Chronology of the Mesolithic occupation of the Muge valley, central Portugal: The case of Cabeço da Amoreira

Although the Muge shellmiddens have been the object of research and excavation for almost 150 years, data are still scarce and, frequently, problematic. The chronology of the Mesolithic occupation of Muge is based on a series of radiocarbon dates from various sites. These results allowed the establishment of upper and lower boundaries for the Mesolithic in the region, as well as for the sequencing and the cultural explanations of both sites and lithic technology. However, most of those dated samples have insoluble problems of provenience and stratigraphy and, thus, the dates have very little significance for the knowledge of the chronology of the sites and of the Mesolithic human occupation in the valley.Recently, a new project, started in 2008, was funded by the Portuguese National Science Foundation (FCT). This paper presents the first AMS results of this project, with a total of close to 30 new dates, based on Bayesian radiocarbon dating modelling. These, together with previous obtained radiocarbon results, provide a complete and detailed new perspective of the chronology of one of the most important shellmiddens (Cabeço da Amoreira) in Muge as well as the direct relation to the time of settlement of Mesolithic complex hunter–gatherers in the region and the following occupation with the reuse of the shellmiddens by Neolithic populations.