A Geometric Morphometrics Approach to Test Microlith Variability at Cabeço da Amoreira Shellmidden (Muge, Portugal)

Summary

This is an abstract from the "SAA 2019: General Sessions" session, at the 84th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

Geometric microliths are one of the most important lithic technological adaptations of the Mesolithic in Westernmost Europe. At Muge shellmiddens, previous studies have revealed great variability in the morphology of these implements, especially the triangles, although the reason for such variability is still unclear. Three hypotheses have been suggested to explain this: 1) idiosyncratic cultural behaviour; 2) successive application of maintenance retouch (Frison effect); 3) or the application of each morphology for different functionalities. Drawing upon recent developments on Geometric Morphometrics analysis, this poster presents new data on the morphometric variability of geometric microliths from Cabeço da Amoreira, one of the largest shellmiddens at Muge. Our goal is to test one of the three mentioned hypotheses, specifically the one that argues that identified subtypes are a consequence of discard at different points along a continuum of remodification and reduction. With this study, we expect to contribute to a better understanding of Mesolithic lithic technology and offer new interpretations to the economic and technological strategies of the last hunter-gatherer communities in the Western Atlantic facade of Iberia.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 84th Annual Meeting, Albuquerque, NM (2019)

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 23951