788461 7299379

ISBN 978-8-461-72993-7

Sobre rocas y huesos:las sociedades prehistóricas y sus manifestaciones plásticas

Sobr

e ro

cas

y hu

esos

: la

s so

cied

ades

pre

hist

óric

as y

sus

man

ifes

taci

ones

plá

stic

asC

oord

s./E

ds.:

Mª Á

ngel

es M

edin

a-A

lcai

de, A

nton

io J

. Rom

ero

Alo

nso,

Ros

a M

ª Rui

z-M

árqu

ez, J

osé

L. S

anch

idri

án T

orti

Coords./Eds.:Mª Ángeles Medina-AlcaideAntonio J. Romero AlonsoRosa Mª Ruiz-MárquezJosé L. Sanchidrián Torti

FACULTAD DE FILOSOFÍA Y LETRAS

PATROCINAN

COLABORAN

Sobre rocas y huesos:las sociedades prehistóricas

y sus manifestaciones plásticas

Coords./Eds.: Mª ÁNGELES MEDINA-ALCAIDE ANTONIO J. ROMERO ALONSO

ROSA Mª RUIZ-MÁRQUEZ JOSÉ L. SANCHIDRIÁN TORTI

2014

[ 4 ]

Comité Científico

Dr. Hipólito Collado Giraldo (Consejería de Cultura y Turismo Junta de Extremadura, España)Dr. Felipe Criado Boado (CSIC, España)Dra. Carole Fritz (CREAP-Université de Toulouse II-Le Mirail/CNRS, France)Dr. César González Sainz (Universidad de Cantabria, España)Dr. Mauro S. Hernández Pérez (Universidad de Alicante, España)Dra. Esther López-Montalvo (CREAP-Université de Toulouse II-Le Mirail/CNRS, France)Dr. Luiz Oosterbeek (Instituto Politécnico Tomar, Portugal & UISSP)Dr. José Luis Sanchidrián Torti (Universidad de Córdoba, España)Dr. Georges Sauvet (CREAP-Université de Toulouse II-Le Mirail/CNRS, France)Dr. Gilles Tosello (CREAP-Université de Toulouse II-Le Mirail/CNRS, France)Dra. Pilar Utrilla Miranda (Universidad de Zaragoza, España)Dr. Juan M. Vicent García (CSIC, España)Dr. Valentín Villaverde Bonilla (Universidad de Valencia, España)

Coordinadores/editores:

Mª Ángeles Medina-AlcaideAntonio J. Romero AlonsoRosa Mª Ruiz-MárquezJosé L. Sanchidrián Torti

© del texto e imágenes: los autores© imagen de portada: Dr. Gilles Tosello

ISBN: 978-84-617-2993-7Depósito Legal: CO. 511/2015

Diseño, maquetación e impresión:

Imprenta Luque, S. L.www.imprentaluque.es

[ 5 ]

In memoriamAna María Márquez Alcántara

Arqueóloga-Directora del Museo de Nerja

[ 7 ]Páginas 7-9 isbn 978-84-617-2993-7

ÍNDICE

1. Las soCieDaDes PreDaDoras y sus manifestaCiones PLástiCas . . . . 13

DU BON USAGE DES COMPARAISONS DANS L’ART RUPESTRE : LE CAS DES SIGNES

Georges Sauvet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14

EL ARTE PARIETAL EN EL GOLFO DE BIZkAIA: NUEVOS DESCUBRIMIENTOS, NUEVAS INTERPRETACIONES

Diego Garate, Aitor Ruiz-Redondo, Olivia Rivero, Joseba Rios-Garaizar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26

CRUZAR LA FRONTERA: CONTACTOS E INTERRELACIóN DE LAS SOCIEDADES PALEOLÍTICAS DE LA PENÍNSULA IBÉRICA A TRAVÉS DE SU ARTE (ca. 33000 - 16000 BP)

Clara Hernando Álvarez . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40

LE STyLE DANS TOUS SES êTAS ! Stephane Petrognani . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56

L’APPROCHE DES IDENTITÉS AU MAGDALÉNIEN MOyEN : LE RôLE DE MARQUEUR IDENTITAIRE DES REPRÉSENTATIONS HUMAINES EN CONTExTE « LUSSAC-ANGLES » ET « NAVETTES »

Oscar Fuentes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66

EL ARTE RUPESTRE PALEOLÍTICO DEL ABRIGO DE LA VIñA (OVIEDO, ASTURIAS). PRESENTACIóN DE SU ESTUDIO ACTUAL DENTRO DEL PROyECTO DE INVESTIGACIóN DEL yACIMIENTO

María González-Pumariega Solís . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84

