IN THE SORRAIA RIVER VALLEY (CORUCHE, PORTUGAL): SETTLEMENT DYNAMICS OF ANCIENT PEASANT SOCIETIES ON THE LEFT BANK OF THE LOWER TAGUS RIVER (5500 TO 1800 B.C.E.)

Abstract

This article is the result of archaeological and paleoenvironmental investigations carried out within the scope of the ANSOR project in the Sorraia valley (Coruche), on the left bank of the Lower Tagus. In the analysis of settlement dynamics between 5500 and 1800 a.n.e. we considered four moments: 1) The first peasant societies of the ancient Neolithic; 2) The Middle and Late Neolithic; 3) Chalcolithic; 4) The Early Bronze Age. The Sorraia valley was also framed in the framework of the Center and South of Portugal during the period under analysis. Interpretative models are presented for changes in the implantation patterns in the four stages under study, oscillating between paleoenvironmental factors and the socio-economic changes registered in the old peasant societies.