UPPER PLEISTOCENE PREHISTORY IN PORTUGUESE ESTREMADURA - RESULTS OF PRELIMINARY RESEARCH

The Upper Pleistocene prehistory of Portugal is among the least known of any area of Western Europe. Recent survey and excavations have reve aled that southern Portuguese Estremadura may well be as rich in the f ull range of prehistoric sites as any part of Iberia. Numerous open an d cave sites with intact cultural deposits have been located that rang e from the Mousterian through the early Neolithic. While the work is o ngoing, there is now good evidence, in terms of absolute chronology an d material remains, for both strong parallels with the rest of SW Euro pe and some markedly local cultural expressions.