Material Culture from the Al Hallaniyah Isle Early 16th-Century Portuguese Indiaman Wreck-site

UID/HIS/04209/2013Excavation of an underwater site on Al Hallaniyah Island, Oman, conducted from 2013 to 2015, confirmed the presence of at least one early 16th-century shipwreck. The location is believed to be where Vincente and Brás de Sodré’s Esmeralda and the São Pedro, both part of Vasco de Gama's second voyage to India, were wrecked in 1503. This article describes the ceramic and other domestic material assemblage. It is a study of the objects used by sailors on board in their daily lives. The non-European ceramics also give indications of supplies, cargoes, and plunder acquired during the voyage. These aspects of the assemblage provide two different perspectives on the new era of maritime global trade.authorsversionpublishe

Portugal’s role in the making of a multicultural Europe (1415–1806)

UIDB/04209/2020 UIDP/04209/2020 DL57/2016/CP1453/CT0084In the Early Modern age, Portugal was among the first European countries to engage in overseas trade and colonial ventures. The influx of new people and things rapidly transformed it into a multicultural country in permanent contact with the rest of Europe and the wider world. While we possess a vast amount of knowledge describing the overseas contacts and acquisition of goods from historical documents, in recent years archaeological excavations have begun to reveal direct evidence of these interactions. This includes thousands of people and objects such as ceramics, ivory and stone artefacts produced in overseas territories in Africa, South America and Asia. They were exported in vast amounts to several European countries, and are frequently found in archaeological excavations. These commodities were in part responsible for changing European perceptions of the world, its dimensions and cultural plurality. They also rapidly left their mark on European goods production, leading to changes in aesthetics and the introduction of new forms. This paper will discuss some of these objects in terms of how they reflect an Early Modern globalized world, and their influence on European daily life.publishersversionpublishe

Amphibious landscapes of identity and community in a 19th-century “fishers” village (Grândola, Portugal)

UIDB/04004/2020Mid-19th century maps of Tróia Peninsula (Grândola) indicated the existence of a site named “Fishermen’s huts” on the beach. The site was partially excavated in 2019 and presents the characteristics of a village where around a dozen vernacular architecture shacks accommodated people who lived there between approximately 1860 and 1920. The architecture, material culture, and settlement location reveal the presence of a population with specific social and cultural characteristics related to an amphibious or hybrid lifestyle between the land and the sea. This paper presents this community, considering the relation of the people living there with the surrounding environment (natural and cultural resources) and relations within the community, where it was possible to recognize different genders and identities. These considerations are framed within social, economic, and cultural concepts.publishersversionpublishe

Exploring Pottery Production in Estremoz, Portugal

UID/HIS/04209/2013This paper discusses recent research exploring early modern pottery production associated with Estremoz, Portugal. Estremoz has played a prominent role in the historical narrative of Portuguese earthenwares stretching back to the 16th century, influencing research on both domestic and export consumption of Portuguese wares. New information presented here on the physical nature of Estremoz earthenware helps to deconstruct the area’s role in the production and distribution of ceramics in the early modern period.publishersversionpublishe

16th and 17th centuries lead glazes from Carnide (Lisbon)

Lead glazes, brown, yellow or green, are frequently found in Early Modern contexts associated to kitchen ware, although usually corresponding to no more than a small percentage of the total assemblages. While 16th and 17th century potters’ regulations mention which forms were produced and how they should be manufactured, cook books from that same period determine the use of such wares in preparing, cooking and serving food. The collection found in Carnide, just outside Lisbon, as the filling of hundreds of deactivated storages pits may shed some light on the use of these ceramics in domestic environments and their importance in everyday activities.publishersversionpublishe

Porque importa saber de cerâmica portuguesa no colonialismo atlântico

UIDB/04004/2020 DL57/2016/CP1453/CT0084A presença de cerâmica portuguesa nos territórios atlânticos há muito que tem sido notada. Faiança, cerâmica comum e cerâmica vidrada eram enviadas para as colónias portuguesas do Atlântico, utilizadas nas actividades domésticas e industriais, numa tentativa, muitas vezes não conseguida, de manutenção do estilo de vida europeu e de extrema importância económica para a subsistência das olarias portuguesas. Este artigo planeia ser uma introdução ao enorme potencial de pesquisa que é a análise das evidências cerâmicas portuguesas espalhadas pelo Atlântico.publishersversionpublishe

Identidade, Comércio e Globalização (1495-1809)

