XV UISPP World Congress

Abstract

The recent excavation at the Fontaínhas megalithic enclosure has allowed us, once again, to confirm the ancient chronologies of this type of monument in the context of the broader regional megalithic sequence. Actually, the discovery of Early Neolithic-type pottery and lithic artefacts is generally in accordance with the data obtained, in the last years, on several other sites in the South of Portugal. The regional character of the Alentejan megalithic enclosures, together with their chronological background, forces us to relate them with the specific pattern of the neolithization of Central Alentejo. In this context, we re-evaluate the presumed protagonism of the last hunter-gatherers of the Tejo-Sado shell-middens, whose social and cultural complexity, together with their demographic potential, allow us to understand the extraordinary investment implied in the building of these first monuments.