Ossos do nosso ofício

This set of birds exemplifies the birdlife that used to frequent the Lapedo Valley and whose skeletal remains have been documented at the Lagar Velho rockshelter. c) Western jackdaw (Corvus monedula), b) common starling (Sturnus vulgaris), a) common kestrel (Falco tinnunculus) and d) red-legged partridge (Alectoris rufa). © Nuno Farinha
e) Partridge (Alectoris sp.) leg bones (tarsometatarsus), Western jackdaw (Corvus monedula) wing bones (ulna) and corvid claws (phalanges) of an unidentified species, recovered during the Lagar Velho archaeological excavations. © J.P. Ruas

Birdlife also left traces of its presence at the shelter. The partridge (Alectoris sp.), the common kestrel (Falco tinnunculus), the common starling (Sturnus vulgaris) and the jackdaw (Corvus monedula), among other rooks and corvids, have mostly been found in the more recent levels of Lagar Velho, featuring Upper Palaeolithic occupations dating back to between 26,000 and 24,000 years ago.
The presence of their bones in the sedimentary record of the Lagar Velho rockshelter, also - but not only - in levels of human occupation, is difficult to interpret and may correspond to natural accumulations of other, non-human predators. But this part of the story is still under construction!