ExPRESSION INDIVIDUELLE, ExPRESSION COLLECTIVE : CONFRONTATION DES MOTIFS DU PALÉOLITHIQUE SUPÉRIEUR

Eric Robert . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96

LOS SIGNOS INTEGRADOS DE PILETA-E: ANÁLISIS A DIFERENTES PROFUNDIDADES DE CAMPO

Mª Ángeles Medina-Alcaide, José Luis Sanchidrián Torti . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 116

TIPO-CRONOLOGÍA DE LAS COMPOSICIONES GEOMÉTRICAS MAGDALENIENSES DEL PIRINEO NOROCCIDENTAL

Claire Lucas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 130

[ 8 ] Sobre rocas y huesos: las sociedades prehistóricas y sus manifestaciones plásticas

ÍnDiCe

SÍNTESIS DE LAS MANIFESTACIONES GRÁFICAS PALEOLÍTICAS EN CAVIDADES POCO PROFUNDAS DEL CAMPO DE GIBRALTAR (CÁDIZ)

Antonio Ruiz Trujillo, Ana María Gomar Barea, María Lazarich . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 152

2. Las soCieDaDes ProDuCtoras y sus manifestaCiones PLástiCas . . 171

NOVEDADES EN EL ARTE RUPESTRE DE ARAGóN Manuel Bea, Pilar Utrilla . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 172

THE HOLOCENE TRANSITION AND POST-PALAEOLITHIC ROCk ART FROM THE SABOR VALLEy (TRÁS-OS-MONTES, PORTUGAL)

SofiaSoaresdeFigueiredo,PedroXavier,AndreiaSilva,DárioNeves,IsabelDomínguez García . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 192

LAS PINTURAS ESQUEMÁTICAS EN LA PROVINCIA DE LEóN: DESDE LOS PRIMEROS DESCUBRIMIENTOS A LA ACTUALIDAD

Feliciano Cadierno Guerra . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 204

NUEVOS ENCLAVES CON ARTE RUPESTRE EN LA MESETA CASTELLANO-LEONESA. LAS REPRESENTACIONES PINTADAS y GRABADAS EN LAS CUEVAS DE LA ZARZAMORA y EL PORTALóN (PEROGORDO, SEGOVIA, ESPAñA)

Lázaro Rodríguez, José Manuel Torrado, Mónica Villalba, Jairo González, Ángel Domínguez, Elena García, Hipólito Collado, Nohemi Sala, Milagros Algaba, Juan Luis Arsuaga, José Julio García, Isabel Domínguez, Luis F. Nobre, Martí Mas, Mónica Solís . . . 216

LA ESTACIóN RUPESTRE DE LA CORNISA DE LA CALDERITA (LA ZARZA, BADAJOZ): úLTIMAS INTERVENCIONES y RECIENTES APORTACIONES SOBRE SUS CONJUNTOS DE PINTURAS ESQUEMÁTICAS

José Julio García Arranz, Hipólito Collado Giraldo, Luis F. da Silva Nobre, Isabel Mª Domínguez García, Esther Rivera Rubio, Pierluigi Rosina, Hugo Gomes, José Enrique Capilla Nicolás . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 228

LA DESCONTExTUALIZACIóN DEL ARTE RUPESTRE: EL EJEMPLO DEL MUSEO DE MARTOS (JAÉN)

José Jiménez-Mena, José Antonio Peña-Villaverde, Nuria Rodríguez-Ruiz, Rosa Mª Ruiz-Márquez, Ana María Gomar Barea, Antonio Ruiz Trujillo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 258

EL ABRIGO DE COy (TOUS, VALENCIA). CUANDO EL ARTE LEVANTINO CRUZó EL xúQUER

XimoMartorellBriz,TrinidadMartíneziRubio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 272

ARTE RUPESTRE PREHISTóRICO EN LA SERRA DE SEGàRIA (ALICANTE, ESPAñA)

VirginiaBarcielaGonzález,XimoMartorellBriz,FranciscoJavierMolinaHernández . . . . 286

ICONOGRAFÍA NÁUTICA EN EL ARTE DE LAS SOCIEDADES PREHISTóRICAS DE LA PENÍNSULA IBÉRICA. CERTEZAS E INCERTIDUMBRES

Imanol Vázquez Zabala . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 300

NORMES ICONOGRAPHIQUES ET TECHNIQUES DES « PIERRES à CERFS » DE MONGOLIE

Clémence Breuil . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 318

[ 9 ]Páginas 7-9 isbn 978-84-617-2993-7

ÍnDiCe

3. nuevas teCnoLogÍas aPLiCaDas aL anáLisis y eL registro DeL arte PrehistóriCo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 329

PROPUESTA METODOLóGICA PARA ESTABLECER LA SECUENCIA ESTRATIGRÁFICA DE UN PANEL RUPESTRE: LA COQUINERA II (OBóN, TERUEL, ESPAñA)

