Work

An Upper Palaeolithic Landscape Analysis of Coastal Portugal Using Ground‐penetrating Radar

Year: 2013

Type: article

Abstract: ABSTRACT Ground‐penetrating mapping radar allows for the three‐dimensional reconstruction of ancient landscapes by interpreting geological horizons associated with archaeological sites. When the geological framework of a site can be placed in both time and space, ancient environments and people's usage and adaptation to landscapes can be studied. In coastal Portugal late Ice Age people discarded stone tools within aeolian sands that were deposited directly on a bedrock surface, which could be mapped using ground‐penetrating radar. That surface was then studied in three‐dimensions and the palaeotopography at the time people were using this area was mapped. It was found that these ancient people probably took shelter behind a small elevation rise on the edge of a series of streams that flowed toward a nearby floodplain. Using this type of analysis the environmental context of prehistoric activities and human behaviour of these people is provided in a way not possible using traditional archaeological methods. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Source: Archaeological Prospection

DOI: 10.1002/arp.1439

Authors: Lawrence B. Conyers, J. Michael Daniels, Jonathan A. Haws, Michael M. Benedetti

Institutions: University of Denver, University of Louisville, University of North Carolina Wilmington

Language: English

Topic: Geophysical Methods and Applications

Subfield: Ocean Engineering

Field: Engineering

Domain: Physical Sciences

Open Access status: bronze

Funders: National Science Foundation, University of Denver, University of Illinois at Chicago

OpenAlex ID: W1914781069

FWCI: 6.171

Cites: 13

Cited by: 28

Related to: 10