João Tereso

CIBIO Research Center in Biodiversity and Genetic Resources | CIBIO · EnvArch

Excavations carried out at “Casa Romana” (Roman house) of the Castro de São Domingos (Lousada, Northern Portugal) between 2009 and 2021 included the recovery of sedimentary samples for archaeobotanical analyses. Th ese samples came from a diverse set of contexts from between the Iron Age and the Late Antiquity. Th e carpological study (fruits/seeds...

The site of Castro S. João das Arribas is placed on the edge of a cliff over the Douro river (Miranda do Douro, Northeast of Portugal). Archaeological interventions in its highest area uncovered a main occupation from Late Antiquity. On its western part a functional space was recorded, which included two small above-ground structures and abundant c...

The excavation of the Roman Healing Spa of Aquae Flauae (Chaves) revealed a vast set of waterlogged archaeobotanical remains, ascribed to the late 4th century AD. This material included varied timber pieces, diverse small wooden objects and macro carpological remains. The arqueobotanical study of wooden remains, aside from the identification of tec...

O presente artigo efectua uma primeira apresentação do concheiro neolítico do Lisandro (Mafra, Lisboa, Portugal), numa abordagem interdisciplinar. Identificado em 2017 e objecto de uma escavação de emergência em 2018, Lisandro apresenta um depósito conquífero entre dunas, evidenciando uma ocupação exclusivamente relacionada com o consumo de fauna m...

Small rural places are largely absent from early medieval written sources, but they were profuse and relevant in regional settlements and economies. Only through archaeological and archaeobotanical investigation is it possible to unveil their structure and productive strategies; however, this kind of investigation is still uncommon in Iberia. Here,...

This paper presents the results of carbon and nitrogen stable isotope analyses on 50 charred seed samples from the medieval villages of Zornoztegi and Aistra, dated to between fourth and fourteenth centuries CE. The assemblage was mainly formed by Triticum aestivum/durum, although some Hordeum vulgare, Avena and Vicia ervilia samples were also incl...

A Arqueologia é uma ciência inerentemente interdisciplinar, pelo que as Arqueociências são parte integrante da atividade arqueológica. Embora a um ritmo lento, a Arqueologia portuguesa tem acompanhado a tendência de renovação metodológica e de crescente interdisciplinaridade que caracteriza a Terceira Revolução Científica. É expectável que este per...

Grapevine (Vitis vinifera L.) diversity richness results from a complex domestication history over multiple historical periods. Here, we used whole-genome resequencing to elucidate different aspects of its recent evolutionary history. Our results support a model in which a central domestication event in grapevine was followed by postdomestication h...

Grapevine ( Vitis vinifera L.) is one of the most significant crops in the world. Today’s richness in grapevine diversity results from a complex domestication history over multiple historical periods. Here, we employed whole genome resequencing to elucidate different aspects of the recent evolutionary history of this crop. Our results support a mod...

Studies regarding medieval agriculture have focused almost exclusively on written sources but archaeological investigation has already proven to be a valuable source of information, particularly when it includes archaeobotanical analyses. However, Iberian Medieval Archaeobotany is still underdeveloped, which represents a definite loss of key eviden...

Archaeological excavations at Vila do Touro uncovered a Late Bronze Age/Early Iron Age occupation at the top of a prominent hill. It consisted of a structure built with perishable materials, supported by postholes, and a small subcircular storage facility made of stone. Abundant carbonized plant remains were visible throughout the excavation area d...

A transição do Pleistocénico para o Holocénico correspondeu a um período de fortes flutuações climáticas com grande impacto na paisagem e o estudo do registo paleoecológico para este período é crucial para conhecermos como se estabeleceram e evoluíram as condições do atual interglaciar. Apresenta-se, aqui, uma síntese dos dados palinológicos e antr...

A large set of archaeobotanical samples were recovered during the excavation of Quinta de Crestelos (Mogadouro), several of which have already been published. This paper focusses on the charcoal analysis still unpublished from two sectors of this site. The first, located in the lower platform, relates to a habitation area comprised of huts and fire...

O Castro de Guifões (Matosinhos, Noroeste de Portugal), estrategicamente implantado junto ao Rio Leça, tem sido alvo de estudo por vários arqueólogos, desde os finais do século XIX. Em 2016, tiveram início novas escavações arqueológicas que levaram à recolha de amostras sedimentares para análises arqueobotânicas. Neste trabalho serão divulgados os...

In the last few years, large-scale archaeological projects carried out at medieval sites in the Basque Country have obtained a significant collection of archaeobotanical assemblages, creating the opportunity to address, from a fresh perspective, a social history of agriculture in the region. This paper presents the study of the village of Zornozteg...

This paper analyses and discusses the fuel and plant offerings found in 174 primary (pyre remains) and secondary contexts (ritual pits) of the necropolis of Via XVII in Bracara Augusta (Braga), in northern Portugal. This site is one of the largest Roman funerary complexes in the Iberian Peninsula, spanning from the last decades of the 1st century B...

