Portugal

Portugal has a considerable number of human archaeological skeletal series that cover a vast time span. Despite the high number of Palaeolithic sites, those with human skeletal remains are very scarce. The Middle Palaeolithic is represented by few human bones derived from the Almonda carstic system, namely the Oliveira Cave, and by some teeth recovered from the Figueira Brava (Arrábida), Columbeira (Bombarral) and Lapa da Rainha (Lourinhã) caves attributed to one individual per site from the species Homo neanderthalensis (Cruz and Cunha 2007-8). A similar situation is observed in the Upper Palaeolithic, which is represented by only seven sites with human remains, mostly teeth and long bone fragments; with the exception of the almost complete skeleton from Lagar Velho (Leiria), known as the ‘Lapedo child’, approximately four or five years old and dated from 24,500 BP (Zilhão and Trinkaus 2002). Pertaining to the Mesolithic there are the renowned Muge and Sado shell middens, with more than 400 skeletons, making them one of the largest Mesolithic collections in the world (Cunha et al. 2003). There is a good skeletal representation from the Neolithic to the modern era, as in the majority of European countries. The large, identified, modern skeletal collections gathered since the end of the 19th century should also be highlighted, however (Cardoso 2006; Rocha 1995). The history of physical anthropology in Portugal has been researched on several occasions by

different researchers (Cardoso 2006; Cunha 1982; Cunha 2002, 2007; Lubell and Jackes 1997; Oliveira 1997; Tamagnini 1947; Tamagnini and Serra 1942). Its beginnings can be traced back to the second half of the 19th century. The well-known shell middens at Muge, dated from the end of the Mesolithic, are some of the first sites that were excavated in Portugal and one of the most noteworthy to this day. The archaeological work during this period was mainly carried out under the responsibility of scientists who belonged to the Comissão de Trabalhos Geológicos (Commission for Geological Works), also known as the Comissão Geológica Portuguesa, and later, in 1918, by Serviços Geológicos de Portugal (Raposo and Silva 1996). The first Comissão Geológica Portuguesa (Portuguese Geological Commission), created in 1849 in Lisbon, was responsible for the geological and mineralogical exploration in the country and was under the umbrella of the Academia das Ciências de Lisboa (Raposo and Silva 1996). Soon

after, in 1857, this structure was reorganized and subordinated to the Direcção-General de Trabalhos Geodésicos, having as first director Carlos Ribeiro (1813-82), assisted by Francisco A. Pereira da Costa (1809-89) and Joaquim F. Nery Delgado (1835-1908) (Lubell and Jackes 1997; Raposo and Silva 1996). These three individuals were responsible for the emergence of pre-historic studies in Portugal (Raposo and Silva 1996) and according to António Xavier da Cunha, an important Portuguese anthropologist, they should be considered as ‘the first Portuguese anthropologists, although self-taught in anthropological science’ (Cunha 1982: 7). Ribeiro was a senior military officer and a geologist; Pereira da Costa graduated in Natural Philosophy and Medicine; and Nery Delgado was a military engineer (Cunha 1982). In 1863, Carlos Ribeiro, with the purpose of collecting data for a geological map of Portugal,

identified the first shell midden from the Tagus valley, Arneiro-do-Roquete, also named Quinta da Sardinha (Cardoso and Rolão 1999-2000; Gonçalves 1986). In the same year, one of the three most famous Muge shell middens, Cabeço da Arruda, was discovered and Moita do Sebastião and Cabeço da Amoreira were identified and excavated a year later (Rolão 1999; Umbelino 2006). Pereira da Costa (1865) was responsible both for the first publication on human remains and for the first paper about the Muge shell middens (Umbelino 2006). Two years later, Nery Delgado (1867) brought out the news about the Cesareda caves: Casa da Moura, Lapa Furada and Cova da Moura (Raposo and Silva 1996). In 1880, Sebastião Estácio da Veiga (1828-91), with a background in mine engineering, published his archaeological discoveries in Mértola as well as five volumes on the Algarve region, which included anthropological information (Santos 2007). One major subject of analysis at the end of the 19th century that most fascinated the scien-

tific community, and especially Carlos Ribeiro, was the eventual presence of the ‘Tertiary Man’ in Portuguese territory. The discovery of ‘eólitos’ (silex with shape and size that were interpreted as stone artefacts made by ancient populations dated from the Miocenic and Pliocenic (Bicho, 2006)) from the Ota region, had Ribeiro as one of its most committed defenders. This polemic matter, associated with the international credibility gained by the Comissão Geológica through their archaeological work, led to IXe Congrès International d’Anthropologie & d’Archéologie Préhistorique in Lisbon in 1880. This international congress attracted delegates from 19 countries, and its programme included a visit to the Muge sites (Raposo and Silva 1996; Santos 2007). The proceedings from this meeting were published in 1884 (Compte rendu de la 9ème session du Congrès International d’Anthropologie et d’Archéologie préhistorique (Lisboa, 1880)), including the main results from several excavations that had taken place in Portugal, including information on the Muge shell middens. After the death of Carlos Ribeiro, a group of students from Oporto influenced by his work created in 1887 the ‘Carlos Ribeiro’ Society (Guimarães 1995). Two fundamental figures in archaeology and anthropology were the physicians José Leite de

Vasconcelos (1858-1941) and Mendes Corrêa (1888-1960), both of whom will be mentioned later in the text. At the end of the 19th century and beginning of the 20th, the influence of the French school was undeniable, attested to not only by the language used to publish the scientific articles produced by Portuguese researchers but also by the number of French researchers working with Portuguese material, such as Émile Cartailhac (1845-1921), Georges Hervé (1855-1932), Henry Breuil (1877-1961), Henri-V. Vallois (1889-1981), Abbé Jean Roche (1913-2008) and Denise Ferembach (1924-94). They focused mainly on human variation, with a major typological focus on metric analysis for racial classification, following the established anthropological current of the time (Cartailhac 1886; Hervé 1899; Mendes Côrrea 1917, 1919, 1923, 1936; Paula e Oliveira 1884, 1886; Vallois 1930). With regard to palaeopathology, the first publications dealt largely with single cases (Santos 1999/2000; Santos and Cunha, to be submitted),

including trepanations from the Neolithic period, namely the site of Casa da Moura and Furninha Caves (Delgado 1884) and from other prehistoric sites (Vasconcelos 1897, 1913). Other foreigner scholars who undertook some important work in Portugal were the Leisners,

the German Georg Leisner (1870-1960) and his American wife Vera (1885-1965), the Russian Georges Zbyszewski (1935-99), and the Germans Konrad Spindler (1939-2005) and Gretel Gallay.