Rui Boaventura | Universidade de Lisboa (original) (raw)

Books by Rui Boaventura

Antas are one of the visible facets of the Megalithism phenomenon in the region of Lisbon as well... more Antas are one of the visible facets of the Megalithism phenomenon in the region of Lisbon as well as natural caves, rock-cut tombs and vaulted chamber tombs (tholoi). This work seeks to integrate and understand this type of specific sepulchre within the context of the funerary phenomenon in this area. When evaluated locally, but also with other neighbouring regions, the antas of Lisbon are represented by a drastically reduced number. However, more than just suggesting a poor representation of the impact of Megalithism in this region, on the contrary, its construction appears to reinforce the importance of this phenomenon for those communities. The data compiled here allows for a chronological reading of the first periods of usage for the antas of Lisbon, dating to the middle and second half of the 4th millennium BCE, a moment apparently more recent than the evidence of the Megalithic phenomenon as registered in the natural caves in the region. Later on, during the first half of the 3rd millennium BCE, these tombs continued in usage, without evident interruption, but with alterations in burial assemblages. In the initial stage, probably until the end of the 4th millennium, the materials deposited are characterized as utilitarian and technomic in nature while in the subsequent period, there is evidence of ideotechnic assemblages. Widening the chronological reading to other areas of the peninsula, scrutinized results appear to indicate a similar periods of first utilization in these types of funerary structures, becoming widespread during the 2nd half of the 4th millennium BCE. Given the possibility of analyzing the osteological remains deposited in tombs from the Estremadura, specifically in the antas from the region of Lisbon, it was possible to verify that no individuals were excluded due to sex or age. Moreover, the paleodietary analysis of some adult individuals demonstrated similar nutrition standards between both sexes. Therefore, it is probable that these communities valued its lineages with the antas and other types of tombs serving as the final resting grounds for all of its members.

The Calcolithic Site of Pombal (Monforte): A possible recovery of old and new data. The present ... more The Calcolithic Site of Pombal (Monforte): A possible recovery of old and new data.
The present study was conducted for my Master’s Thesis in Prehistory and Archaeology and presented to the Faculty of Letters at the University of Lisbon. This resulted, naturally,
from the project entitled “The Prehistoric Communities of the 4th and 3rd Millennium in the Region of Monforte “ (COMONPH), co-directed with Carla Lopes, in the North Alentejo.
The neo-chalcolithic spoila was exhumed from the site of Pombal by Manuel Heleno in the 1950s and are currently held in the deposit at the National Museum of Archaeology.
To these, the results of recent research were added and a joint study, to search for its sociocultural context and chronology, was conducted. The virtual non-existence of information pertaining to the habitats of the Neolithic/Chalcolthic period in the North Alentejo turned
out to be extremely useful in approach, trying to verify the correct extrapolation discussed by several authors for this area, usually based on data from the Central Alentejo or other bordering areas.
During the course of this study, it was necessary to conduct a critique that was relevant to the spoila from the National Museum of Archaeology in order to ascertain the verification
of its provenience. This research was complimented and strengthened by having access to Manuel Heleno’s notes and to the explanations provided by some of the rural workers of
Vaiamonte who participated in the excavations conducted at Pombal. Even so, if the provenience of the spoila was relatively well known, and assign to the proper place, the excavation register didn’t record any vertical or horizontal measurements. Because of this, it is impossible to place any of the archaeological materials in their true context. In spite of this absence of “real” contexts, the search for parallels at better-known sites (usually in the bordering areas) allowed for the establishment of a general chronological record of the material culture.
The analysis of the material culture followed that of many other authors’ proposals, although this study has tried to develop some aspects in particular, namely, the function of
the loom elements or the close relationship between groundstone tools and percussors.
Furthermore, the monographic study that took place in this area also revealed the presence of several other occupation sites in the area, more or less correlated. Therefore, using the compiled archaeological data of old excavations and new field surveys, a sufficient and reasonable evaluation of this site may be achieved.
Thus, the site of Pombal was a settlement occupied during the end of the 4th millennium and into the following centuries of the 3rd. The cultural material indicated the intense
use of groundstone tools and percussors, probably associated with the clearing of fields for agricultural and pastoral activities. Grindstone elements probably reflect the consumption of cereals — the presence of plates and goblets with thickened lips did not come as a surprise, either. The high number of loom elements reveals the practice of weaving — evidence which suggested the use of technical solutions that were different from those in other
areas. But, simultaneously, the people of this settlement maintained inter-regional contacts.
The evidence of various raw materials, ceramic typologies and thematic decorations found at this site could indicate this.
Finally, this study registers several elements that would suggest the materialization of a secondary products revolution during the 3rd millennium.