Miguel Ángel Rogerio Candelera . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 330

PROPUESTA CONCEPTUAL y METODOLóGICA EN LA DOCUMENTACIóN GRÁFICA y GEOMÉTRICA DEL ARTE RUPESTRE: PROyECTO ARAM (ARTE RUPESTRE y ACCESIBILIDAD MULTIMEDIA)

Jorge Angás Pajas, Manuel Bea Martínez . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 344

THE TAGUS VALLEy ROCk ART COMPLEx: RESEARCH, METHODOLOGy AND RESULTS

Sara Garcês, Luiz Oosterbeek . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 362

PEINTURES RUPESTRES EN TERRITOIRE JAwOyN, TERRE D’ARNHEM (AUSTRALIE) : UNE ÉTUDE INTÉGRÉE

Geráldine Castets, Emilie Chalmin, Bruno David, Jean Michel Geneste, Jean-JacquesDelannoy,RobertGunn,FayçalSoufi,SébastienPairis,PaulineMartinetto, Sophie Cersoy, Bryce Barker, Lara Lamb, Stéphane Hoerlé, Élisa Boche . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 378

ARCHAEOMETRIC CHARACTERIZATION ANALySES ON ROCk ART PIGMENTS AND NATURAL CONCRETIONS AT FRISO DEL TERROR - MONFRAGüE NATIONAL PARk, CÁCERES, SPAIN

Hugo Gomes, Pierluigi Rosina, Hipólito Collado Giraldo, José Julio García Arranz, Luis F. da Silva Nobre, Isabel Mª Domínguez García, Esther Rivera Rubio, Lázaro Rodríguez Dorado, José Manuel Torrado Cárdeno, Mónica Villalba de Alvarado, Magdalena Nacarino de los Santos . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 406

CHRONOLOGIES CROISÉES (C-14 ET U/Th) POUR L’ÉTUDE DE L’ART PRÉHISTORIQUE DANS LA GROTTE DE NERJA : MÉTHODOLOGIE

Anita Quiles, Carole Fritz, Mª Ángeles Medina-Alcaide, Edwige Pons-Branchu, José Luis Sanchidrián Torti, Gilles Tosello, Hélène Valladas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 420

REASSEMBLy METHODOLOGy IN PALAEOLITHIC ENGRAVED PLAQUES FROM FOZ DO MEDAL TERRACE (TRÁS-OS-MONTES, PORTUGAL)

SofiaSoaresdeFigueiredo,LuísNobre,AraceliCristoRopero,PedroXavier,RitaGaspar, Joana Carrondo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 428

Abstract: Trás-os-Montes is a region located on the northwest corner of Portugal and has, in recent years, been the object of large-scale public works. The Hydroelectric Exploitation of Baixo Sabor is one of its most prominent projects, responsible for the submersion of a 3.000 hectares area.

Following on this project, an excavation was conducted at the Foz do Medal Terrace, a site presenting a complex sedimentary sequence and registering an occupation span between the Middle Palaeolithic and the Bronze Age periods. With regards to portable art, the most significant levels are from the Upper Palaeolithic, mostly recovered from the Stratigraphic Unit 1055. Over 1.500 engraved plaque fragments and 150.000 chipped lithic artefacts have been recollected from this deposit. This stratigraphic unit sustained a post-depositional relocation leading mate- rials to be discovered in secondary contexts, despite the integrity of the collection being fully maintained.

The Foz do Medal mobile art collection is composed by 1504 fragments of engraved plaques, from which 1259 belongs to the layer 1055. The supports are schist and greywacke of unequal characteristics and qualities.

The particularities of the deposit, the high number of uncovered engraved fragments and their respective features justified the development of a unique work methodology for the study of the engraved material, from the field- to laboratory work. Therefore, this paper aims to both detail the applied methodology in the reassembly of the co- llection and present its results.

Keywords: Upper Palaeolithic, Portable art, Fluvial Terrace, Reassembly, Methodology

Resumen: Trás-os-Montes es una region situada en el nordeste de Portugal y que en los últimos años ha experi-mentado la ejecución de grandes obras públicas. Entre estas obras destaca la construcción del embalse del río Sa-bor, que va a dejar bajo el agua 3 000 ha de valle.

En este contexto se realizó la excavación de la terraza fluvial de la Foz de Medal. Este yacimiento presenta una secuencia sedimentaria compleja y con una ocupación que se prolonga desde el Paleolítico Medio hasta la Edad del Bronce. En relación al arte mueble, los niveles más importantes se adscriben al Paleolítico Superior, en particular a la unidad estratigráfica 1055, donde fue encontrado un importante conjunto de placas grabadas junto a más de 150 000 piezas líticas talladas. Esta unidad estratigráfica sufrió un deslizamiento postdeposicional que produjo la recogida de los materiales en un contexto secundario, a pesar de que el conjunto se encuentra íntegro.

