprising scarcity of combustion features during cold periods in Middle and Late Pleistocene Europe. One possible explanation is that cryoturbation processes may degrade combustion remains. Yet, the effects of repetitive freeze–thaw cycles on the integrity and visibility of com…
Vial Excavation: Microstratigraphic Excavation in the Laboratory - A Methodology for High Resolution Sampling and Integration of Data from Multiple Analytical Methods
Over the last decades, archaeology has been undergoing a revolution of sorts driven by advances in the archaeological sciences and the ability to extract data from sediments. These new methods work at the micro- or even molecular scale and thus require extremely high levels of precision for the context of the samples. While there have been significant advances in proveniencing techniques, by and large, basic excavation methods have hardly changed…
Revisiting the thermal alteration of buried bone
Fire Use During the Last Glacial Maximum: Evidence From the Epigravettian at Korman' 9, Middle Dniester Valley, Ukraine
The Last Glacial maximum (LGM), spanning from 26.5 to 19 thousand years before present (ka bp ), is a period of extreme climatic degradation associated with reduced biomass production and resource stress throughout Eurasia. Arguably, one of the most fundamental tools for human survival during this cold and arid period was the ability to create, maintain and use fire. While fire is widely considered a ubiquitous tool in modern human behaviour, the…
Site Formation Histories and Context of Human Occupations at the Paleolithic Site of La Ferrassie (Dordogne, France)
The Paleolithic site of La Ferrassie (Dordogne, France) has contributed significantly to the understanding of Middle and Upper Paleolithic technocomplexes, as well as Neanderthal skeletal morphology. Excavations at the site have spanned more than a century and uncovered rich archaeological assemblages associated with the Mousterian, Châtelperronian, Aurignacian and Gravettian technocomplexes. Renewed excavations exposed a sequence spanning both M…
Late Acheulean occupations at Montagu Cave and the pattern of Middle Pleistocene behavioral change in Western Cape, southern Africa
Identifying the unidentified fauna enhances insights into hominin subsistence strategies during the Middle to Upper Palaeolithic transition
Understanding Palaeolithic hominin subsistence strategies requires the comprehensive taxonomic identification of faunal remains. The high fragmentation of Late Pleistocene faunal assemblages often prevents proper taxonomic identification based on bone morphology. It has been assumed that the morphologically unidentifiable component of the faunal assemblage would reflect the taxonomic abundances of the morphologically identified portion. In this s…
Fire among Neanderthals
The evolution of pyrotechnology in the Upper Palaeolithic of Europe
Pyrotechnology, the ability for hominins to use fire as a tool, is considered to be one of the most important behavioural adaptations in human evolution. While several studies have focused on identifying the emergence of fire use and later Middle Palaeolithic Neanderthal combustion features, far fewer have focused on modern human fire use. As a result, we currently have more data characterizing the hominin fire use prior to 50,000 years before pr…
Initial Upper Paleolithic bone technology and personal ornaments at Bacho Kiro Cave (Bulgaria)
Ecosystem engineering in the Quaternary of the West Coast of South Africa
Despite advances in our understanding of the geographic and temporal scope of the Paleolithic record, we know remarkably little about the evolutionary and ecological consequences of changes in human behavior. Recent inquiries suggest that human evolution reflects a long history of interconnections between the behavior of humans and their surrounding ecosystems (e.g., niche construction). Developing expectations to identify such phenomena is remar…
Simply red? A systematic colour‐based method for identifying archaeological fires
The identification and characterization of hearths is crucial for reconstructing the history of fire use and pyrotechnology. In addition to ashes and charcoals, an active fire will also produce alterations of the underlying substrate to varying degrees. To date, however, few studies have addressed how the characteristics of burned substrates relate to pyrotechnology. Here, we systematize the use of colour to identify burnt sediments by performing…
Subsistence behavior during the Initial Upper Paleolithic in Europe: Site use, dietary practice, and carnivore exploitation at Bacho Kiro Cave (Bulgaria)
Initial Upper Palaeolithic Homo sapiens from Bacho Kiro Cave, Bulgaria
