Dissertation Research: Upper Paleolithic Site Location in the Portuguese Estremadura: Insight into Human Adaptation and Land Use

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Under the direction of Dr. Anthony Marks, Mr Paul Thacker, a graduate student at Southern Methodist University, will collect data for his doctoral dissertation. He will conduct archaeological research in the Estremadura region in western Portugal and collect data from two river valleys. Previous work has indicated that this region is rich in archaeological remains. In each he will focus on surface survey and description. Aerial photographs and land ownership maps will be used to devise a sampling strategy which includes all major landforms. A survey team of three people will walk over selected areas and note all artifact occurrences. At each site environmental variables including aspect, elevation, slope ground surface visibility, area and shape will be measured. The distance to significant natural resources such as water and lithic sources will also be noted. Because the sandy soils of the region do not preserve faunal remains, assemblages consist almost solely of stone tools and chipping waste. Mr. Thacker will analyze these. On this basis he will reconstruct the settlement pattern for this region and determine how it changed over time. While a great deal is known about the Paleolithic period in Spain and more northerly parts of Europe, research in Portugal has lagged far behind. Recent work by Dr. Marks and Portuguese collaborators has revealed a succession of Upper Paleolithic cultures which span the time range of ca 28,000 - 10,000 B.C. While excavation in stratified sites has established this sequence, very little is known about the cultural adaptations of any of these groups. Very limited data exist on subsistence and land use practices and Mr. Thacker's research will help to remedy this situation. The Upper Paleolithic period saw the appearance of anatomically modern humans in Europe together with the appearance of art, religion and other complex traits which characterized all present day peoples. The basic goal of Upper Paleolithic research is to understand how these traits developed. To do so it is necessary to adopt a comparative approach and study how people adapted to a variety of environmental contexts. The value of Mr. Thacker's work can be understood in this context. This research is important for several reasons. It will provide data of interest to many archaeologists and increase our understanding of prehistoric adaptative strategies. It will also assist in the training of an extremely promising scientist.