En total se recuperaron 1504 fragmentos de placas grabadas de diverso tamaño, de las que 1259 pertenecen al depósito citado. Todas ellas sobre esquisto y grauvaca, de desiguales características y calidades.

Las peculiaridades del depósito como de los suportes hicieron necesaria la definición de una metodología propia para la realización del estudio del material grabado, desde su registro en campo hasta su tratamiento en laboratorio. Con esta comunicación pretendemos detallar la metodología aplicada y los resultados obtenidos.

Palabras clave: Paleolítico Superior, Arte mueble, Terraza fluvial, Remontaje, Metodología

[ 429 ]Sobre rocas y huesos: las sociedades prehistóricas y sus manifestaciones plásticas

ReAssembly methodology in PAlAeolithic engRAved PlAques fRom foz do medAl teRRAce (tRás-os-montes, PoRtugAl)Metodología de remontaje en las placas paleolíticas grabadas del yacimiento de Medal (Trás-os-Montes, Portugal)

sofia soares de figueiRedoCITCEM, Trans-disciplinary Research Centre, Unity of Archaeology of the University of Minho (UAUM)ACE, ODEBRECHT/Bento Pedroso Constructions and Lena Engineering-Estaleiro do Baixo Sabor

luís nobReACE, ODEBRECHT/Bento Pedroso Constructions and Lena Engineering-Estaleiro do Baixo SaborACINEP, Prehistory Studies Institute

Araceli cRisto RoPeRoACE, ODEBRECHT/Bento Pedroso Constructions and Lena Engineering-Estaleiro do Baixo Sabor

Pedro XAvieRACE, ODEBRECHT/Bento Pedroso Constructions and Lena Engineering-Estaleiro do Baixo Sabor

Rita gAsPARACE, ODEBRECHT/Bento Pedroso Constructions and Lena Engineering-Estaleiro do Baixo Sabor

Joana cARRondoACE, ODEBRECHT/Bento Pedroso Constructions and Lena Engineering-Estaleiro do Baixo SaborUniversidade de Trás-os-Montes e Alto Douro (UTAD)

1. intRoduction

As part of the Hydroelectric Exploitation of Baixo Sabor archaeological project, entitled Plan of Heritage Protection1, several sites revealing heritage value have been researched, being Foz do Medal Terrace one of these sites. Located on the left margin of the Sabor River and the right side of the Medal brook, the Terrace is administratively bounded to the Meirinhos parish, in the municipality of Moga-douro and the Bragança County (Figure 1).

1 The Plan of Heritage Protection is part of the Baixo Sabor Hydroelectric Exploitation, promoted by EDP Production, and whose imple-mentation is the responsibility of Baixo Sabor, ACE- ODEBRECHT/Bento Pedroso Constructions and Lena Engineering. The Plan of Heritage Protection has the following structure of coordination: General Coordination: Paul Dordio; Research coordinators: Filipe Santos (Cilhades), José Sastre (Protohistory), Luis Fontes (Middle Ages), Paulo Dordio (Modern and Contemporary Periods), Rita Gaspar (Prehistory), Sergio Antunes (Monitoring), Sergio Pereira (Romanization), Sofia Soares de Figueiredo (Rock Art), Susana Lainho (Conservation). The Plan of Heritage Protection is part of the Environment, Quality and Safety Area coordinated by Augusta Fernandes.

recepción: 30 de junio 2014aceptación: 10 de noviembre 2014

figueiredo s.s. et al. (2014)

[ 430 ] Sobre rocas y huesos: las sociedades prehistóricas y sus manifestaciones plásticas

The particular radiated shape the Sabor River and its respective brooks acquire at the geographical point where the valley opens up, have transformed this location into an important passageway, and into a favourable area to human occupation since the Palaeolithic period to the Contemporary Age. Although it refers to a low altitude fluvial terrace with merely 8 meters above river level, the site holds a complex sedimentary sequence, and registers occupational levels between Middle Palaeolithic and the Bronze Age (Gaspar et al., 2014). Still, the most prominent data corresponds to Upper Palaeolithic chronologies, with over 1.500 engraved plaques being discovered at the deposit 1055 (Figueiredo et al., 2014).

