Lithic raw material procurement and consumption during the Late Neolithic/Early Chalcolithic: the case of Casal dos Matos and Cabeça Gorda 1 (Vila Nova de Ourém, Estremadura, Portugal)

Abstract

This paper presents the relationship between a potential flint procurement source (Casal dos Matos) and a Neolithic- Chalcolithic site (Cabeça Gorda 1) located in its immediate surroundings. The macroscopical comparison between the raw material used for flaked stone artifacts in Cabeça Gorda 1 and the raw material that occurs in Casal dos Matos suggests at least a spatial relationship between a local procurement area and a specific consumption context – thus reinforcing the evident continuity between local procurement, production and consumption sites in the Prehistory of the ancient peasant communities in the Portuguese Estremadura, between the Late Neolithic and Early Chalcolithic (3100-2600 cal BCE). This paper is not intended to present the exhaustive study of the flaked stone industry of Cabeça Gorda 1, but to set a conceptual framework, based on the currently available data, for a specific model of raw material exploitation by comparing with other instances of flint procurement in the same region. This conceptual framework can then be used not only for the area where these sites are included but also for other regions where similar contexts can be identified.