Economy and subsistence in the Early Neolithic site of Carrascal (Oeiras, Portugal)

Bibliographic Data

ID12480404
AuthorsJoão Luís Cardoso (0000-0001-8432-1052, University of Algarve, corresponding author), Maria João Valente (0000-0002-6137-5995, University of Algarve)
Year2021
Volume30
Pages107-123
Publication date2021-10-11
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueArchaeofauna (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1132-6891
PublisherServicio de Publicaciones de la Universidad Autonoma de Madrid (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.15366/archaeofauna2021.30.006
OpenAlexW3205611268
LanguageEN
References cited20

Early Neolithic settlements in southwestern Iberia are rare and, so far, only a few faunal assemblages, mostly from Portuguese Estremadura, have been analysed. The zooarchae- ological studies suggest that animal husbandry was introduced to the area by Neolithic marine settlers originating from the Mediterranean and that domesticated animal herding, particularly sheep, was of outmost importance to the human communities. Located in lower Estremadura, Carrascal is an open-air site, featuring several dwelling structures, a diversified set of artefacts, and a well-established chronology for its Early Neolithic occupation (cal BC). It also yielded a faunal assemblage of considerable size and variability, which includes vertebrates (mammals and fishes) and invertebrates (molluscs). The present study, which focuses on the vertebrate materials, shows that during Early Neolithic the community that inhabited Carrascal practiced a diversified set of subsistence activities in which animal husbandry was prevalent. There is an abundance of caprines (mainly sheep) and swine, followed by cattle. The age at death data suggests a mixed animal exploitation system, with swine being mostly killed at a younger age (presumably for meat), while cattle was slaughtered after reaching adulthood (perhaps for milk production) and caprines show a mixed pattern. This study also reinforces the idea that, for the Neolithic communities living in lower Estremadura, hunting was a less prevailing activity (au- rochs and, perhaps, wild boar were identified, but red deer is absent in Carrascal) when compared with the human groups that lived in the central Estremadura Limestone Massif, a situation that may be due to different ecosystems and human demography

Agriculture · Animal husbandry · Archaeology · Biology · Domestication · Fauna · Faunal assemblage · Geography · Herding · Subsistence agriculture · Taphonomy · Zooarchaeology · Archaeological and Geological Studies · Archaeology and ancient environmental studies · Pleistocene-Era Hominins and Archaeology · Ecology

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