After the extraordinary discovery of rock art at the Côa Valley and its cla- ssification as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1998, there have been gradu-al discoveries of open-air parietal Palaeolithic art, mainly in northern and central Portugal. In western Trás-os-Montes, four rocks from this period have been iden-tified at the Sabor Valley (Baptista, 2009). With regards to portable art, only eight sites were known in the country. In central and southern Portugal, the known sites were the Gruta do Caldeirão, Buraca Grande, Chancuco 3 and Vale do Boi, in addition to the dubious plaques found in Setúbal and Montemor-o-Novo (Simón Vallejo, Cortés Sánchez, Bicho, 2012). In the northern territory, in the Côa Val-ley, there was Quinta da Barca Sul and the important Fariseu site, where the ar-chaeological excavation studying Rock 1 revealed a rich stratigraphy and recov-ered 96 plaques among other artefacts, all with Upper Palaeolithic chronologies,

figure 1. Localization of the Medal Fluvial Terrace in the peninsular context. Map by João Monteiro.

ReAssembly methodology in PAlAeolithic engRAved PlAques fRom foz do medAl teRRAce...

[ 431 ]Páginas 428-439 isbn 978-84-617-2993-7

mainly Late Magdalenian (Baptista, 2009). Up to the Foz do Medal Terrace excavation, this was the broadest portable art collection known in the Portuguese territory.

Excavations began in the summer of 2011. After conducting ten diagnosis surveys and analysing results, the open-area excavation effectively started at the end of 2011. The works ended in the be- ginning of 2013, after approximately 900 square meters of platform were excavated, rendering this site into the broadest Upper Palaeolithic portable art collection in Portugal.

The deposit 1055, from where the engraved plaques were recollected, was excavated in approxi-mately 190 square meters. Unfortunately, no structures or preserved spatial organization was identified. Its sedimentary features and the location within the terrace stratigraphic sequence indicate that this de-posit endured post-depositional processes and, consequently, performs a secondary site.

In addition to the engraved plaques, over 150.000 lithic artefacts have been recovered from the deposit. The presence of small size elements and the contours with straight fracture lines that are rather angular and present little erosion, suggest that although the artefacts have been recovered from a secon- dary context, their displacement has been reduced and their integrity is maintained.

In terms of portable art, and with regards to raw materials used as the support to the engravings, the Medal Terrace collection is almost exclusively made of schist and greywacke. Given the surfaces heterogeneity, a careful selection of used materials doesn’t seem to have existed. Also rare are surfaces subjected to a prior preparation to engravings; however, in some cases the polishing of surfaces actually occurred.

The size of the fragments is relatively small; in around 97% of cases, we are dealing with remains from wider slabs. In fact, in around 80% of the collection, fragments have extreme reduced scales, regis-tering less than 10cm length with their thickness not surpassing 1cm. In addition to the natural fractures, the existence of intentional ruptures have been reported in some cases, with plaques being polished and re-engraved after being broken. There are around 170 plaques engraved on both sides.

Plaques uncovered at the Foz do Medal Terrace reveal a variety of themes including conven-tional zoomorphic elements from the Palaeolithic wildlife imagery, alongside geometrical and abstract signs. The latter are precisely the most abundant themes. With regards to the zoomorphic represen-tations, equids, caprids and aurochs have been identified. Until present date, it has been possible to acknowledge, at least, two distinct styles of figurative design. On the one hand, simple however more schematic figurines appear, with traces representing the most basic anatomic features including heads, horns and the backbone, thus enabling the animal to be identified. In contrast, more naturalistic and complex representations also emerge; the animals are carefully represented, and feature anatomic details such as eyes, hooves, nostrils and ears (Figueiredo et al., 2014).

In terms of naturalistic designs, some features related with style have also been reported, however we still can’t establish parallels and they currently stand as original representations. Among these, we highlight the existence of a line that starts on the animal’s mouth, traces the entire jaw structure, ascends to the ears and, in parallel with the chest line, details the front paw, creating a real idea of perspective. The line then follows the abdomen and ends the illusion in the back paw after depicting the animal’s hindquarters. This line suggests a three-dimensional representation of the animal and its movement, imprinting the idea of volume in our minds. This particular feature in the Palaeolithic representations of the Medal site is rather prominent on the plaques 5168, 5167 and 5166 (Figueiredo et al., 2014).

The Medal Fluvial Terrace portable art collection is still under study, thus, and at least for the time being, we can’t elaborate too much on it. Nevertheless, we stress the importance of this discovery given the Palaeolithic context in which the collection was found, and this site performing one of the richest open-air locations in terms of portable art in Europe.

figueiredo s.s. et al. (2014)

[ 432 ] Sobre rocas y huesos: las sociedades prehistóricas y sus manifestaciones plásticas

2. obJectives

This paper aims to present the adopted field and laboratory methodologies based on the portable art group specificities from Foz do Medal Terrace. In terms of applied methodologies at the excavation of the deposit 1055, the high number of plaque fragments with rock art alongside their reduced size required the establishment of a rigid and rigorous methodology, one that would allow us to detect the fragments.

