Coastal wetlands and the Neanderthal settlement of Portuguese Estremadura
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Abstract
Coastal wetlands are ecotone settings that offer diverse sets of resources for human exploitation, yet evidence for Pleistocene occupation rarely preserves due to recent postglacial sea‐level rise. During an ongoing geoarchaeological survey of Portuguese Estremadura we identified uplifted Pleistocene sediments that record coastal features including raised beaches, tidal channels, muds, peat, and coastal dunes. Stratified concentrations of Middle Paleolithic artifacts were found at Mira Nascente and Praia Rei Cortiço, two new sites in coastal wetland settings. The Mira Nascente locality yielded a chert‐dominated lithic assemblage in a tidal flat setting dated to MIS 3. The raw material economy differs markedly from sites found in other landscape settings. Praia Rei Cortiço is located near a thick peat deposit that formed in a freshwater coastal swamp and marsh likely dated to the Last Interglacial. These two sites represent a novel expression of Neanderthal land use strategies in Portugal. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
The riparian origin of mankind is most probable whether by the side of fresh or salt water.
—Carl O. Sauer (1962: 47)