Papers by Rui Boaventura

The remains collected by Hipólito Cabaço in the 1950s, following the exploration of the cave of P... more The remains collected by Hipólito Cabaço in the 1950s, following the exploration of the cave of Pedra Furada 1 are presented here.
The review of the archaeological and osteological material, the later human and faunal, showed that the cave has been visited and used intermittently between the transition from the fourth and third millennia BC; in the middle and second half of the same millennium, as well as during the second millenium BC. Finaly a specific context was atributed to the Sixteenth Century. Of those periods, the first was associated to a collective funerary use, evidenced by radiocarbon dating of an individual’s bone, but it is plausible that the second period also have been mortuary. However the funerary practice in the second millennium BC is not as certain and might be associated with cavernous cults. And this doubt extends to the modern case.
The anthropological study estimated globally a minimum of 34 individuals, 10 adults and 24 not adults of both sexes deposited in this cave.

Este artículo trata sobre el análisis arqueométrico de un hacha de jadeíta depositada en el Museo... more Este artículo trata sobre el análisis arqueométrico de
un hacha de jadeíta depositada en el Museo do Clube da
Sertã, en la villa de Sertã (distrito de Castelo Branco,
Portugal). De igual forma que sucede en otros museos
creados en el s. XIX y comienzos del s. XX, éste incorpora
materiales arqueológicos aislados y con escasas referencias
al contexto de origen. El hacha en cuestión tan sólo cuenta con una ficha de inventario manuscrita en la que aparece la siguiente descripción (fig. 1):
Pedra exótica, encontrada // juntamente com outros
numa // escavação junto da Portela do // Outeiro.
Caracteriza-se pela sua for-//ma oval e natureza geolo-//
gica, inteiramente estranha // à região.
C. Ramalhosa

An evaluation of Carlos Ribeiro’s (1813-1882) work regarding the excavation of four dolmens in th... more An evaluation of Carlos Ribeiro’s (1813-1882) work regarding the excavation of four dolmens in the outskirts of Belas (Sintra, Portugal) is presented here. These excavations were initiated in 1875 and extended intermittently until 1878. The results were exemplarily published in a monograph in 1880 containing rigorous descriptions of the monuments and its respective findings (portrayed by beautiful charcoal drawings of the tombs and its findings). The quality of graphic recording is accompanied by a discussion regarding the importance of
observing: the construction techniques adopted; how the terrain and geologic background conditioned its construction; as well as the type of raw materials used in the making of artifacts and its meaning.
Thanks to Carlos Ribeiro’s own manuscript notes it was possible to complement his published work. These notes are comprised of preliminary parts of the published work together with field observations conducted during the excavations. Also, they were intersected with notations from other publications compiled by Carlos Ribeiro which he used in the discussion of his own results. These documents illustrate how based on a scientific method the author built his archaeological discourse, emerging as one of the pinnacles in his field of knowledge in Portugal, together with his colleagues of the Geological Commission, Francisco Pereira da Costa and Joaquim Filipe Nery Delgado.
Besides illustrating the production of scientific discourse, based on data collected in the field, and then in the lab until its final result, this paper also provides information regarding the number of field work days and respective participants in the last phase of excavations conducted during most of the Summer of 1878 at the monuments of Monte Abraão, Estria and Carrascal/Agualva.

