Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-94fs2 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-20T00:39:36.621Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

The age of the Côa valley (Portugal) rock-art: validation of archaeological dating to the Palaeolithic and refutation of ‘scientific’ dating to historic or proto-historic times

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 January 2015

João Zilhão
João Zilhão*
Affiliation:
Instituto de Arqueologia, Faculdade de Letras de Lisboa, P-1699 Lisboa Codex, Portugal
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

The dating studies of the ‘modern rock-art scientists’, when critically examined, are found not to show that the Côa valley petroglyphs are of recent age. Their Upper Palaeolithic characteristics, and therefore their likely late Pleistocene age, are consistent with their archaeological context.

Type
Reports
Information
Antiquity , Volume 69 , Issue 266 , December 1995 , pp. 883 - 901
Copyright
Copyright © Antiquity Publications Ltd. 1995

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Alarcão, J. (ed.) 1990. Portugal — Das Origens à Romanização. Lisboa: Presença.Google Scholar
Altuna, J., & Apellániz, J.M. 1978. Las figuras rupestres de la cueva de Ekain (Deva, Guipuzcoa), Munibe 30 (1-3): 7–151.Google Scholar
Apellániz, J.M. 1987. Arte rupestre en el País Vasco, in Arte Rupestre en España: 38–45. Madrid: Revista de Arqueologia.Google Scholar
L’Art des Cavernes.1984. Paris:Ministère de la Culture.Google Scholar
Aura, E. & Villaverde, V. 1995. Paleolítico Superior final y Epipaleolítico antiguo en la España mediterránea (18,000–9000 BP), in Moure, A. & González–Sainz, C. (ed.). El final del Paleolítico Cantábrico: 313–40. Santander: Universidad de Cantabria.Google Scholar
Bahn, P.C., 1995. Cave art without the caves, Antiquity 69: 231–7.Google Scholar
Bahn, P.C., Bednarik, R.G. & Steinbring, J. 1995. Tho Peterborough Petroglyph Site: reflections on massive intervention in rock-art, Pock Art Research 12 (1): 29–41.Google Scholar
Balbín, R., Alcolea, J. & Santonja, M. 1995. El yacimiento rupestre paleolítico al aire libre de Siega Verde (Salamanca, España): una vision de conjunto, Trabalhos de Antropologia e Etnologia 35 (3): 73–102.Google Scholar
Baptista, A.M. 1983. O complexo de gravuras rupestres do Vale da Casa — (Vila Nova de Foz Côa), Arqueologia 8: 57–69.Google Scholar
Bard, E., et al. 1987. Retreat velocity of the North Atlantic polar front during the last deglaciation determined by 14C accelerator mass spectrometry, Nature 328: 791–4.Google Scholar
Bednarik, R.G., 1992a. A new method to date petroglyphs, Archaeometry 34 (2): 279–91.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bednarik, R.G. 1992b. Developments in rock-art dating, Acta Archaeologica 63: 141–55.Google Scholar
Bednarik, R.G. 1995a. More news from Hell’s Canyon, Portugal, AURA Newsletter 12 (1): 7–8.Google Scholar
Bednarik, R.G. 1995b. Côa valley rock-art analytical research program.Internal report to EDP.Google Scholar
Bednarik, R.G. In press. Article in Rock Art Research Google Scholar
Beltrán, A., 1982. Rock-art of the Spanish Levant. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press Google Scholar
Binford, L., 1983. In pursuit of the past. London: Thames & Hudson Google Scholar
Cabrera, V., & Giménez, M. 1989. Arte mueble paleolítico en la Cornisa Cantábrica, Revista de Arqueologia 103: 12–24.Google Scholar
