Prehistory of Portugal

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The prehistory of Portugal resembles the history of the other regions of the Iberian Peninsula until the beginning of the early history of Portugal .

Paleolithic

The presence of representatives of the genus Homo has been documented in Portugal since Homo erectus . In 2014, in the Gruta da Aroeira in central Portugal, together with hand axes, the 400,000-year-old skull of a human was found, which has the hallmarks of a Neanderthal, but also refers to other, more archaic human forms. During excavations in "Ribeira da Atalaia" on the upper reaches of the Tagus , researchers found traces of everyday objects whose age is estimated to be 300,000 years using radiographic methods. The finds from Ribeira da Atalaia indicate a Homo heidelbergensis . The assignment of the 25,000-year-old " Child of Lagar Velho ", to whom both anatomical features of modern humans ( Homo sapiens ) and Neanderthals were ascribed, is controversial . When modern humans had already immigrated to the area, the last Neanderthals lived here. There are also traces of Neanderthals on a campsite near Vilas Ruivas. There was also evidence of a 24,000 year old fireplace on the Tejo. One of the oldest cultural testimonies to the settlement of Portugal by modern humans are the rock carvings from Foz Côa (around 18,000 BC).

Mesolithic

Shell piles, internationally known as Køkkenmøddinger (Port. Concheiros ; English Shell middens ), testify to the presence of modern man. From the late Mesolithic a number of clam shell piles are known from the estuary of the Tajo and Sado rivers . The diet of the coastal inhabitants was mainly based on marine resources.

Neolithic

The first Neolithic settlements are on the limestone plateau of the Estremadura . Burials from the early Neolithic date from the Gruta da Caldeirão (cave) near Tomar . The pottery belongs to the late Cardial and dates between 5300 and 5100 BC. The animal bones found indicate sheep and goats, i.e. animal husbandry with species imported from the Levant . In the following Epi-Cardial (from 5000 BC) the inland is settled. Many researchers assume that the first Neolithic settlement was by sea and that areas that were not densely populated were visited. In the Alentejo , the oldest megalithic structures are located near Mesolithic sites. A covering of two menhirs by a passage grave is cited as evidence that the menhirs can be dated to an early phase of the Neolithic.

Bronze age

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The copper metallurgy is the sustainable precursor to the Iberian Bronze Age . The older Bronze Age, about which little is known, began with the bell beaker culture . The tomb of Quinta da Água Branca and the hoard of Alcácer are exceptions. Places and settlements that can be linked to the older Bronze Age but have not yet been explored are the Castelo Velho de Freixo de Numão , Columbreira, Vila Nova de São Pedro and Zambujal . The middle phase, which is particularly evident in the north, is also called the "Atlantic Bronze Age" and shows clear connections to the rest of Western Europe. In the south there is a noticeable Mediterranean-oriental influence that can be associated with Tartessos . In central Portuguese Baiões is the contact zone between the two currents.

From 2000 BC The culture of the Iberians flourished , a people who lived from the 6th to the 1st century BC. BC the Iberian Peninsula between Andalusia and the Languedoc was populated and cultivated cultural and economic relations with the other advanced cultures of the Mediterranean area - the Phoenicians , Punians and Greeks . For the younger Bronze Age, grave fields such as the honeycomb of Atalaia are characteristic, where menhirs , here called "pedras empinadas", and horizontally placed plates are common. In the south, sculpted steles are used as ceiling panels for stone boxes.

Iron age

The culture of the Iberians, which falls into the younger Iron Age , featured highly developed city-states. The Phoenicians (from 1000 BC) founded colonies in Portugal . Around the year 600 BC There was an invasion of the Celts , who entered into various interrelationships with the Iberians ( Keltiberer ). The origins of the Lusitans , who are mentioned in ancient sources as the second people next to the Celts and which should give the country its name in Latin , are not clear. It is assumed, however, that it was a tribe that perhaps originally had its home in the Swiss Alpine region and from there, with the other tribes, perhaps also immigrated to the Iberian Peninsula in the course of the Celtic immigration.

See also

literature

  • Pablo Arias: The origins of the Neolithic along the Atlantic coast of continental Europe: a survey. Journal of World Prehistory 13, 1999, pp. 403-464. ( online , PDF)
  • Manuel Calado: Standing stones and natural outcrops. The role of ritual monuments in the Neolithic transition of the Central Alentejo. In: Chris Scarre : Monuments and Landscapes in Atlantic Europe . London 2002, pp. 17-35.
  • João Zilhão : The spread of agro-pastoral economies across Mediterranean Europe: a view from the Far West. In: Journal of Mediterranean Archeology . Volume 6, 1993, pp. 5-63, full text (PDF; 2.1 MB) .
  • Jonathan A. Haws, Caroline L. Funk, Michael M. Benedetti, Nuno F. Bicho, J. Michael Daniels, Thomas A. Minckley, Rhawn F. Denniston, Marjeta Jeraj, Juan F. Gibaja and Bryan S. Hockett and others. a .: Paleolithic Landscapes and Seascapes of the West Coast of Portugal. In: Nuno Bicho, Jonathan A. Haws, Loren G. Davis (Eds.): Trekking the Shore: Changing Coastlines and the Antiquity of Coastal Settlement . Springer, 2011, pp. 202-246.

Web links

supporting documents

  1. ^ Anne Gibbons: New Portuguese skull may be an early relative of Neandertals , in: Science, March 13, 2017.