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Vale Boi Archaeological Project, Portugal - Institute for Field Research
Location: Budens, Portugal
Season:
July 1, 2019 to July 28, 2019
Application Deadline:
Friday, April 5, 2019
Deadline Type:
Rolling
Program Type
Field school
RPA certified
no
Affiliation:
Institute for Field Research, Connecticut College, Universidade do Algarve (Portugal)
Project Director:
Dr. Nuno Bicho, Dr. João Cascalheira
Project Description
What was the nature of interaction between Neanderthals and our own ancestors – Anatomically Modern Humans (AMH)? Did AMH replace Neanderthals, contributing to their extinction? Or, was there interaction between the species and at least some Neanderthals absorbed into the AMH genetic line? The site of Vale Boi is a superb location to examine these, and other exciting questions related to the evolution of our species. Covering a time span between ca. 33,000-13,000 years ago, preservation conditions at the site, especially of organic fauna materials, are superb. Vale Boi shows evidence of both Neanderthals and AMH presence, making it ideal to study AMH-Neanderthal interactions. Located in coastal Southern Portugal, Vale Boi offers all the excitement of archaeology with comfortable living at an area catering to global tourism. This program combines lectures, excavation and laboratory training, providing students with the rare opportunity to explore and document one of the most interesting and important moments of the human career: the emergence of our own species.
Period(s) of Occupation: Paleolithic
Project size:
1-24 participants
Minimum Length of Stay for Volunteers: Participants are required to stay for the full duration of the field school.
Minimum age:
18
Experience required:
No prior experience is required to participate in this field school.
Room and Board Arrangements
Students will live in a comfortable, but modest, field house in the small town of Budens, located a couple kms from the site of Vale Boi. Conditions at the field house are basic, with electricity, drinking water and hot water for showers (please be prepared and bring bathing suits for showering, because sometimes students may have to use outside showers). Students will sleep on bunk beds so should bring either bedding or sleeping bags (or both). Night temperatures are comfortable with rare cold or hot nights. There are two large communal rooms, divided by gender, each with its own bathrooms. In addition, there is a large communal eating room. Students will prepare their own breakfast and light lunch from supplies provided by the project. Dinner will be prepared by a cook. The daily diet in Southern Portugal is Mediterranean diet and includes a wide diversity of food elements, including fish, shellfish, pork, beef, chicken, fresh vegetables, bread, beans, pasta, rice and potatoes. Although there is a wide diversity, it is near impossible to prepare dinners for specialized diets such as vegan, kosher, etc. It is possible to handle lactose intolerant meals, but those need special preparation.
Students will prepare their own breakfast in the dig house at 7.30am and we leave for the field at 8.00am. A light lunch will be individually prepared at the dig house at 1:00pm, when we gather for a break from excavations until 3.00pm. Work in the field concludes each day at 6:00pm. A few late afternoons daily lectures. At 6:00pm we get together in the labs to discuss the day’s work. Every work group gives a brief report on the results, problems and successes. During these meetings we will discuss results and interpretations. You are urged to contribute information and suggestions. Dinner is typically served at 8:00pm to the group as a communal meal.
Cost:
Room and Board are included in the cost of the field school.
Academic Credit
Name of institution offering credit:
Connecticut College
Tuition:
$4,295
Location
Recommended Bibliography:
Bicho, N.
2006 The prehistory of Algarve. Tomar: Instituto Politécnico de Tomar (bilingual edition in Portuguese and English).pp. 85- 106.
Bicho, N., Cascalheira, J., Marreiros, J. Pereira, T.
2015 Rapid climatic events and long term cultural change: The case of the Portuguese Upper Paleolithic. Quaternary International, doi:10.1016/j.quaint.2015.05.044, pp. 1-14.
Bicho, N., Marreiros, J., Cascalheira, J., Pereira, T., Haws, J.
2015 Bayesian modeling and the chronology of the Portuguese Gravettian. Quaternary International, 359–360:499-509.
Bicho, N., Cascalheira, J. and Marreiros J.,
2009 On the (l)edge: the case of Vale Boi rockshelter (Algarve, Southern Portugal). In Caves in Context. The Economical, Social, and Ritual Importance of Caves and Rockshelters, ed. K. Bergsvikand. Skeates. Pp.65-81. Oxbow Books.
Bicho, N., Frederico Tátá, Telmo Pereira, João Cascalheira, João Marreiros, and Vera Pereira
2011 Explosive archaeology: safe demolition in karstic environments. The SAA Archaeological Record, 11(4):16-20.
Bicho, N., M. Stiner and J. Lindly,
2004, Shell Ornaments, bone tools and long distance connections in the Upper Paleolithic of Southern Portugal. In La Spiritualité, M. Otte (ed.), pp.71-80. Liege: ERAUL.