The results of the intervention at the megalithic tomb of Godinhos (Redondo) are presented here. ... more The results of the intervention at the megalithic tomb of Godinhos (Redondo) are presented here.
These are discussed within the regional human occupation, namely its funerary and settlement dynamics during the 4th and 3rd millennia BCE. Also, spacial focus is given to some findings, particularly the trapezoid microliths, compared with those collected in other tombs such as Cabeço da Areia and Rabuje 5. To be noted is the very likely foundation act in the tomb mound with three rock spheres. Finally, the reuse of the tomb in the late 3rd millennium is motif for some reflections, namely about a golden element.

This paper reviews and updates the anthropological knowledge about Middle-Late Neolithic populati... more This paper reviews and updates the anthropological knowledge about Middle-Late Neolithic populations in Portugal. This territory is rich in prehistoric burial sites, particularly those of the designated Middle and Late Neolithic/Chalcolithic periods (4th–3rd millennia BCE). In the past 150 years, more than 3000 tombs, namely natural caves used as tombs, dolmens, rock cut tombs and tholoi (vaulted chamber tombs) were identified and hundreds of
them explored. Within these funerary structures, generally used as collective burials, the bones were frequently found and registered as disturbed and in a very fragmentary condition with total or almost total absence of anatomic connections. The systematic study of these human remains started in the 1990's and are mainly based on data obtained from tombs located in Estremadura and Algarve, two regions with limestone bedrocks that contributed to
a better bone preservation. Those studies led to the assessment of anthropological profiles of several tombs. Among the more relevant data is the frequent sex ratio in favor of females, a greater mobility than that expected for agricultural communities and a low rate of main types of pathologies. Meanwhile, mainly due to an increase of Management Archaeology in South Portugal hinterland (Alentejo) new sites and types of tombs were located in the last 15 years: rock cut tombs were unknown in Alentejo, as well as pit graves; also pockets of cremated human bones have been found, as well as human bones lying inside ditches. Besides suggesting a more diversified funerary practice by those prehistoric populations, this new data raises many more questions: Were all contemporaneous? Was there different treatment according to belonging within the groups? Are there regional patterning for those differences?

Reassessment of the studies about the São Gens 1 dolmen (Nisa) and the human remains collected i... more Reassessment of the studies about the São Gens 1
dolmen (Nisa) and the human remains collected in site,
focusing particularly on the bones presently found in the
Geological Museum of Lisbon. These include two fragments
of an adult and the incomplete skeleton of a non-adult
individual from High Middle Ages, dead between
the ages of 12 and 15.
The funerary deposition recalls several cases of reuse
at later moments unrelated with the Megalithic era,
but where the mythical past represented by the dolmen
cannot be forgotten.

The study of the period when specific mortuary practices occurred, usually known as Megalithism, ... more The study of the period when specific mortuary practices occurred, usually known as Megalithism, led to the gathering and revision of radiocarbon dates related with that phenomenon in the South of Portugal.
Thanks to the growth and availability of data, it was possible to gather dates from settlements coeval to the tombs, as well as from the later. These tombs can be grouped by four generic types: natural caves, dolmens, rock cut tombs and tholoi (vaulted chamber tombs).
Several reasons are listed to sanction the use of certain dates in detriment of others, namely due to its specific nature and context qualities. Based on the information gathered from settlements and tombs it is today possible to establish a new absolute chronological frame of reference for the phenomenon of Megalithism. This occurred between the first half of the 4th millennium BCE and the middle of the 3rd millennium BCE, although with certain phased characteristics. Therefore, this funerary phenomenon lasted less than some authors have proposed. On the other hand, different types of tombs presented distinct phases of construction and use although at some point most of those types appear to have been used simultaneously.

"The archaeological and anthropological remains recovered from the dolmen of Sobreira 1 by Nery D... more "The archaeological and anthropological remains recovered from the dolmen of Sobreira 1 by Nery Delgado in 1895 are the subject of revision and appreciation, demonstrating the usefulness of
integrated studies on “old” collections. This dolmen presented a minimum number of six individuals, three adults and three non-adults, compatible with the amount of artifacts known from there. The relative and absolute dating places its use between the middle and the end of the 4th millennium BCE and in transition to the next one."