What is ‘in situ’? A reply to Harmand et al. (2015)
Earliest known Oldowan artifacts at >2.58 Ma from Ledi-Geraru, Ethiopia, highlight early technological diversity
Significance Humans are distinguished from all other primates by their reliance on tool use. When this uniquely human feature began is debated. Evidence of tool use in human ancestors now extends almost 3.3 Ma and becomes prevalent only after 2.6 Ma with the Oldowan. Here, we report a new Oldowan locality (BD 1) that dates prior to 2.6 Ma. These earliest Oldowan tools are distinctive from the 3.3 Ma assemblage and from materials that modern nonhu…
A missing piece of the Papio puzzle: Gorongosa baboon phenostructure and intrageneric relationships
Neanderthal plant use and pyrotechnology: Phytolith analysis from Roc de Marsal, France
Shell we cook it? An experimental approach to the microarchaeological record of shellfish roasting
In this paper, we investigate the microarchaeological traces and archaeological visibility of shellfish cooking activities through a series of experimental procedures with direct roasting using wood-fueled fires and controlled heating in a muffle furnace. An interdisciplinary geoarchaeological approach, combining micromorphology, FTIR (in transmission and ATR collection modes), TGA and XRD, was used to establish a baseline on the mineralogical tr…
Measuring spatial structure in time-averaged deposits insights from Roc de Marsal, France
Were Western European Neandertals Able to Make Fire
Why does (archaeological) micromorphology have such little traction in (geo)archaeology
The complementarity of luminescence dating methods illustrated on the Mousterian sequence of the Roc de Marsal: A series of reindeer-dominated, Quina Mousterian layers dated to MIS 3
How Did Hominins Adapt to Ice Age Europe without Fire
Analyses of archaeological material recovered from several Middle Paleolithic sites in southwest France have provided strong corroborating data on Neanderthal use of fire. Both direct and indirect data show that Neanderthals in this region were frequently and/or intensively using fire during warmer periods, but such evidence declines significantly in occupations that took place during colder periods. One possible explanation for this pattern is t…
Testing the Roc de Marsal Neandertal "Burial" with Geoarchaeology
Evidence for Neandertal use of fire at Roc de Marsal (France)
On the industrial attributions of the Aterian and Mousterian of the Maghreb
Experimental Approaches to Archaeological Fire Features and Their Behavioral Relevance
The uses and functions of fire in early human adaptations are commonly debated and at times very controversial topics. It is important to recognize under what circumstances and conditions specific fire-related traces can be produced and preserved in the archaeological record. Currently, a growing body of data is emerging on the application of experimental research to the study of archaeological hearths and their residues. In this review, I draw t…
How heat alters underlying deposits and implications for archaeological fire features: A controlled experiment
How Did Hominins Adapt to Ice Age Europe without Fire
Analyses of archaeological material recovered from several Middle Paleolithic sites in southwest France have provided strong corroborating data on Neanderthal use of fire. Both direct and indirect data show that Neanderthals in this region were frequently and/or intensively using fire during warmer periods, but such evidence declines significantly in occupations that took place during colder periods. One possible explanation for this pattern is t…
A multi-method luminescence dating of the Palaeolithic sequence of La Ferrassie based on new excavations adjacent to the La Ferrassie 1 and 2 skeletons
Why does (archaeological) micromorphology have such little traction in (geo)archaeology
Were Western European Neandertals Able to Make Fire
Single-grain OSL dating at La Grotte des Contrebandiers (‘Smugglers’ Cave’), Morocco: Improved age constraints for the Middle Paleolithic levels
A critical look at evidence from La Chapelle-aux-Saints supporting an intentional Neandertal burial
Shell we cook it? An experimental approach to the microarchaeological record of shellfish roasting
In this paper, we investigate the microarchaeological traces and archaeological visibility of shellfish cooking activities through a series of experimental procedures with direct roasting using wood-fueled fires and controlled heating in a muffle furnace. An interdisciplinary geoarchaeological approach, combining micromorphology, FTIR (in transmission and ATR collection modes), TGA and XRD, was used to establish a baseline on the mineralogical tr…
