Technology and Mobility: First Pottery Productions in Western Iberian Peninsula (Tagus estuary, Portugal)

The Neolithic site of Casas Novas (Coruche, Portugal) has provided the earliest evidence of Neolithic occupation currently known on the left bank of the Tagus River. The material culture and the radiocarbon date show an occupation that fits in the earliest moments of the regional Neolithic. The typological and decorative characteristics of the ceramic assemblage show contacts and influences both from Mediterranean and the Iberian Meseta. In order to determine the origins of the raw materials and to reconstruct the manufacture sequence, 26 ceramic samples were selected for petrographic analysis. The archaeometric analysis shows local and regional procurement strategies, which can be related to seasonal settlement patterns and exploitation of estuarine resources. The data provided by the research offiers the possibility to analyze ceramic technology within a community which is still in the process of consolidating a new way of life, and how these circumstances may have influenced technological choices and potter's practice.