Multidisciplinary investigation reveals an individual of West African origin 
buried in a Portuguese Mesolithic shell midden four centuries ago

Peyroteo-Stjerna, Rita; Simões, Luciana G.; Fernandes, Ricardo; Lopes, Gonçalo; Günther, Torsten; Jakobsson, Mattias

doi:10.1016/j.jasrep.2022.103370

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Multidisciplinary investigation reveals an individual of West African origin buried in a Portuguese Mesolithic shell midden four centuries ago

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Fernandes, Ricardo
Archaeology, Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History, Max Planck Society;

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Citation

Peyroteo-Stjerna, R., Simões, L. G., Fernandes, R., Lopes, G., Günther, T., & Jakobsson, M. (2022). Multidisciplinary investigation reveals an individual of West African origin buried in a Portuguese Mesolithic shell midden four centuries ago. Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports, 42: 103370, pp. 1-9. doi:10.1016/j.jasrep.2022.103370.

Cite as: https://hdl.handle.net/21.11116/0000-000A-4925-B

Abstract

Cabeço da Amoreira is a well-studied shell midden with a robust chronology based on a large number of radiocarbon dates on Mesolithic human burials. Surprisingly, we discovered one individual that lived about 400 years ago buried in this site. We employed a multidisciplinary approach integrating archaeology, historical records, genetics, radiocarbon dating and stable isotope analysis to investigate the biogeographic origins of this individual and burial circumstances. We could determine that this was a man of West African origin, probably from Senegambia, arriving in Portugal via the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade. Our study provides new insights into aspects of the life and death of a first-generation African individual in Portugal during the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade period and highlights the power of multidisciplinary research to unravel unwritten history.