Cardoso, J., 1993. Contribuiçāo para o conhecimento dos grandes mamíferos do Plistocénico Superior de Portugal. Oeiras: Câmara Municipal de Oeiras.Google Scholar
Clottes, J., 1984. Grotte de Niaux, in L’Art des Cavernes: 416–23.Google Scholar
Clottes, J., et al. 1995. Les peintures paléolithiques de la Grotte Chauvet-Pont d’Arc (Ardèche, France): datations directes et indirectes par la méthode du radiocarbone, Comptes Rendus de l’ Académie des Sciences de Paris 320 (2a): 1133–40.Google Scholar
Combier, J., 1984. Grotte de la Tote-du-Lion, in L’Art des Cavernes: 595–9.Google Scholar
Daveau, S., 1980. Espaço e tempo: evolução do ambiente geográfico de Portugal ao longo dos tempos préhistóricos, Clio 2: 13–37.Google Scholar
Davidson, I. 1983. Site variability and prehistoric economy in Levante, in Bailey, G. (ed.), Hunter–gatherer economy in prehistory: a European perspective: 79–95. Cambridge, Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Dorn, R.I. 1995. Radiocarbon dating the Foz Côa Petroglyphs using organic matter encapsulated in weathering rinds: summary of report to EDP (Electricidade de Portugal). Google Scholar
Duplessy, J.C., et al. 1992. Changes in surface salinity of the North Atlantic Ocean during the last deglaciation, Nature 358: 121–44.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
EDP [Electricidade de Portugal]. 1995. Projecto Datação. Document circulated at the 13 July press conference of EDP’s board of directors.Google Scholar
Ferreira, O.V. 1964. Jazidas quaternárias com fauna de vertebrados encontradas em Portugal, Arqueologia e História(8th series) 11: 89–57.Google Scholar
Fischman, J., 1995. Portuguese rock-art gets younger, Science 269: 304.Google Scholar
Harlé, E., 1910–11. Les mammifères et oiseaux quaternaires connus jusqu’ici en Portugal: mémoire suivi d’une liste générale de ceux de la Péninsule Ibérique, Comunicações dos Serviços Geológicos de Portugal 8: 22–85.Google Scholar
Jorge, S.O. 1993. O povoado de Castelo Velho (Freixo de Numão, Vila Nova de Foz Côa) no contexto da Pré-História recente do Norte de Portugal, Trabalhos de Antropologia e Etnologia 33 (1–2): 163–212.Google Scholar
Jorge, S.O. et al. 1981. Gravuras rupestres de Mazouco (Freixo de Espada à Cinta), Arqueologia 3: 3–12.Google Scholar
Lorblanchet, M. 1984. Grotte du Pech-Merle, in L’Art des Cavernes: 467–74.Google Scholar
Marks, A.E., Bicho, N., Zilhão, J. & Ferring, C.R. 1994. Upper Pleistocene prehistory in Portuguese Estre-madura: results of preliminary research, Journal of Field Archaeology 21: 53–68.Google Scholar
Martí, B. & Hernandez, M.S. 1988. El Neolític Valencià: art rupestre i cultura material. Valencia: Servei d’Investigació Prehistòrica.Google Scholar
Mateus, J. & Queirós, P. 1993. Os estudos de vegetação quaternária em Portugal; contextos, balanço de resultados, perspectivas, in Associação Portuguesa Para O Estudo Do Quaternàrio, O Quaternário em Portugal: balanço e perspectivas: 105–31. Lisbon: Colibri.Google Scholar
Póvoas, L., Zilhão, J., Chaline, J. & Brunet-Leconte, P. 1992. La faune de rongeurs du Pléistocène Supérieur de la Gruta do Caldeirão (Tomar, Portugal), Quaternaire 3 (1): 40–47.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rebanda, N. 1995. Os trabalhos arqueológicos e o complexo de arte rupestre do Côa. Lisboa: Instituto Português do Património Arquitectónico e Arqueológico.Google Scholar
Reedy, R.C., Tuniz, C. & Fink, D. 1994. Report on the workshop on production rates of terrestrial in situ-produced cosmogenic nuclides, in Proceedings of the Sixth International Conference on Accelerator Mass Spectrometry, Nuclear Instruments & Methods in Physics Research B 92 (1–4): 335–9.Google Scholar
