The Portuguese Estremadura at 18 000 BP: the Solutrean

The Portuguese Estremadura is that part of the Western Border (a geo-techtonic unit of the Iberian Peninsula) which lies between the Tagus and Mondego rivers. The region consists of Mesozoic sediments orogenically shaped into several mountain ridges which rise to heights of approximately 600 m asl (Serro do Sicó, Maciço Calcário Estremenho, Serra de Montejunto) and form a part of the Iberian Cordilheira Central. To the south and southeast of these limestone reliefs lies the lower Tagus basin which is filled with Paleogene and Neogene continental sediments. To the west lies the coastal zone which extends into a sizeable continental platform submerged by the Atlantic ( Ribeiro et al. 1979 ).