Embedded Behavior: Human Activities and the Construction of the Mesolithic Shellmound of Cabeço da Amoreira, Muge, Portugal
Shellmound formation processes are greatly influenced by human inputs associated with an intensive exploitation of marine and estuarine resources. The complex stratigraphy of shellmounds has been difficult to decipher and few studies have focused on the microstratigraphic record of midden formation, especially in European Mesolithic contexts. Cabeço da Amoreira is a long‐known Mesolithic shellmound located on the shores of the Muge River, a tribu…
Measuring spatial structure in time-averaged deposits insights from Roc de Marsal, France
Subsistence behavior during the Initial Upper Paleolithic in Europe: Site use, dietary practice, and carnivore exploitation at Bacho Kiro Cave (Bulgaria)
Testing the Roc de Marsal Neandertal "Burial" with Geoarchaeology
Initial Upper Paleolithic bone technology and personal ornaments at Bacho Kiro Cave (Bulgaria)
Deciphering site formation processes through soil micromorphology at Contrebandiers Cave, Morocco
Neanderthal plant use and pyrotechnology: Phytolith analysis from Roc de Marsal, France
Identifying the unidentified fauna enhances insights into hominin subsistence strategies during the Middle to Upper Palaeolithic transition
Understanding Palaeolithic hominin subsistence strategies requires the comprehensive taxonomic identification of faunal remains. The high fragmentation of Late Pleistocene faunal assemblages often prevents proper taxonomic identification based on bone morphology. It has been assumed that the morphologically unidentifiable component of the faunal assemblage would reflect the taxonomic abundances of the morphologically identified portion. In this s…
The evolution of pyrotechnology in the Upper Palaeolithic of Europe
Pyrotechnology, the ability for hominins to use fire as a tool, is considered to be one of the most important behavioural adaptations in human evolution. While several studies have focused on identifying the emergence of fire use and later Middle Palaeolithic Neanderthal combustion features, far fewer have focused on modern human fire use. As a result, we currently have more data characterizing the hominin fire use prior to 50,000 years before pr…
A missing piece of the Papio puzzle: Gorongosa baboon phenostructure and intrageneric relationships
Middle and Late Stone Age of the Niassa region, northern Mozambique. Preliminary results
Simply red? A systematic colour‐based method for identifying archaeological fires
The identification and characterization of hearths is crucial for reconstructing the history of fire use and pyrotechnology. In addition to ashes and charcoals, an active fire will also produce alterations of the underlying substrate to varying degrees. To date, however, few studies have addressed how the characteristics of burned substrates relate to pyrotechnology. Here, we systematize the use of colour to identify burnt sediments by performing…
Revisiting the thermal alteration of buried bone
Site Formation Histories and Context of Human Occupations at the Paleolithic Site of La Ferrassie (Dordogne, France)
The Paleolithic site of La Ferrassie (Dordogne, France) has contributed significantly to the understanding of Middle and Upper Paleolithic technocomplexes, as well as Neanderthal skeletal morphology. Excavations at the site have spanned more than a century and uncovered rich archaeological assemblages associated with the Mousterian, Châtelperronian, Aurignacian and Gravettian technocomplexes. Renewed excavations exposed a sequence spanning both M…
Single-grain OSL dating at La Grotte des Contrebandiers (‘Smugglers’ Cave’), Morocco: Improved age constraints for the Middle Paleolithic levels
Evidence for Neandertal use of fire at Roc de Marsal (France)
On the industrial attributions of the Aterian and Mousterian of the Maghreb
A critical look at evidence from La Chapelle-aux-Saints supporting an intentional Neandertal burial
Deciphering site formation processes through soil micromorphology at Contrebandiers Cave, Morocco
A multi-method luminescence dating of the Palaeolithic sequence of La Ferrassie based on new excavations adjacent to the La Ferrassie 1 and 2 skeletons
Middle and Late Stone Age of the Niassa region, northern Mozambique. Preliminary results
How heat alters underlying deposits and implications for archaeological fire features: A controlled experiment
Embedded Behavior: Human Activities and the Construction of the Mesolithic Shellmound of Cabeço da Amoreira, Muge, Portugal