Roghe, J. 1971. Le climat et les faunes du Paléolithique Moyen et Supérieur de la province d’Estremadura, in Actas do I Congresso Nacional de Arqueologia: 39–48.Google Scholar
Roche, J. 1972. Faunes du Pléistocène Supérieur et final de l’Estremadura, Portugal, Annales de Paléontologie (Vertébrés) 58 (2): 229–42.Google Scholar
Rodrigues, M.L.E. 1991. Depósitos e evolução quaternária das vertentes nas depressões de Minde e de Alvados, Maciço Calcário Estremenho, Portugal, Finisterra 51: 5–26.Google Scholar
Sá, C.C & Ferreira, A.R. 1995. A Fraude, O Independente (Lisbon), 7 July.Google Scholar
Salema, I. 1995. Alan Watchman ao PÚBLICO: um paleolítico ‘absurdo’, Público (Lisbon), 8 July.Google Scholar
Torres, T. 1979 Osos pardos fósiles encontrados en Portugal, Cuadernos de Espeleologia, Santander 9–10: 155–68.Google Scholar
Turner, C. & Hannon, G.E. 1988. Vegetational evidence for late Quaternary climatic changes in southwest Europe in relation to the influence of the North Atlantic Ocean, Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London B 318: 451–458.Google Scholar
Valladas, H. et al. 1992. Direct radiocarbon dates for prehistoric paintings at the Altamira, El Castillo and Niaux caves, Nature 357: 68–70.Google Scholar
Villaverde, V. 1994. Arte paleolítico de la Cova del Parpalló: estudio de la colección de plaquetas y cantos grabados y pintados. Valencia: Servei d’Investigació Prehistórica de la Diputació de Valencia.Google Scholar
Watchman, A. 1995a. Executive summary. Summary of report to EDP (Electricidade de Portugal).Google Scholar
Watchman, A. 1995b. Dating the Foz Côa engravings, Portugal, abstract in Seglie, D. (ed.), NEWS 95 — International Rock Art Congress: 98. Turin: Centro Studi e Museo di Arte Preistorica.Google Scholar
Werlhof, J. Von, Casey, H., Dorn, R.I. & Jones, G.A. 1995. AMS 14C constraints on geoglyphs in the Lower Colorado River region, Arizona and California, Geoarchaeology 10 (4): 257–73.Google Scholar
Zbyszewski, G. 1963. Jazidas Quaternárias de Salemas (Loures) e de Columbeira (Bombarral), Boletim da Sociedade Geológica de Portugal 13 (1–2): 137–47.Google Scholar
Zilhão, J. 1988. The early Upper Palaeolithic of Portugal, in Hoffecker, J.F. & Wolf, C.A. (ed.), The early Upper Palaeolithic: evidence from Europe and the Near East: 135–55. Oxford: British Archaeological Reports. International Series 437.Google Scholar
Zilhão, J. 1989. L’art mobilier paléolithique au Portugal, Almansor 7 (Actas do Colóquio Internacional de Arte Préhistórica — Nos 25 Anos da Descoberta da Gruta do Escoural): 29–36.Google Scholar
Zilhão, J. 1990. The Portuguese Estremadura at 18,000 BP: the Solutrean, in Soffer, O. & Gamble, C. (ed.), The World at 18,000 HP 1: 109–25. London: Unwin Hyman.Google Scholar
Zilhão, J. 1991. Le Solutréen du Portugal: environnement, Chronologie, industries, peuplement, origines, Études et Recherches Archéologiques de I ’Université de Liège 42: 485–501.Google Scholar
Zilhão, J. 1993. Le passage du Paléolithique moyen au Paléolithique supérieur dans le Portugal, in Cabrera, V. (ed.), El orígen del hombre moderno en el Suroeste de Europa: 127–45. Madrid: Universidad Nacional de Educación a Distancia. Google Scholar
Zilhão, J. 1994. La séquence chrono–stratigraphique du Solutréen portugais, Férvedes 1: 119–29.Google Scholar
Zilhão, J. 1995. O Paleolítico Superior da Estremadura portuguesa. Doctoral dissertation, University of Lisbon.Google Scholar