title: Assessing change in diet and biological affinity between the 4th and 3rd millennia cal BCE in the Portuguese Estremadura: a preliminary dental comparison of Feteira II and Bolores.
abstract: Although the social and political changes accompanying the transition from the Neolithic through Copper Age, between the 4th and 3rd millennia cal BCE, in southwestern Iberia are reasonably well understood, much less is known about whether population movements and dietary changes accompanied these transformations. To address this question, human dental remains from the Middle through Late Neolithic site of Feteira II (3600-2900 cal BCE) and the Late Neolithic site of Bolores (2800-2600 cal BCE) in the Portuguese Estremadura were used to examine diet (microwear) and affinity (dental non-metrics). Microwear features were not found to be significantly different between Feteira II and Bolores, suggesting that the emergence of social complexity during this period did not result in large-scale changes in subsistence practices during the period of use at these sites. Using the Arizona State University Dental Anthropology System and supporting statistics, no significant difference between the samples from Feteira II and Bolores was observed, suggesting that no population replacement occurred between the Middle Neolithic and Late Neolithic/Copper Age. However, at Bolores there is some indication that there may have been demographic exchanges between southern Iberian and North African populations during the Late Neolithic/Copper Age.
authors.affiliation: Department of Anthropology, University of Alaska, Fairbanks, Fairbanks, AK, USA; Department of Anthropology, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA 52242, USA; Department of Natural and Applied Sciences, Mount Mercy University, Cedar Rapids, IA, USA.
authors.forename: B C
authors.initials: BC
authors.lastname: Horwath
authors.affiliation: Department of Anthropology, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA 52242, USA; Department of Natural and Applied Sciences, Mount Mercy University, Cedar Rapids, IA, USA.
authors.forename: A J
authors.initials: AJ
authors.lastname: Waterman
authors.affiliation: Department of Anthropology, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA 52242, USA. Electronic address: katina-lillios@uiowa.edu.
authors.forename: K T
authors.initials: KT
authors.lastname: Lillios
authors.affiliation: School of Natural Sciences and Psychology, Liverpool John Moores University, Liverpool L3 3AF, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: J D
authors.initials: JD
authors.lastname: Irish
mesh_terms: D004032:Diet / Q000266:history*; D005580:Fossils / Q000473:pathology*; D049690:History, Ancient; D006801:Humans; D010161:Paleodontology; D011157:Population Dynamics / Q000266:history; D011174:Portugal; D012922:Social Change / Q000266:history; D014070:Tooth / Q000473:pathology*; D057085:Tooth Wear / Q000266:history / Q000473:pathology