Anta is a village located in Lamego municipality, in central Portugal. The villageis situated on a plateau on the northern edge of Serra de Montemuro. It occupiesa territory defined by an austere climate of intensive rain and low temperatures,where snowfall is common during the winter. The soils are poor, forcingan effective and sustainable management of the scarce resources. The survivalof these highland communities depends on the exploration of multiple resources,as agricultural, livestock and forestry. Thus, the morphological structureof the village, as well as its architecture have to be understood in a broadercontext, comprising agricultural or forage fields and vacant land used for pasture.The village displays a compact morphology, developed in the centre of itsterritory. The cluster spreads linearly, along the two roads crossing the mountain.Different building typologies have been identified due to animal shelters andstorage for agricultural products and instruments, which determine a groundfloor or a multi-storied house. Regardless of these differences, the houseshave a compacted rectangular floor plan. The functional division is vertical,with the animals sheltered on the ground floor to produce heat that improvesthe thermic comfort of the residential space on the upper floor. Morphologically,the reduction of openings in the walls, usually just a door and a small window,and the absence of chimneys or openings in the thatched roof are systemsused to reduce the heat losses.It is thus possible to observe how functionality, rationality and resource economyare principles observed in this settlement, in such a way, that architectureand its morphology cannot be studied separatel