Diet and Affinity from the Middle Neolithic to Early Bronze
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DIET AND AFFINITY FROM THE MIDDLE NEOLITHIC TO EARLY BRONZE AGE, ESTREMADURA, PORTUGAL: A COMPARISON OF HUMAN DENTAL REMAINS FROM FETEIRA II AND BOLORES By Briana Christa Horwath RECOMMENDED: Advisory Committee Chair CWair, Department of Anthropology APPROVED: Dean, College oJLiberal Arts De^rrof the Graduate School Date ^ DIET AND AFFINITY FROM THE MIDDLE NEOLITHIC TO EARLY BRONZE AGE, ESTREMADURA, PORTUGAL: A COMPARISON OF HUMAN DENTAL REMAINS FROM FETEIRA II AND BOLORES A THESIS Presented to the Faculty of the University of Alaska Fairbanks In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements For the Degree of MASTER OF ARTS By Briana Christa Horwath Fairbanks, Alaska May 2012 iii Abstract The social and political changes accompanying the transition from the Neolithic through Early Bronze Age in southwestern Iberia are reasonably well understood; much less is known about population movements and dietary changes that accompanied these transformations. To address possible population movements and dietary change, human dental remains from the Middle Neolithic through Late Neolithic site of Feteira II (3600 2900 B.C.E) and the Late Neolithic through the Early Bronze Age site of Bolores (2800 1800 B.C.E) will be used to examine diet and affinity. Two hypotheses are tested: the period of social change was associated with dietary change between individuals interred at Feteira II and Bolores and groups interred at these sites are significantly different when observing non-metric dental traits. Microwear features were not significantly different between Feteira II and Bolores, lending evidence that the period of increasing social complexity and long distance interaction did not result in large-scale change in subsistence practices between groups interred at these sites. The investigation of biological distance observing dental morphology between sites determined that they were similar, meaning there was no evidence for population replacement between individuals interred at Feteira II and Bolores. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS Page SIGNATURE PAGE............................................................................................................. i TITLE PAGE.......................................................................................................................... ii ABSTRACT............................................................................................................................iii TABLE OF CONTENTS.......................................................................................................iv LIST OF FIGURES.............................................................................................................. viii LIST OF TABLES................................................................................................................. ix LIST OF APPENDICES........................................................................................................ x ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS...................................................................................................xi DEDICATION.......................................................................................................................xii CHAPTER ONE INTRODUCTION................................................................................ 1 Hypotheses and Research Questions............................................................................ 7 Research Question-Microwear....................................................................................7 Hypothesis One.............................................................................................................7 Research Questions-Dental Morphology..................................................................8 Hypothesis Two.............................................................................................................8 Significance ........................................................................................................................ 9 Thesis Outline ....................................................................................................................10 CHAPTER TWO ARCHAEOLOGICAL BACKGROUND........................................12 Estremadura Research ....................................................................................................12 Chronology of Estremadura 14 v Estremadura Geography .................................................................................................15 Mesolithic ~11000-5300 Cal. B.C.E ................................................................................15 Early Neolithic ~5300-4000 Cal. B.C.E ......................................................................... 16 Middle to Late Neolithic ~4000-3000 Cal. B.C.E ........................................................17 Copper Age (Chalcolithic) ~3000-2000 Cal. B.C.E ..................................................... 18 Early Bronze Age ~2000-1500 Cal. B.C.E ....................................................................21 Bioarchaeology in Portugal ............................................................................................ 22 Studies of Diet..............................................................................................................22 Study of Population Continuity..................................................................................24 Archaeological Background of Feteira II and Bolores ..............................................24 Feteira II ...................................................................................................................... 24 Bolores...........................................................................................................................27 CHAPTER 3 METHODS BACKGROUND...................................................................30 Bioarchaeology ................................................................................................................. 30 Dental Anthropology .......................................................................................................31 M icrowear..........................................................................................................................31 The Chewing Cycle and Wear Facets....................................................................... 31 Microwear Features.....................................................................................................32 Scanning Electron Microscope..................................................................................35 Microwear 4.02 (Ungar, 2002)...................................................................................36 Studies of Microwear of Human Groups..................................................................37 Microwear Considerations..........................................................................................38 vi Dental Morphology using the Arizona State University Dental Anthropology System................................................................................................................................40 Isolation-by-Distance Stepping Stone Model........................................................... 43 CHAPTER 4 MATERIALS AND METHODS ...............................................................45 Feteira I I ............................................................................................................................45 Bolores ................................................................................................................................45 Microwear Methods .........................................................................................................45 Arizona State University Dental Anthropology System Materials..........................50 Fifteen Comparative Samples.....................................................................................50 Arizona State University Dental Anthropology System Methods...........................53 CHAPTER 5 RESULTS ......................................................................................................55 Feteira II versus Bolores Microwear ............................................................................ 55 Feature Tally................................................................................................................ 55 Scratch Length............................................................................................................. 56 Scratch Breadth............................................................................................................56 Percentage of Scratches.............................................................................................. 56 Pit Width ........................................................................................................................57 Percentage of Pits.........................................................................................................57 Biological Affinity............................................................................................................58 CHAPTER 7 DISSCUSION............................................................................................... 72 M icrowear..........................................................................................................................72 Biological Affinity............................................................................................................76