Bicho, N.,Simón Vallejo, M.,and M. Cortés
2012 A Solutrean zoomorphic engraved plaquette from the site of Vale Boi, Portugal. Quartär, 59:153-164.
Cascalheira, J. and Bicho, N.
2015 On the chronological structure of the Solutrean in Southern Iberia. PLOS ONE. 10(9): e0137308. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0137308.
Cascalheira, J. and Bicho., N.
2013 Hunter-gatherer ecodynamics and the impact of the Heinrich Event 2 in Central and Southern Portugal. Quaternary International, 318: 117-127.
Dibble, H. L., Marean, C. W., & McPherron, S. P.
2007 The use of barcodes in excavation projects: examples from Mossel Bay (South Africa) and Roc de Marsal (France). The SAA Archaeological Record, 7(1), 33-38.
Marreiros, J., Bicho, N., Gibaja, J., Pereira, T. and Cascalheira, J.
2015 Lithic technology from the Gravettian of Vale Boi: new insights into Early Upper Paleolithic human behavior in Southern Iberian Peninsula. Quaternary International, 359-360:479-498.
Manne, T. and N. Bicho
2011, Prying new meaning from limpet harvesting at Vale Boi during the Upper Paleolithic. In Trekking the Shore: Changing Coastlines and the Antiquity of Coastal Settlement, N. Bicho, J. Haws, and L. Davis (eds.). Springer.
McPherron, S. J.P., Dibble, H. L. and Goldberg, P.
2005 Z. Geoarchaeology, 20: 243–262.
Tátá. F., Cascalheira, J., Marreiros, J., Pereira, T. and Bicho, N.
2014 Shell bead production in the Upper Paleolithic of Vale Boi (SW Portugal): an experimental perspective. Journal of Archaeological Science, 42:29-41.
André, L and Bicho, N.
2016 Perforation techniques and traces of use on the Mesolithic adornments of the Trench Area at Cabeço da Amoreira Shellmidden (Muge, central Portugal). Compte Rendu Palevol 15 (2016) 569–580.
Bicho, N.F.
2000 Technological change in the Final Upper Paleolithic of Rio Maior. ARKEOS, Tomar.
Bicho, N and Haws, J.
2008 At the land’s end: marine resources and the importance of fluctuations in the coastline in the prehistoric hunter-gatherer economy of Portugal. Quaternary Science Reviews, 27:2166–2175.
Bicho, N., Manne, T., Marreiros, J., Cascalheira, J.,Pereira, T., Tátá,F., Évora, M., Gonçalves,
C. and Infantini, L.
2013 The ecodynamics of the first modern humans in Southwestern Iberia: the case of Vale Boi, Portugal. Quaternary International, 318:102-116.
Bordes, F.
1988 Typologie du Paleolithique Ancien et Moyen. CNRS, Paris.
Brézillon, M.
1983 La dénomination des objects de pierre taillée. IVéme supplément à Gallia Préhistoire. Édition du CNRS, Paris.
Dibble, H. L., Raczek, T. P., & McPherron, S. P.
2005 Excavator bias at the site of Pech de l'Azé IV, France. Journal of field archaeology, 30(3), 317-328.
Inizan, M.-L.; Roche, L.; Tixier, J.
1993 Technology of knapped stone. CREP, Meudon.
Lyman, R. L.
1994 Vertebrate taphonomy. Cambridge University Press.
Manne, T. and N. Bicho,
2009 Vale Boi: rendering new understandings of resource intensification & diversification in southwestern Iberia. Before Farming, 2009/2.
Manuppella, G. (ed.)
1992 Carta geológica da região do Algarve, na escala 1:100 000. Notícia explicativa, Serviços Geológicos de Portugal, Lisboa, 15 pp.
McPherron, S. JP.
2005 Artifact orientations and site formation processes from total station proveniences." Journal of Archaeological Science 32.7: 1003-1014.
O'Connor, T. P. and O'Connor, T.
2008 The archaeology of animal bones (No. 4). Texas A&M University Press.
Reitz, E. J., & Wing, E. S.
1999 Zooarchaeology. Cambridge University Press.
Rocha, R., Ramalho, M., Manuppella, G., Zbyszewski, G., and Coelho, A.
1979 Carta Geológica de Portugal, na escala 1:50000. Notícia explicativa da folha 51-B, Vila do Bispo, Serviços Geológicos de Portugal, Lisboa, 118 p
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