0025 - Almerinse/Cruciforme figurines

(Photo copyright A.C. Valera / Era Arqueologia)

These figurines are classified in Portuguese archaeological literature as "Almeriense idols". In the Spanish one they are called "cruciformes", and they were thought to be of Chalcolithic origin (that is, from the 3rd millennium BC).

At Perdigões, though, they occur in a ditch deposition that is dated from the Late Neolithic (Ditch 12), between 3300 - 3100 cal BC. It is, so far, the oldest dated (in absolute terms) context where these figures appear in Iberia. Important, because it clearly shows that the 3rd millennium social trajectory, namely in terms of iconography and ideology, started in the second half of the 4th millennium BC. A frontier between the Late Neolithic and the Chalcolithic that, in terms of social trajectories, just doesn't make sense anymore, at least in the Iberian Southwest.

Published here.

0027 - Integrality

Many archaeological studies are dealing with the issues of fragmentation and its social roles in the context of Neolithic and Chalcolithic societies (for a Portuguese recent perspective see here). But fragmentation cannot be approach apart from its opposite, "integrality", for the two oppositions are a duality: they implicate each other.

That we can see in the anthropomorphic figurines present in the deposition of cremated remains in Perdigões central area. If the majority of figurines are burned and broken in peaces, just like the human remains, revealing the intention of fragmentation and dilution of the unity of the body, the deposition of this figurine, just next to the cremated remains, shows the importance conceded to completeness, establishing a dialogue between part / whole: the broken leg was intentionally completed with a fragment of a human calcined bone.

The publication of this context and its discussion can be found here.

(Photo copyright A.C. Valera / C. Cunha - Era Arqueologia)

0026 - Cup marks

Cup marks are very common in Alentejo's prehistory and their meanings are still a mystery. They appear isolated or in clusters in outcrops, menhirs or passage graves monoliths. This granitic bloc, with an oval shape, is covered with these cup marks in a quite unique way. It is at the surface, inside Perdigões enclosure.   

(Photo copyright Miguel Lago / Era Arqueologia)

(Photo copyright A.C. Valera / Era Arqueologia)

Photos published here.

0025 - Deers in Perdigões (2)

The deer was a special animal in Recent Prehistory. Its representation in rock art, in pottery decoration or the ceremonial use of its antlers and of its phalanges for carving anthropomorphic figurines leave few doubts about their important role in the imaginary of Prehistoric communities.

Here is a small figurine of a deer, carved in ivory, collected in Tomb 2 of Perdigões.

(Photo copyright A.C. Valera / Era Arqueologia)

For further information and interpretation of these figurines see here.

0024 - Hybridism

(Photo copyright A.C. Valera / Era Arqueologia)

These are two animal half mandibles. One of a Equus sp. (horse), at right, the other of Sus sp. (a pig or boar). They were deposited like that in the top of Pit 84 of Perdigões. Joined but facing opposite directions. The horse mandible pointing to North and the other to South.

                                        (Photo copyright A.C. Valera / Era Arqueologia)

They were close to an agglomeration of small stones and left of a small Adz. In a recent paper, this careful and intentional deposition was interpreted as an example of the hybridism and fluidity that characterizes the ontologies and world views of Late Prehistoric communities. The way things are deposited, how they are combined and organized in the depositions, communicate. They are a sort of writing.

It is published here.

0023 - "Horn idol"

(Photo copyright A.C. Valera / Era Arqueologia)

This "horn idol" was collected at Hypogeum 1, in Perdigões, dating from the Late Neolithic (last quarter of the 4th millennium BC). It is decorated with incised lines, suggesting the attribute of other figurines interpreted as facial tattoos. 

Published here.

0021 - Ocher

Red ocher is common in funerary contexts, as powder spread over votive materials and bones. At Perdigões, it is present at Tombs 1 and 2. But this concentration in the bottom of a pot occur in a large Late Neolithic pit, in a none funerary context, but where several ideotechnic objects were also present: a decorated "horn idol", decorated schist plaques, an "almeriense" figurine, a possible mask with deer antlers, apart from several structure depositions of ceramic fragments, particularly halves of pots. Remains of ritualized practices.

(Photo copyright A.C. Valera / ERA Arqueologia)

Publicated here.