This chapter reviews bone injuries detected from Late Neolithic Portuguese skeletal collections, ... more This chapter reviews bone injuries detected from Late Neolithic Portuguese skeletal collections, with a focus on those that may represent cases of interpersonal violence. Forty-three traumatic lesions from 16 Portuguese samples are discussed. Cranial injuries (86%), particularly cranial depressed fractures (70%), were the most frequent traumatic injury found, including the only trauma observed in a subadult individual. In the postcrania, with the exception of an embedded arrowhead in a vertebra (C2), all other injuries were cut marks (n ¼ 5). The majority of cranial lesions show signs of healing. The collective burial practices of these prehistoric populations combined with an imbalanced sample size, poor preservation, and incompleteness of the commingled human remains assemblage makes it difficult to interpret the overall importance of possible cases of interpersonal violence within a global perspective of these populations.

Identified and submitted to a rescue intervention in the late nineties of the last century, the e... more Identified and submitted to a rescue intervention in the late nineties of the last century, the enclosure of Moreiros 2 was part of the project “Plans of Ditched Enclosures and Neolithic Cosmologies”. In this context geophysical survey was done and the first radiocarbon dates were obtained. In this paper we present the results of the geophysics by magnetometer and the absolute dates. The detected features and its chronological frame are analysed in the context of the ditched enclosures of Recent Prehistory in South Portugal. Finally, a group of rocks with carved cup marks scattered around the site is presented.

This paper presents the results of compositional analysis (XRF) of 121 green ornaments recovered ... more This paper presents the results of compositional analysis (XRF) of 121 green ornaments recovered from the Copper Age site of Vila Nova de São Pedro, kept in the Museu Arqueológico do Carmo. Different minerals were used on its production such as muscovite, talc and variscite. Regarding variscite ornaments raw material, it was possible to ascribe its provenance to source areas in Zamora, Huelva and Barcelona. This was conducted by comparison with geological samples composition of those different areas.

A obra que o leitor tem em mãos assume-se como homenagem a António dos Santos Rocha, falecido a 2... more A obra que o leitor tem em mãos assume-se como homenagem a António dos Santos Rocha, falecido a 28 de Março de 1910, com 57 anos. Cem anos depois decorreu, na Figueira da Foz e ao longo de mais de um ano, um conjunto diverso de iniciativas que pretendeu evocar e comemorar o ilustre figueirense, o notável arqueólogo, o sagaz investigador.

""The study of the period when specific mortuary practices occurred, usually known as Megalithism... more ""The study of the period when specific mortuary practices occurred, usually known as Megalithism, led to the gathering and revision of radiocarbon dates related with it from the South of Portugal. Thanks to the growth and availability of data, it was possible to gather dates from settlements coeval to the tombs, as well as from the later. These can be grouped by four generic types: natural caves, dolmens, rock cut tombs and tholoi (vaulted chamber tombs).
Several reasons are listed to sanction the use of certain dates in detriment of others, namely due their specific nature and context qualities.
Based on the information gathered from settlements and tombs it is today possible to establish a new absolute chronological frame of reference for Megalithism. This occurred between the first half of the 4th millennium BCE and the middle of the 3rd millennium BCE, although with certain phased characteristics. Therefore, this funerary phenomenon lasted shorter than some authors have proposed. On the other hand, different types of tombs presented as well distinct phases of construction and use, although at some point most of them appear being used simultaneously.""

This work aims to systematize archaeological data concerning the 1st millennium BCE in nowadays t... more This work aims to systematize archaeological data concerning the 1st millennium BCE in nowadays territory of the Municipality of Monforte, Alentejo, as well as its regional context.

