Metodologie výzkumu paleolitické jeskyně Lapa do Picareiro (Portugalsko)

Abstract

Caves represent portions of past landscapes that were, for a long time, used by humans and their ancestors for various purposes and therefore, they have been a focus of researchers for more than two hundred years. Accumulated artifacts, ecofacts, and sediments can be used to reconstruct the environments and lives of the past. Here, we describe current methods applied to excavations of cave sites with emphasis put on their interdisciplinary nature. The case of systematic interdisciplinary research is documented with regard to the Lapa do Picareiro limestone cave, located in central Portugal, approximately 100 km north of Lisbon. The cave sediments have been dated to between 45 and 8 kya BP. A wide range of evidence from the cave (artifacts, faunal and floral remains, sediments, etc.) is used to reconstruct past natural environments (e.g., Bicho et al. 2011; Haws 2012), including fauna (Haws and Valente 2006; Hockett and Haws 2009; Valente 2004), human diet (Hockett and Haws 2009) and socio-natural interactions (Haws 2012). The interdisciplinarity is a key to understanding a whole series of phenomena which would not otherwise be understood. The current scientific demand for high quality, complex research and publication is mirrored in an increasing trend of incorporating specialists from other fields in research design and management.