UIDB/04004/2020 UIDB/00698/2020 UIDP/00698/2020Entre os séculos XV e XIX a Península de Setúbal foi palco de diversas actividades económicas e sociais que a puseram em contacto com um mundo globalizado. A sua localização e produção de sal fez com que cidades como Setúbal ou vilas como Almada crescessem em função tanto do Rio Sado e do Rio Tejo, respectivamente, importando produtos de todo o mundo, que eram utilizados em contextos domésticos de grande variedade económica e social. O objectivo deste texto é uma leitura crítica dos resultados arqueológicos que se conhecem nesta região e de que forma essas evidências inserem este território numa dinâmica de relações globalizadas que traz bens e pessoas de diversas regiões, que se encontram e relacionam neste território. Between the 15th and 19th century the Setúbal Peninsula was the stage of several economic and social activities generating contacts in a globalized world. Its location and the production of salt made cities such as Setúbal and villages such as Almada grow in straight relation with the rivers Sado and Tagus, respectively. These urban centres imported products from around the world used in domestic contexts with an enormous economic and social variety. This paper aims to do a critical analysis of the archaeological knowledge in this territory in the Early Modern Age and how that evidence reveals how the Setúbal Peninsula reacted to a globalized world with people and commodities from around the globe.publishersversionpublishe

A distribuição e consumo de louça de Lisboa no Atlântico Norte (1600-1700)

UID/HIS/04209/2013É sobejamente conhecida a presença tanto de faiança como louça comum, de produção lisboeta, no norte da Europa. O comércio entre o sul e o norte assentava em produtos tais como o sal, vinho, açúcar, fruta e azeite, de produção portuguesa, e as fazendas e madeira, oriundas do norte da Europa. A presença de louça, tanto vidrada como comum, corresponderia apenas a pequena porção dos carregamentos que navios de diferentes nacionalidades levariam de Lisboa para as cidades norte europeias, onde entrariam num sistema de redistribuição para cidades mais pequenas e das poucas sobrevivências arqueológicas deste comércio. É objectivo do presente trabalho demonstrar que tipo de louça era exportada, em que quantidades, e quais os seus padrões de consumo no Norte da Europa. The presence of Lisbon ceramics, either tin glaze or coarse wares, is widely known in Northern Europe. The trade system between the North and South was supported by commodities such as Portuguese salt, wine, sugar, fruit and olive oil, and cloth and wood produced in the North. Ceramics would correspond to a small amount of the total trade, though a remarkable survival in archaeological contexts. From those major cities, with direct connections to Portugal, they would be redistributed to smaller cities. The purpose of this paper is to show what type of ceramics were being exported, in what amounts, and what was their consumption patterns in Northern Europe were.publishersversionpublishe

Os contextos arqueológicos da escavação do Centro de Saúde

UID/HIS/04209/2019O lugar do actual Centro de Saúde de Alhandra foi alvo de duas intervenções arqueológicas. Durante as escavações ali efectuadas foram recuperados diversos elementos de cultura material associados às mais diversas vivências quotidianas. As cerâmicas vermelhas, vidradas e faianças são as mais abundantes, mas outros elementos vítreos, metálicos e de osso foram igualmente recuperados. Os materiais correspondem a uma ocupação entre os meados da primeira metade do século XVII e os inícios do século XVIII.publishersversionpublishe

o demónio da Casa da Severa

UID/HIS/04209/2013 UID/HIS/00749/2013Escavações arqueológicas na Casa da Severa puseram a descoberto contextos arqueológicos que se podem balizar entre o século XII e os finais do século XV. Foram identificados ambientes domésticos cuja cultura material e restos faunísticos se fazem associar sobretudo à comunidade muçulmana, apesar do enquadramento cristão em que a mesma esteve inserida ao longo destes três séculos. Entre os diversos achados de uso quotidiano, foi recuperado um molde em cerâmica onde era possível moldar pequena estatueta, em metal, que associamos a uma figura demoníaca: as suas características físicas com cascos e pernas de animal, chifres e falo, não deixam margem para dúvidas. Este trabalho pretende a análise desta estatueta como representação de actividades ocultas tais como a invocação de demónios, associadas a um contexto medieval lisboeta claramente popular. O facto de se tratar de uma peça para a manufactura de estátuas leva a crer que existia uma produção deste tipo de artefactos e que os mesmos podiam ser obtidos na Lisboa medieval sugerindo possivelmente a existência não apenas de um caso de adoração isolada, mas uma diversidade que possivelmente seria transversal a estas distintas comunidades religiosas. Tais cultos, conhecidos através da documentação, são raramente identificados em intervenções arqueológicas, pelo que este artefacto é reflexo de ideologias e crenças. Archaeological excavations made in Casa da Severa, discovered some archaeological contexts possible to date between the 12th and 15th centuries. Several domestic environments reveal the presence of Muslim communities based on material culture and faunal remains. Among the many finds related to everyday household activities a ceramic mould was found. This object was used to cast metal figurines shaped as little devils. Its physical characteristics combining a human figure with animal legs, horns and a phallus clearly suggest this identification. This paper aims to study that figurine as a representation of occult activities, such as the calling of demons, associated to an atmosphere of popular superstition. The existence of one mould destined to cast several figures leads to the conclusion that this was not an isolated act but a widespread practice. Several documents seem to confirm that the worship of demons and other pagan ritual were frequent.publishersversionpublishe