Quaternary

The archaeological site of Charneca do Fratel, in Vila Velha de Ródão, Portugal, is a fortification that is radiocarbon-dated from the third millennium BCE. The archaeological fieldwork in 1987 revealed the first Chalcolithic settlement on the northern Portuguese bank of the Tagus River. Its architectonic concept is similar to that observed in southern Portugal, proving new insights into the study of the process of Chalcolithisation of western Iberia. Its location close to the Tagus River, in the vicinity of fertile soils, fishing and hunting areas, and sources of raw materials that are probably used to produce stone tools and pottery, indicates a self-sustained society in the frame of an accentuated tendency for sedentarisation. In the present work, 20 samples were submitted to an archaeometric approach to shed light on the technological aspects of Chalcolithic ceramic production techniques on the northern bank of the Tagus River. The obtained results indicate two chemically distinguishable ceramic groups within Fratel’s findings, with a high variation in paste colourations, ranging from dark greyish and bright red. Mineralogical analysis indicates that firing occurred at temperatures between 700 °C and 850 °C. The results point to a local production, with ceramic manufacturing procedures that are analogous to other Chalcolithic settlements.

Low-altitude palaeoglaciation in Atlantic mountain regions provides important insights into past climatic conditions and moisture dynamics during the Last Glacial Cycle. This study presents the first quantitative reconstruction of palaeoglaciers in Serra da Cabreira (northwest Portugal), a mid-altitude granite massif located along the Atlantic fringe of the Iberian Peninsula. Detailed geomorphological mapping (1:14,000) and field surveys identified 48 glacial and periglacial landforms, enabling reconstruction of two small valley glaciers in the Gaviões and Azevedas valleys using GlaRe numerical modelling. The spatial distribution of palaeoglacial landforms shows a pronounced west–east asymmetry: periglacial features prevail on wind-exposed west-facing slopes, whereas glacial erosion and depositional landforms characterise the more protected east-facing valleys. The reconstructed glaciers covered 0.24–0.98 km², with maximum ice thicknesses of 72–89 m. Equilibrium-line altitudes were estimated using AABR, AAR, and MELM methods, yielding consistent palaeo-ELA values of ~1020–1080 m. These results indicate temperature depressions of ~6–10 °C and enhanced winter precipitation associated with humid, Atlantic-dominated conditions. Comparison with regional ELA datasets situates Cabreira within a clear Atlantic–continentality gradient across northwest Iberia, aligning with other low-altitude maritime palaeoglaciers in the northwest Iberian mountains. The findings highlight the strong influence of the orographic barrier position, moisture availability, valley hypsometry, and structural controls in sustaining small, climatically sensitive glaciers at low elevations. Serra da Cabreira thus provides a key reference for understanding Last Glacial Cycle palaeoclimatic variability along the Western Iberian margin.

Aeolian deposits are globally recognized as sensitive recorders of Quaternary climate and environmental change, exemplified by the continuous loess sequences of the Chinese Loess Plateau in northern China, which document paleoclimatic and paleoenvironmental evolution since the Miocene. However, such deposits have rarely been confirmed in low-latitude inland regions of southern China. Here we present systematic evidence of aeolian deposition in a low-latitude environment, namely at the Xinlipoding (XLPD) Paleolithic site, situated between the Bose and Bubing Basins in Guangxi, southern China. Using optically stimulated luminescence (OSL), geochemical, and grain-size analyses, we investigate 100 cm thick yellow-brown sandy loam exposed on the hillside of the Bubing Basin. OSL dating constrains its accumulation between 25.3 ± 1.5 ka and 2.7 ± 0.1 ka, spanning the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) to the late Holocene. Geochemical signatures indicate that the sediments were primarily derived from a nearby terrace in the Bose and Bubing Basins. Grain-size end-member modeling further reveals a mixed alluvial-aeolian origin, comprising both windblown and reworked loess. These findings demonstrate that aeolian dust deposition persisted even in the humid subtropical low-latitude regions of China, recording continuous dust input across glacial–interglacial cycles. The XLPD section thus provides a valuable framework for reconstructing late quaternary environmental change and extends the spatial reach of global aeolian deposition into previously underrecognized regions. Importantly, it also offers a crucial paleoenvironmental context for human occupation in the Bubing Basin from the LGM through the late Holocene.