Wood has been ubiquitous, widely available and multipurpose raw material used trough History for crafting from individual possessions and utilitarian utensils as well as for building dwellings and other kind of buildings, or even for making means of transport-such carts, sleds, boats, etc.-, carving sculptures and figures, etc. Crafting wood involv...

The site of Castelinho (Torre de Moncorvo, northeast of Portugal) is a fortification strategically placed on a small elevation, near the river Sabor, built in the Late Iron Age and occupied until the Early Roman period. It is characterized by impressive defensive features, including large walls with turrets, ditches and complex entrances, inside of...

The Tardiglacial of Portugal has been associated with the Magdalenian culture and lithic industries characterized by tool miniaturization, a diversity of microlith types, and the absence of a intentional blade production. The technological characterization, the chronology and the phasing of the Portuguese Magdalenian have been defined based on data...

In prehistoric sites, the most common features identified by archaeologists are negative ones, such as pits, postholes, hearths, sunken hut, and among others. However, interpretations are not easy, and some researchers prefer not to reflect upon them, classifying them as rubbish pits while other researchers argue that these structures have other fu...

During the excavation of eight roman sites in the Lower Sabor valley, sediment samples were recovered and carpological analyses were carried out in order to obtain data regarding agriculture and storage. Naked wheat was the most frequent crop during the Roman period, but barley and millet were also relevant. The presence of grapes is documented whi...

Dear colleagues, We would like to invite you to submit your abstracts for the EAA session 228-"The exchange of plants and food practices through the Neolithic period to Iron Age". With this session, we intend to gather papers focusing on the exchange of plants and food practices in all stages of agricultural systems from the seeds, harvesting tools...

In this paper we present a case of a double burial (T.310/326) from the Phoenician Punic necropolis of Monte Sirai (Carbonia, Sardinia, Italy). This peculiar tomb, which comprises the inhumation of a woman, presents unique constructive features, namely a big stone cover that confers a high visual reference to the necropolis. Furthermore, a cooking...

Coodinadoras: María Martín-Seijo y Olallá López Costas. Universidad de Veran 2019. Curso "Bioarqueología: introducción teórico-practica". Santiago de Compostela. Facultad de Biología. 17-21 de junio de 2019. 25 horas lectivas.

This paper presents an overview of the current state of research on Roman, Late Antique and medieval agriculture in the Iberian Peninsula through the study of archaeobotanical samples (seeds and fruits) collected on a large number of rural and urban sites spread throughout Iberia's geography. It includes published and unpublished data. The plant ta...

The Iron Age site of Crastoeiro (Mondim de Basto, Vila Real, North Portugal) revealed an interesting set of pits opened in the bedrock. Soil samples were collected from these and a carpological study was carried out in order to obtain information about crop diversity and characterize the storage structures. Nineteen samples from 4 pits yielded impo...

El yacimiento de la Edad del Hierro de Crastoeiro (Mondim de Basto, Vila Real, Norte de Portugal) reveló un interesante conjunto de fosas excavadas en la roca. De su interior se recogieron muestras de sedimento y se realizó un estudio carpológico con el objetivo de obtener información sobre la diversidad de cultivos y prácticas agrícolas y de carac...

The archaeological campaigns in the Iron Age site of Crastoeiro (Mondim de Basto, Vila Real) exposed a set of pits opened in the bedrock. These revealed a wide amount of carpological remains, allowing a better understanding about crop diversity, as well as storage practices. Through the study of nineteen samples from four pits, the results showed t...

Poster presented at ESHE 2018 Meeting

O povoado da Quinta de Crestelos (Mogadouro) foi intervencionado no âmbito das medidas de minimização do Aproveitamento Hidroelétrico do Baixo Sabor. Na área mais elevada deste povoado, uma crista alongada, foram identificados 8 horrea com cronologias balizadas entre o séc. I a.C. e II d.C. Durante a escavação da área, foram efetuadas recolhas de s...

ARCH-BOT: II Ciclo de conferencias en arqueoloxía e arqueobotánica Coordina: María Martín-Seijo (GEPN-AAT.USC) Inscrición previa: maria.martin.seijo@usc.es

O Crasto de Palheiros tem sido alvo de diferentes estudos interdisciplinares que, desde o início incluíram análises de arqueobotânica. Neste âmbito, os estudos carpológicos permitiram a identificação de uma área de armazenagem na Plataforma Inferior Leste deste povoado, que terá sido destruída por um incêndio no final da Idade do Ferro. Restavam, p...

Environmental archaeology can reveal long term changes in species distributions, helping to understand the interplay of ecological and human factors driving range shifts. Here we investigate changes in the distribution of the mastic tree Pistacia lentiscus in western Iberia, and explore the role that changes in climate, environment and society coul...

Inserted in the Patrimonial Safeguard Plan of the Hydroelectric Exploitation of the Lower Sabor, the archaeological site at the Quinta do Medal (EP 201) is one of the few sites of this project whose chronology spans the late-modern period. The archaeobotanical contents of 26 samples retrieved on-site allowed an anthracological and carpological anal...

The functionality of Cova da Baleia (Mafra, Portugal) is hereby presented and discussed in this paper. In an excavated area of 500m² was identified a large concentration of structures (128), of which 104 were in clay, with two phases of occupation. The absolute chronology indicates a majority occupation of the second half of the 8th millennium cal...