The laboratory work, mainly in terms of reassembly mechanisms, faced some challenges on the development of a methodology based, for example, on the study of gridded artefacts and respecting their secondary context. Equally, the analysis parameter based upon the thickness of the support was aban-doned as we were mainly handling fragments and the metamorphic rocks exhibited a propensity towards horizontal cleavage. After different analysis parameters and study logics were applied with the aim of conducting reassembly works, the methodology based on variables that will be further detailed, was the one registering the best results. This methodology was mainly based on the nature of the support and its description, which in turn respected attributes with wider or lesser subjectivity.

3. methodology

3.1. field methodology

Prior to the ground-level intervention, a grid with 1 square meter was placed on the platform and divided in two sectors. The archaeological intervention on the field had two distinct stages. The first included an open-area excavation in the location identified as having the broadest archaeological poten-tial on the platform and measuring a total of 580 square meters. The second stage considered the results emerging from stage one and oversaw the excavation of 17 manual surveys over 16 square meters, with the overall goal of geographically and contextually delimiting the archaeological realities identified on stage one, in addition to opening a 20 square meters area adjacent to the southern cut of the excavation in progress at the initial stage (Figure 2).

Amid the conducted archaeological work in both interventional stages, the deposit 1055 was exca-vated in 50 square centimetres quadrants starting on the existing grid subdivision and further subdivided into 10cm artificial levels. A graphic, topographic and photographic record was conducted in each plan.

Sediments emerging from this deposit were entirely water sieved with a 2mm grid, while the on site recovered remains were identified in terms of sector, grid, quadrant, stratigraphic unit, artificial level and recovery date.

This methodology enabled the detection of extremely small plaques, some with less than 1cm. Sub-sequent laboratory work was able to match these artefacts with previously recovered larger size slabs. As an example, we may refer a reassembly conducted on 9 fragments, one measuring 3cm width by 1cm length and found in sieve.

All the engraved fragments detected at the excavation have been appropriately triangulated. In the deposit 1055 excavation and the circumstance of dealing with a secondary context demanded two further grids to be selected and the archaeological remains and raw materials identified in the excava-tion to be further triangulated. Survey 12 conducted on stage two also included the triangulation of all archaeological remains detected at this deposit.

Wooden or plastic spatulas were used at the deposit excavation, in order to maintain the physical integrity of the engraved supports. Throughout the excavations in both interventional stages, all the re-covered schist and greywacke fragments, regardless of their size, were separated, washed and analysed, in order to determine or discard the existence of engravings and/or paintings on their surfaces.

ReAssembly methodology in PAlAeolithic engRAved PlAques fRom foz do medAl teRRAce...

[ 433 ]Páginas 428-439 isbn 978-84-617-2993-7

3.2. laboratory methodology

After the fieldwork described above, laboratory work followed and, in gene- ral terms, was divided into five stages, some of which are still in progress. It included inventory and reassembly work, graphic and photographic surveys for each item, the identification and classification of motifs and, finally, the study of all the engraved plaques using several scales of analysis. The present paper approaches the former two.

The inventory stage began with the allocation of a number to each engraved plaque. The allocated numbers respected the total amount of numbers existing for the Medal site artefacts, thus preventing the repetition of numbers in the group of items recovered at the excavation.

A rigorous cleaning was conducted in addition to the individual stowing of each plaque in hermetic bags covered in 3mm synthetic foam. Each plaque was individually labelled with the respective inventory number and excavation data. Due to the majority of items measuring less than 5cm and exhibiting engravings on both sides, we decided not to label items directly. However, we conducted an individual photographic record of each artefact prior to any other intervention, in order to avoid the swap of inventory numbers and, consequently, the loss of information.

The inventory process also included the development of a broad database di-vided into 6 groups and comprising 62 variables, each with their respective attri- butes. This database served and has been serving several other purposes, includ-

figure 2. Localization of some of the reassembled fragments over the stratigraphic unit 1055, in the open-area excavation and the manual survey number 17. Drawing by Patrícia Fuentes and Luís Nobre.

figueiredo s.s. et al. (2014)

[ 434 ] Sobre rocas y huesos: las sociedades prehistóricas y sus manifestaciones plásticas

ing assisting the reassembly work. In reality, some variables have been exclu-sively created to support the present work.

The first three groups are related with the identification of items (inventory number, photographs…), with data associated with the excavation (sector, grid, triangulation) and with the stowage of items (storing location, whether they are associated with other artefacts or not…). The last three groups are focused on the analysis of the plaques and their motifs. Thus, they discriminate and characterize surfaces (type of raw-material, support morphology, size, preservation, surface treatment, colour…) and motifs (execution technique, representations typology, superimpositions, associations…).