"Within the region of Lisbon, artistic manifestations from megalithic tombs are virtually unknown... more "Within the region of Lisbon, artistic manifestations from megalithic tombs are virtually unknown, although they are frequent in other regions. The megalithic group of Belas has a particular relevance to this subject given its two types of aesthetic and artistic features already published by previous authors, but not properly emphasized or characterized. On one hand, the builders of the
three known tombs –Pedra dos Mouros, Monte Abraão and Estria– made selective usage of certain types of rock slabs, based on their morphological characteristics on the slab surfaces, structuring them within an intentional aesthetic pattern. On the other hand, on the external surface of one of the slabs of Pedra dos Mouros, two engraved anthropomorphic fi gurines are known, but need to be reevaluated taking into account the most recent
studies."

"With the available information of radiocarbon dating an attempt of chronological evaluation of M... more "With the available information of radiocarbon dating an attempt of chronological evaluation of Megalithism, here understood as a funerary phenomenon, was conducted for the South-Central
Portugal. When the diachrony of the different types of tombs within that phenomenon is ascertained it is possible to verify a slight precedence on the use of natural caves, where they were available, in the first quarter of the 4th millennium BCE. A few centuries later dolmens start to be utilized, followed by rock
cut tombs, the later possibly not much later than or even contemporaneous to dolmens. Finally in the first half of the 3rd millennium BCE tholoi were in use. However, despite this apparent evolutionary frame of reference for the first uses of each type of
tomb, it also seems important to emphasize that at some point and for several centuries they were also coeval and used simultaneously."

co-authored with Rui Mataloto. O “dólmen furado” da Candieira (Código Nacional de Sítio - 609) f... more co-authored with Rui Mataloto.
O “dólmen furado” da Candieira (Código Nacional de Sítio - 609) foi dado a conhecer pelo ilustre investigador eborense, Gabriel Pereira (1879), na sequência das suas deambulações arqueológicas nos arredores de Évora, destacando inicialmente esta inusitada anta, com um orifício no esteio de cabeceira, no Universo Illustrado (Pereira, 1877). Porém, a notícia setecentista de antas nas proximidades do Convento de São Paulo, na Serra d’Ossa (Frei Martinho de S. Paulo cit in Frei Henrique de Santo António, 1745: 82), coloca a possibilidade de uma delas lhe corresponder. Finalmente, na listagem de antas de Carlos Ribeiro (provavelmente de meados do século 19), por ele ou pelos seus colectores registada, são indicadas coordenadas próximas às da Candieira (Neto, 1976-77).

co-authored with Patrícia Moita, Jorge Pedro, Rui Mataloto, Jaime Máximo, Luís Almeida and Pedro ... more co-authored with Patrícia Moita, Jorge Pedro, Rui Mataloto, Jaime Máximo, Luís Almeida and Pedro Nogueira.
Dolmens are the most conspicuous remains of the populations of the 4th and first half of 3rd millennia BCE. These tombs are impressive not only for their monumentality, but also because of the socioeconomic investment they represent for those Neolithic communities, namely from the Central-South of Portugal, who built them. Although dolmens have been studied for their funerary content and typologies, an interdisciplinary approach toward the geological characterization and sourcing of stones used in these constructions has not received enough attention from researchers.

co-authored with Patrícia Moita

"Based on the dispersion of raw materials and types of artifacts, mobility of people, groups or e... more "Based on the dispersion of raw materials and types of artifacts, mobility of people, groups or even communities have been assumed for the 4th and 3rd millennia BCE in the South-Central of Portugal.
Using the osteological collections from three Late Neolithic tombs, namely the dolmens of Estria and Carcavelos, in the region of Lisbon (Estremadura), and the tholos tomb 1 at Perdigões, in Alentejo, a first attempt was conducted to verify if those adult individuals of both sexes tested were born and raised outside the regions where they possibly died and were buried. Moreover, the bedrock of those two regions presents different characteristics, making it possible to ascertain with more precision possible foreigners. The Estremadura is mainly constituted of limestone, marl and sandstone origin and the Alentejo is made of schist and granite.
Taking into consideration the commingled condition of those osteological collections, a specific methodology was established to allow a more representative data of non-repetitive individuals.
"