SILVA, AM; CRUZ, C.; BETTENCOURT, AMS; TERESO, S. (2013). The megalithic monument of Cabeço dos Moinhos (Brenha, Figueira da Foz, Portugal): anthropological data. Poster apresentado no \"I BioAnthrapological Meeting. A Multidisciplinary Approach\", Coimbra 30Jun-1May\".

The megalithic monument of Cabeço dos Moinhos (Brenha, Figueira da Foz): anthropological data Ana Maria Silva1, Sofia Tereso1, Carlos Cruz2 and Ana M. S. Bettencourt3 1 – CIAS, Departamento Ciências da Vida, Universidade de Coimbra; 2- CITCEM Centro de Investigação Transdisciplinar, Cultura, Espaço e Memória da Universidade do Minho; 3- Departamento de História da Universidade do Minho Braga, Portugal and CITCEM Centro de Investigação Transdisciplinar, Cultura, Espaço e Memória, Universidade do Minho, Braga, Portugal. Projeto ENARDAS (PTDC/HIS-ARQ/112983/2009

Introduction

Cabeço dos Moinhos is a megalithic tomb built on a limestone outcrop located in a Hill placed on the ridgeline of Serra da Boa Viagem. Excavated by Santos Rocha (Fig. 1) in the end of the 20th century, this funerary monument reveals human bones, pottery, lithics and bone object dated to the Neolithic period. The focus of the present work is the study of the human remains nowadays housed in the Museu Municipal Santos Rocha (Figueira da Foz).

Fig. 1 – António Santos Rocha (in www.figueiradigital.com).

Paleodemographic data Preliminary results indicates that a minimum number of 10 individuals were represented, 2 non-adults and 8 adults, including individuals of both sexes (Fig. 6 – 8). Concerning age at death, there are evidences of young adults as well individuals that have died with more than 40 years.

Fig7: Talus sample from Cabeço dos Moinhos. The two last bones belong to non-adult.

Fig. 6 : Mandible sample that allowed the estimation of adult NMI.

The funerary monument António Santos Rocha, in one of its publications (Rocha, 1949) describes the megalithic monument of Cabeço dos Moinhos and its location. The monument name it’s because of its location in a hillock with some windmills, in place called Brenha: ‘There, next to the windmill of José da Mota Grácio, we founded a slab of limestone, deeply driven into the ground, vertical and oriented LO. "(Rocha, 1949). According to the author, these ruins were unique in their disposition, but without any organization. Apparently the sediments would have been scrambled, revealing both prehistoric material (pottery, human bones, fauna) as some contemporary ceramics, "sufficient evidence, that the monument had been destroyed or just wrecked in a recent time" (Rocha, 1949).

Fig. 8: Dimorphism of two ulnas suggesting the presence of adult individuals of both sexes in Cabeço dos Moinhos.

Paleopathological analysis The preliminary analysis of this collection allow to identified some pathologies: Concerning oral paleopathology, one adult mandible, probably belonging to a female, display ante-mortem loss of the left second premolar and first molar (Fig.9), middle severe dental wear (level 4 according to Smith, 1984), small cariogenic lesion on the second left molar (Fig. 10) and small deposits of calculus ; One metacarpal bone show evidence of an old, completely remodeled fracture (Fig. 11);  Degenerative diseases was observed on the body of a lumbar vertebrae Fig. 12);  Signs of physiological stress, namely Porotic Hyperostosis was observed in a parietal bone fragment (Fig. 13);

Anthropological data: The sample Nowadays around 1214 bone fragments, mostly very fragmentary are housed in the Museum. The bone sample included a group of unburnt bones as well as bones that show evidences of being submitted to fire. These alterations include colour changes, some level of distortions and/or fracture patterns.

Ante mortem tooth loose

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Cariogenic lesion Fig.10: Cariogenic lesion. on a second lower molar of Cabeço dos Moinhos.

Fig.9: Ante mortem tooth loose of second premolar and first molar from Cabeço dos Moinhos.

Fig. 2 e 3: Human bone sample from Cabeço dos Moinhos: Unburnt bones (left) and bone with thermic alterations (right). Fig.11: Remodelled fracture in metacarpal from Cabeço dos Moinhos.

Alterations due to fire Around half of the human remains nowadays housed in the Museum display alteration due to fire. The majority of these fragments are black, suggesting low temperatures (200-3000C). Less than 10 long fragments are calcined. The presence of thumbnail fractures was registered in 2 long bone fragments (Fig. 4, 5). These are generally associated with the presence of soft tissues, suggesting that at least some individuals were cremated as fleshed bodies. However, recently Gonçalves (2012) demonstrated that this type of fracture can also appear in burning of dry bones suggesting that it may be related to the preservation of collagen (Gonçalves et al. 2011) instead of pre-cremation state. Also, in the present case we can’t exclude that the bodies were in different conditions when the were submitted to fire.

Fig. 4 e 5: Long bone fragments with alterations due to fire.

Fig.12: Degenerative disease on a lumbar vertebrae from Cabeço dos Moinhos.

Fig.13: Porotic hyperostosis in a parietal bone fragment of Cabeço dos Moinhos.

Final comments The anthropological study of the human remains uncovered from the megalithic tomb of Cabeço de Moinhos is one more contribution to the knowledge of Late Neolithic populations. These include relevant aspects of the mortuary practices, including the presence of animal bones and bones with thermic alterations. However, the available data don’t permit to conclude if these human remains were intentionally or accidentally burned. This aspect is important since recent data suggest an increase importance of the use of fire in mortuary contexts of the Late Neolithic and Chalcolithic periods. The anthropological data are also significant since they allow us to add more data to the biological and pathological profile of these past populations. References Gonçalves, D.; Thompson, TJU; Cunha, E. 2011. Implications of heat-induced changes in bone on the interpretation of funerary behaviour and practice. J of Archaeological Science 38: 1308 – 1313. Rocha, A. S. 1949. Memórias e explorações arqueológicas. Antiguidades pré-históricas do concelho da Figueira da Foz. Acta Universitatis Conimbrigensis. Vol. I: 14-18.