Being at the western fringe of Europe, Iberia had a peculiar prehistory and a complex pattern of Neolithization. A few studies, all based on modern populations, reported the presence of DNA of likely ...African origin in this region, generally concluding it was the result of recent gene flow, probably during the Islamic period. Here, we provide evidence of much older gene flow from Africa to Iberia by sequencing whole genomes from four human remains from northern Portugal and southern Spain dated around 4000 years BP (from the Middle Neolithic to the Bronze Age). We found one of them to carry an unequivocal sub-Saharan mitogenome of most probably West or West-Central African origin, to our knowledge never reported before in prehistoric remains outside Africa. Our analyses of ancient nuclear genomes show small but significant levels of sub-Saharan African affinity in several ancient Iberian samples, which indicates that what we detected was not an occasional individual phenomenon, but an admixture event recognizable at the population level. We interpret this result as evidence of an early migration process from Africa into the Iberian Peninsula through a western route, possibly across the Strait of Gibraltar.
Being at the western fringe of Europe, Iberia had a peculiar prehistory and a complex pattern of Neolithization. A few studies, all based on modern populations, reported the presence of DNA of likely ...African origin in this region, generally concluding it was the result of recent gene flow, probably during the Islamic period. Here, we provide evidence of much older gene flow from Africa to Iberia by sequencing whole genomes from four human remains from northern Portugal and southern Spain dated around 4000 years BP (from the Middle Neolithic to the Bronze Age). We found one of them to carry an unequivocal sub-Saharan mitogenome of most probably West or West-Central African origin, to our knowledge never reported before in prehistoric remains outside Africa. Our analyses of ancient nuclear genomes show small but significant levels of sub-Saharan African affinity in several ancient Iberian samples, which indicates that what we detected was not an occasional individual phenomenon, but an admixture event recognizable at the population level. We interpret this result as evidence of an early migration process from Africa into the Iberian Peninsula through a western route, possibly across the Strait of Gibraltar.
Analysis of different sediments in NW Spain suggests that a series of abrupt climatic changes occurred between 3500 and 1000 BC. These involved some episodes of cooling and others of drought. There ...were also changes to the coastline of Galicia. Taken together, these would have offered new opportunities to Copper Age communities who had already embarked on a process of agricultural intensification. The result was a growth of internecine competition.
•Last discoveries support that Paleolithic rock art was depicted outside of the traditional area.•The westernmost rock art site in Iberia is located in Galicia, a area where this art had not been ...found.•The art in Cova Eirós demonstrates that the Palaeolithic style artistic tradition lasts until 9500–9000 BP.•This suggests a pan-European symbolic tradition produced by the last hunter-gatherer groups.
Our knowledge about Paleolithic art has been changing substantially and new discoveries and dates are modifying some traditionally accepted considerations. In this context, the geographic spread and the end of this graphic-artistic cycle are two of the main topics of the current scientific debate. The discovery and study of rock art in Cova Eirós, located in the northwest of the Iberian Peninsula, whose walls display geometric / stylized animals with linear interior fills, widens the territory of Paleolithic rock art in North Iberia beyond the traditional Franco-Cantabrian core. This find is framed in the successive discoveries made in the last 20 years that break with the perception of the Franco-Cantabrian region as being the core of the Paleolithic art. Moreover, the formal and stylistic features of some motifs from Cova Eirós allow to ascribe them to the final stages of the Paleolithic-style portable and rock art, classified as Style V or fini-Paleolithic; a pan-European tradition that began ~ 12,000–11,500 BP and lasted up to ~9,500–9,000 BP, in correspondence with the last hunter-gatherer groups.
Like so much rock art, the Neolithic/Bronze Age petroglyphs of Galicia have been studied mainly as a source of stylistic information. This paper contends that it may be more rewarding to see them as ...a vital component of the prehistoric landscape. In this paper we study their siting in relation to Galician ecology and the movement of wild animals across the terrain. We also consider the organization of the panels of carved rock at a more local level and attempt to interpret their distinctive use of the local topography. We should not treat rock carvings as if they were portable artefacts. A more flexible approach to this material may help to break down the functionalist bias of landscape archaeology.
El arte rupestre puede considerarse como una forma especializada de cultura material, con un potencial de variación equivalente al de los monumentos y otras clases de artefactos. De este modo, sus ...características pueden reflejar la función social de esas representaciones, así como la manera de percibir el entorno por parte de los grupos humanos. Este tipo de contrastes creemos que pueden percibirse dentro del Noroeste ibérico, en una "zona de contacto" más o menos amplia en la que se superponen dos tradiciones artísticas, la ligada al Arte Esquemático vigente en gran parte de la Península y aquella, más regional, que se define como grupo de petroglifos galaicos. Las divergencias de tipo iconográfico o de emplazamiento entre las estaciones pertenecientes a uno u otro grupo se hacen eco de diferencias de más fuste por lo que respecta a las formas de asentamiento, explotación y definición del territorio entre las áreas Mediterránea y Atlántica peninsulares.
Hemos prospectado dos áreas con manifestaciones de arte rupestre en Monte Penide, descubriendo en su cercanía concentraciones de material cerámico y lítico de cronología semejante. Uno de los lugares ...examinados (Coto da Fenteira) fue objeto de un análisis edafológico sobre un corte abierto por obras recientes. La combinación de estudios sobre elementos traza (Ti, Zr, Hg o Br) y de dataciones C-14 ha permitido definir un suelo policíclico que se extiende a lo largo del Holoceno y en el que se diferencian dos grandes episodios erosivos vinculados a la acción antrópica: uno a partir de la primera mitad del III milenio AC y otro menos violento desde inicios del II milenio, coincidentes grosso modo con la expansión del sistema agropastoril durante el Calcolítico y su continuación a lo largo del Bronce inicial/medio regional, desmintiendo así la noción de una crisis socioeconómica durante el segundo período y apoyando, en cambio, la hipótesis de una incidencia progresiva de los grupos humanos sobre el medio hasta bien entrada la Edad del Hierro.
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