The first safely recognized traces of human occupation in the municipal area draw a picture of cultural sequences, from incipient agrarian activities in well registered megalithic horizons to a role of primordial importance during the Metal Age. The best testimonials of this past are now national monuments, as the Dolmen of Lamoso and the Fortified Village of Sanfins, one of the most important archaeological stations in European Proto-History.
From the time of the foundation of the Nationality, the consolidation and expansion of the economy is in the hands of a flourishing society, the land distributed according to feudal rule. This economic and social vitality is manifest in the construction of the outstanding Romanesque temple of S. Pedro de Ferreira, which used to occupy the central place in the land's organization and exploration.