In the reassembly work, two elements have greatly contributed towards the decision-making process, and will be further explained in the applied methodo- logy section. They were based upon the need to study a group of extremely frag-mented materials uncovered on a secondary context. As an example, the analysis based upon the thickness of the support and given the propensity towards hori-zontal cleavage exhibited by metamorphic rocks has been disregarded. A proxi- mity analysis or an excavation grid assessment was conducted, although not ex-clusively, given the secondary context inherent to the deposit.

After the analysis and the disregard of some study hypothesis, we focused our attention on the type of potentially identifiable reassembly work, thus sepa-rating direct from indirect reassembly. The former refers to cases when fragments couple or are perfectly linked, consequently indicating they belong to the same support. Indirect reassembly deals with artefacts that due to their features, the typology of their motifs and existing engraved techniques should belong to the same support; however, do not exhibit any direct relation (Bordes, 2000). The la- tter naturally entails a higher degree of uncertainty when compared to the former case. Therefore, we decided to present results only related with direct reassembly

figure 3. Reassembly of the plaques 3927, 4052, 4056, 4057, 4060, 4061, 4066, 4080, 4081, 4085, 4916, 5011. Photo by Adriano Borges.

ReAssembly methodology in PAlAeolithic engRAved PlAques fRom foz do medAl teRRAce...

[ 435 ]Páginas 428-439 isbn 978-84-617-2993-7

mechanisms on the present paper, thus referring to results entailing no degree of uncertainty.

The conducted reassembly had two main stages. The first analysed items by their location proximity on the excavation site, and the second studied items in terms of their support features, motifs and engraved techniques.

On stage one, and due to the high number of plaques existing in the co- llection and the limited available space to display them, it was not possible to si-multaneously study the artefacts as originally planned. Instead, we used a surface of 6 square meters to place the plaques. The location was covered with a foam sheet with a 3mm thickness, with the aim of avoiding physical damages on the engraved fragments.

In addition, it should be stressed that the secondary context where the plaques were identified corresponds to a colluvial area resulting from the displacement of its primary context, located at a higher level further east. It descended towards the west, and was located on the western extension of the excavated area extending to the north and south. Therefore, and taking into consideration the formation of this context, the plaque fragments reassembly probability would have been greater in the east-west direction. Given the impossibility of reproducing the entire excava-tion area on a 6 square meters surface, we favoured the north-south extension, however kept the total occupied deposit area represented at all times with its orig-inal east-west orientation. The artefacts were then placed starting on the southern limit up to their northern boundary. Through this methodology we were able to si-multaneously expose 6 grid lines, corresponding to a 60 square meters excavated area. After this assemblage, each item was analysed in comparison with other(s), while considering existing fractural lines on the plaques, in addition to the type of existing engraving. Once the process ended, the detected reassembly was re-corded, and the supports’ specific features considered as having high value for the

figure 4. Reassembly of the plaques 5166, 5347, 5367, 5556, 5797, 5808. Photo by Adriano Borges.

figueiredo s.s. et al. (2014)

[ 436 ] Sobre rocas y huesos: las sociedades prehistóricas y sus manifestaciones plásticas

second reassembly stage were recorded and added to the database. Subsequent to the recording process, the southern grid lines were gradually and systematically eliminated, whereas the lines referring to the northern location were added. This sequence was kept throughout.

With regards to the second reassembly stage, the database was of para-mount importance. Several fields had already been added or dully filled on stage one. Fields related with the support colour, the presence of thermal changes, the existence of quartz veins or nodules and the engraving technique, among others performed a key tool in grouping items not by physical proximity but mainly in terms of the features inherent to the raw materials. In practical terms, the work was simplified when items engraved on both sides or items presenting similar features on the surface were considered.

Following the end of stage two, and already with the results recorded, the entire collection was again subjected to the analysis of items by location proxi- mity on the excavation site.

4. Results

The developed and applied methodologies to the fieldwork archaeological intervention at the Foz do Medal Terrace enabled the identification of 1.504 en-graved plaque fragments. In terms of laboratory work and subsequently to the assessment of several constraints inherent to the collection (secondary deposit and its movement), the developed methodology allowed the reassembly of 254 fragments in 170 complete or semi-complete plaques (Figures 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7). We report the following results from the reassembly process:

figure 5. Reassembly of the plaques 5215, 5412, 14989, 14990, 14991, 14992, 14993. Photo by Adriano Borges.

ReAssembly methodology in PAlAeolithic engRAved PlAques fRom foz do medAl teRRAce...

[ 437 ]Páginas 428-439 isbn 978-84-617-2993-7

The table analysis reveals that reassembly between more than three frag-ments are scarce when compared to reassembly of three or less items. Still, we would like to highlight that the data presented is uniquely associated with direct reassembly processes, thus referring to scenarios when the fragments couple or are perfectly linked.

Table 1NUMBER OF REASSEMBLED FRAGMENTS.

