The Magdalenian in central and southern Portugal: Human ecology at the end of the Pleistocene

Abstract

During the Magdalenian and early Epipaleolithic between ca. 20,000 and 10,000 cal BP, mild and temperate environmental conditions existed in southwestern Iberia due to the position of the Polar Front, and proximity to the Mediterranean, North Africa and the Atlantic warm currents coming from the tropics. Thus, Portugal was marked by a relatively high diversity of terrestrial and marine animal species that were fully exploited by humans during this period.The differential use of caves, rock-shelters and open-air sites and the stone raw material economy suggests various patterns of land use characterized by inland-coastal movements through river valleys cutting through the limestone massif. Data suggest a logistic mobility pattern for Portuguese Magdalenian hunter-gatherer groups based on both diversification and specialization of natural resources.