Shellmound formation processes are greatly influenced by human inputs associated with an intensive exploitation of marine and estuarine resources. The complex stratigraphy of shellmounds has been difficult to decipher and few studies have focused on the microstratigraphic record of midden formation, especially in European Mesolithic contexts. Cabeço da Amoreira is a long‐known Mesolithic shellmound located on the shores of the Muge River, a tribu…
The complementarity of luminescence dating methods illustrated on the Mousterian sequence of the Roc de Marsal: A series of reindeer-dominated, Quina Mousterian layers dated to MIS 3
How Did Hominins Adapt to Ice Age Europe without Fire
Analyses of archaeological material recovered from several Middle Paleolithic sites in southwest France have provided strong corroborating data on Neanderthal use of fire. Both direct and indirect data show that Neanderthals in this region were frequently and/or intensively using fire during warmer periods, but such evidence declines significantly in occupations that took place during colder periods. One possible explanation for this pattern is t…
Testing the Roc de Marsal Neandertal "Burial" with Geoarchaeology
Experimental Approaches to Archaeological Fire Features and Their Behavioral Relevance
The uses and functions of fire in early human adaptations are commonly debated and at times very controversial topics. It is important to recognize under what circumstances and conditions specific fire-related traces can be produced and preserved in the archaeological record. Currently, a growing body of data is emerging on the application of experimental research to the study of archaeological hearths and their residues. In this review, I draw t…
Were Western European Neandertals Able to Make Fire
Why does (archaeological) micromorphology have such little traction in (geo)archaeology
Earliest known Oldowan artifacts at >2.58 Ma from Ledi-Geraru, Ethiopia, highlight early technological diversity
Significance Humans are distinguished from all other primates by their reliance on tool use. When this uniquely human feature began is debated. Evidence of tool use in human ancestors now extends almost 3.3 Ma and becomes prevalent only after 2.6 Ma with the Oldowan. Here, we report a new Oldowan locality (BD 1) that dates prior to 2.6 Ma. These earliest Oldowan tools are distinctive from the 3.3 Ma assemblage and from materials that modern nonhu…
A missing piece of the Papio puzzle: Gorongosa baboon phenostructure and intrageneric relationships
Neanderthal plant use and pyrotechnology: Phytolith analysis from Roc de Marsal, France
Shell we cook it? An experimental approach to the microarchaeological record of shellfish roasting
In this paper, we investigate the microarchaeological traces and archaeological visibility of shellfish cooking activities through a series of experimental procedures with direct roasting using wood-fueled fires and controlled heating in a muffle furnace. An interdisciplinary geoarchaeological approach, combining micromorphology, FTIR (in transmission and ATR collection modes), TGA and XRD, was used to establish a baseline on the mineralogical tr…
Measuring spatial structure in time-averaged deposits insights from Roc de Marsal, France
Initial Upper Palaeolithic Homo sapiens from Bacho Kiro Cave, Bulgaria
What is ‘in situ’? A reply to Harmand et al. (2015)
Ecosystem engineering in the Quaternary of the West Coast of South Africa
Despite advances in our understanding of the geographic and temporal scope of the Paleolithic record, we know remarkably little about the evolutionary and ecological consequences of changes in human behavior. Recent inquiries suggest that human evolution reflects a long history of interconnections between the behavior of humans and their surrounding ecosystems (e.g., niche construction). Developing expectations to identify such phenomena is remar…
Simply red? A systematic colour‐based method for identifying archaeological fires
The identification and characterization of hearths is crucial for reconstructing the history of fire use and pyrotechnology. In addition to ashes and charcoals, an active fire will also produce alterations of the underlying substrate to varying degrees. To date, however, few studies have addressed how the characteristics of burned substrates relate to pyrotechnology. Here, we systematize the use of colour to identify burnt sediments by performing…
Subsistence behavior during the Initial Upper Paleolithic in Europe: Site use, dietary practice, and carnivore exploitation at Bacho Kiro Cave (Bulgaria)
Pleistocene-Era Hominins and Archaeology (31 works) · Archaeology (29 works) · Geography (28 works) · Archaeology and ancient environmental studies (25 works) · Geology (23 works) · Paleontology (20 works) · Biology (15 works) · Forensic Anthropology and Bioarchaeology Studies (14 works) · Geology and Paleoclimatology Research (13 works) · Cave (12 works)