0016 - Small stone pot

This is a typical stone pot, sometimes called mortar or grail, from the Chalcolithic. 25 of them were collected so far in Perdigões, some made of limestone and others made of marble. They are ideotechnic objects (related to the sacred) and come mainly from funerary contexts: 15 from Tomb 1, 7 from Tomb 2, 1 from the large pit with cremated remains (Pit 40). The remaining 2 are from surface collecting and from Pit 87 (the only two not directly related to funerary contexts). This is the one from Pit 40 (made of marble).

(Photo copyright Mafalda Capela / Era Arqueologia)

To know more about ideotechnic objects at Perdigões see here.

0012 - Deer antler

Deer were animals with particular symbolism in Prehistory. They were depicted in rock art, in pottery decoration, were carved in small figurines and their antlers were used for tools but also in ritual depositions in funerary contexts or in other ceremonial practices. Most of these "ceremonial antlers" were collected after being naturally lost by the animals, showing just the base and not the parts of the skull where they were attached, meaning that they do not result from hunting. That is the case of this antler from an adult deer that was deposited in Tomb 2 of Perdigões, in an assemblage of human bones. This assemblage is dated from the third quarter of the 3rd millennium BC.

(Photo copyright A.C. Valera / Era Arqueologia S.A.)

For more information see here.

0011 - Phalanx and beads

This horse phalanx was carved and polished to be transformed in a anthropomorphic figure. It was deposited with cremated human remains in Pit 40. It might have been close to a necklace, because several beads made of shell remained attached by concretions. Is dated from the middle of the 3rd millennium BC.

(Photo copyright A.C. Valera / Era Arqueologia)

0009 - Local object exogenous raw material

That is the case of the staff collected in Tomb 1 of Perdigões. Staffs are an  ideotechnic object present in the inner Alentejo megalithic tradition. This exemplar of Perdigões, made of ivory and dated from the first half of the 3rd millennium BC, combines a regional object with an exogenous raw material. This combination captures,in a way, the spirit of times of the 3rd millennium BC, when local and regional areas were integrated in wide networks of social interaction. And this is also seen in the decoration of this peace, that resembles the patterns that can be observed in other materials of the period. Mixtures. A concept that can very well characterize these times of prime of the Neolithic way in the Southwest Iberia.

0008 - Sun eyes

This is one of the most complete pots with the so called symbolic decoration from Perdigões. It was collected at the atrium of Tomb 2 and is dated from the third quarter of the 3rd millennium BC. It presents two sun eyes and over them two nipples. In each side of the nipples there are the zigzag facial tattoos. The decoration is completed with vertical stripes of lunulae.

(Photo copyright A.C. Valera / Era Arqueologia) 

(Drawing copyright Carlos Lemos / Era Arqueologia)

These well decorated pots, presenting several of the attributes of Chalcolithic symbolic iconography, can be found spread all over south Iberia.

Picture and drawing first published here.

0007 - Carving marble

There are several betils from Pit 40 of Perdigões, the one with the deposition of cremated human remains. Most of them are made of marble, a raw material that archaeometric studies suggest to have its origin 30/40km north of Perdigões, in the area of Borba / Vila Viçosa.

This is one of them, decorated with the radial eyes, eyebrows, facial tattoos and, in the back, the zigzag hair. Dated from the middle of the 3rd millennium BC.

(Photo copyright A.C. Valera / Era Arqueologia)

0006 - Birds of ivory (1)

In Perdigões there are several bird figurines collected in funerary contexts, namely in Tombs 1 and 2.
This is one of the best carved in ivory, from Tomb 2. It represents a bird with grate detail and in a very realistic or naturalistic way. Its length is about 3cm.

(Photo copyright J.P. Ruas)

For more informations about animal figurines at Perdigões see here.

0005 - Faces

Faces of anthropomorphic figurines made of ivory from Perdigões. Four of a minimum number of 16 figurines, associated to the human cremated remains in a pit located in the center of the enclosures. They are dated between 2600-2400 BC.

(Photo copyright A.C. Valera / M. Capela, Era Arqueologia)

For more information see here.

0002 - Ivory lunulae

Ivory "lunulae" from tomb 2. Published in Valera, 2010 (Photo copyright A.C.Valera/Era Arqueologia)