NUMBER OF REASSEMBLED FRAGMENTS REASSEMBLy

9 17 16 25 24 33 122 84

5. conclusion

The aim of the this paper was to present a first approach, while performing a synthesis study of an intense field- and laboratory work that, at a certain point, sought to reassemble a group of engraved plaque fragments with Upper Palaeo-lithic chronologies.

Within the method of reassembling artefacts, lithic reassembly is the further developed process. In terms of rock art supports, this procedure was applied in

figure 6. Reassembly of the plaques 5440, 5458, 5649, 14996, 14999. Photo by Adriano Borges.

figueiredo s.s. et al. (2014)

[ 438 ] Sobre rocas y huesos: las sociedades prehistóricas y sus manifestaciones plásticas

the reassembly of 46 fragments at the Gönnersdorf site (Bosinski, 2008), in the Parpalló station, where the plaque 16330A reassembled 3 fragments (Villaverde Bonilla, 1994), and across wider archaeological sites (e.g. Gaussein, 2012; To-sello, 2003).

Our adopted methodology followed, in a multi-level, the basic principles applied to lithic reassembly, although, the latter entails a degree of three-dimen-sionality that in terms of rock art is reduced and supported by the two-dimension-ality inherent to the engraved motifs.

On a first stage, the reassembly work in rock art fragments originating from the Foz do Medal Fluvial Terrace, a process fully described on the present paper, aims to be linked with the approximate study of the total number of items, with their potential use and engraved elements. Following the reassembly work, some fragments exhibiting loose lines were allocated to a wider support that included horses, aurochs and goats. Thus, this paper represented a paramount tool in im-proving the overall ability to characterize and understand the Palaeolithic por- table art from the Foz do Medal Terrace.

Although the study is still in progress, when the reassembly of portable art fragments is associated with the lithic reassembly still on-going at the same de-posit, this may also clarify information related with the post-depositional pro-cesses, while improving future spatial analysis.

In conclusion, we would like to highlight that given the type of features present in the artefacts collection under study (high number of items, small size remains, deposit features, etc), a new reassessment of engraved fragments may and should generate new data in the future.

figure 7. Reassembly of the plaques 14707, 14931, 14932, 14933, 14934, 14935. Photo by Adriano Borges.

ReAssembly methodology in PAlAeolithic engRAved PlAques fRom foz do medAl teRRAce...

[ 439 ]Páginas 428-439 isbn 978-84-617-2993-7

bibliogRAPhy

BAPTISTA A. M., 2009, O Paradigma Perdido: O Vale do Côa e a Arte Paleolítica de Ar Livre em Por-tugal, Edições Afrontamento, Parque Arqueológico do Vale do Côa.

BORDES J.-G., 2000, La séquence aurignacienne de Caminade revisitée: L’apport des raccords d’intérêt stratigraphique, Paléo, nº 12: 387-407.

BOSINSKI G., 2008, Tierdarstellungen von Gö- nnersdorf. Nachträge zu Mammut und Pferd sowie die übrigen Tierdarstellungen. Der Magdalenien Fund-platz Gönnersdorf, Monogr. RGZM 72/ Der Magdale-nien Fundplatz Gönnersdorf, 9.

FIGUEIREDO S.S., NOBRE L., GASPAR R., CA- RRONDO J., CRISTO ROPERO A., FERREIRA J., SILVA M.J.D., MOLINA F.J., 2014, Foz do Medal Terrace- Na Open-Air Settlement with Paleolithic Portable Art, INORA, nº 68: 12-19.

GASPAR R., CARRONDO J., NOBRE L., RODRI-GUES Z., DONOSO G., 2014, Espaço para a morte. O terraço da Foz do Medal (Vale do Sabor, Nordeste

de Portugal) durante a Idade do Bronze, Estudos do Quaternário, nº 10: 59-72.

GAUSSEIN P., 2012, Art grave sur supports mo-biliers lithiques dans la Vienne magdalénienne, Master Erasmus Mundus Quaternary and Prehistory, Instituto Politécnico de Tomar- Departamento de Território, Ar-queologia e Património.

SIMÓN VALLEJO M. D., CORTÉS SÁNCHEZ M., BICHO N., 2012, Primeras evidencias de arte mue-ble paleolítico en el sur de Portugal, Trabajos de Pre-história, nº 69 (1): 7-20.

TOSELLO G., 2003, Pierres gravées du Périgord magdalénien, art, symboles, territoires, XXXVIe su- pplément à Gallia Préhistoire, CNRS.

VILLAVERDE BONILLA V., 1994, Arte Paleolítico de la Cova del Parpalló: Estudio de la Colección de Plaquetas y Cantos Grabados y Pintados, Servei D’Investigació Prehistòrica, Diputació de València, 2 vols.