A fire event in S. Gens allowed the conservation of organic material from the destruction of timber structures associated with rock outcrops in the settlement entrance. Results revealed the dominance of oak species (Quercus spp.) in the charcoal assemblage and broomcorn millet (Panicum miliaceum) in the carpological assemblage. Concerning the remai...

Based on data from different disciplines, such as Archaeology, Palaeobotany and History, the key moments of landscape evolution in the coastal stretch surrounding the Aveiro Lagoon are identified and interpreted in a broad diachronic perspective. In the southern part of the region, just north of the Lower Mondego River Valley, we find a broad flatt...

Recent archaeobotanical studies in medieval sites from Central Portugal provided relevant data on the use of wood as construction material and fuel . Archaeological levels with clear signs of destruction by fire are documented in several sites dated to the 9 th-10th centuries . Such fires allowed the preservation of a wide set of evidences of daily...

This paper focuses on the relationship between human communities and wood resources in the Sabor valley (Trás-os-Montes region, northeast Portugal) during the Early and Middle Bronze Age. Charcoal from three archaeological sites—Terraço das Laranjeiras, Foz do Medal and Quinta de Crestelos—was analysed. As in other Early-Middle Bronze Age sites in...

The construction of Baixo Sabor Dam (NE Portugal), led to the discovery and excavation of the site of Quinta de Crestelos, with a human occupation ranging from the Early Palaeolithic to mid-20th century. Its Iron Age phase, found at the site's hilltop, revealed an unprecedented large number of combustion structures, comprehending several typologies...

From October to December 2013, several soil samples were recovered during the archaeological excavations of the settlement of Cidadelhe (Mesão Frio, Northern Portugal) in order to undergo archaeobotanical analysis. These samples are originated from two separate groups of contexts: one prior to the construction of the settlement’s wall (Phase 1 – 8t...

Based on data from different disciplines, such as Archaeology, Palaeobotany and History, the key moments of landscape evolution in the coastal stretch surrounding the Aveiro Lagoon are identifi ed and interpreted in a broad diachronic perspective. In the southern part of the region, just north of the Lower Mondego River Valley, we fi nd a broad fl...

The Iron age corresponds to a period of significant changes regarding agriculture in Northwest Iberia. Agricultural systems were based on a diversity of crops, particularly cereals, well adapted to undemanding soils and to harsh climatic conditions. In this context, two important crops have been considered Iron Age novelties, namely Triticum aestiv...

The interpretation of archaeobotanical assemblages has been traditionally based on a classification of archaeological contexts in two categories: dispersed and concentrated. These categories have deeply influenced the interpretation of archaeobotanical assemblages and archaeological contexts. Within this theoretical framework, concentrated plant re...

In the last years new discoveries regarding Early Holocene human occupations have been made in inland Iberia, namely in northeast Portugal. One particular site, Foz do Medal, will bring important contributions to the study of Mesolithic communities due to its well preserved records as well as to its location in the border of Spanish Meseta. Foz do...

Interpretative approaches gathering archaeological and carpological data with broad palaeoecological data can provide relevant insights on the relation between environmental changes and the evolution of human societies and their agricultural systems. Northwest Iberia stands as good study-case since abundant palaeoenvironmental studies allow us to u...

Nos últimos anos foram identificadas ocupações neolíticas no interior norte de Portugal, incrementando a informação sobre estas comunidades e a sua adaptação ao território interior. A identificação de estruturas de combustão no vale do Sabor e a aplicação de análises arqueobotânicas forneceram novos dados para a compreensão das estratégias de ocupa...

Escavações arqueológicas realizadas no sítio de Chã (Cerejais, Alfândega da Fé), entre setembro de 2011 e outubro de 2012, levaram à recolha de 43 amostras sedimentares com vista ao estudo da sua componente carpológica e antracológica. Incidindo principalmente sobre contextos de aterro e de enchimento de fossas, e abrangendo três fases de ocupação...

Resultados da primeira reunião geral de investigadores das áreas científicas da Arqueobotânica e Zooarqueologia a trabalhar em Portugal, realizada em Outubro de 2014, no Museu Nacional de Arqueologia (Lisboa). Identificando um conjunto de dificuldades comuns às duas disciplinas, os presentes decidiram criar um grupo de trabalho informal para foment...

Durante a Idade do Ferro foi exercida uma grande pressão sobre os recursos vegetais no povoado do Crastoeiro. Localizado em Mondim de Basto (Noroeste Peninsular), este sítio está assente num esporão a 453 metros de altitude, a cerca de 3 km em linha reta da margem direita do rio Tâmega, um afluente do rio Douro. No Crastoeiro foi descoberto um pali...

A escavação na Foz do Medal no vale do rio Sabor levou à descoberta de uma sequência sedimentar única que cobre todo o Paleolítico superior e o início do Holocénico. Foram descobertas áreas funcionais e fossas com enterramentos datando do Mesolítico que se revestem de grande importância para a compreensão deste período no interior ibérico. Depois d...