O homem pré-histórico, o molusco e o sambaqui: considerações sobre a subsistência dos povos sambaquieiros.

Os sambaquis são um tipo de sítio arqueológico pré-histórico freqüente ao longo da costa sudeste brasileira. Construídos entre 7000 a 1000 anos AP, esses sítios indicam grupos humanos muito adaptados às condições locais. Os ecossistemas costeiros são geralmente tidos como ambientes com alta capacidade de suporte embora tenham sido ocupados tardiamente pelo Homem. A adaptação de bandos nômades às condições litorâneas parece ter acarretado grandes mudanças sociais, econômicas e culturais. A análise das amostras da arqueofauna de três sambaquis oferece um exemplo da natureza da adaptação do homem pré-histórico a esses meios.The sambaquis (or shell-mounds) are a very common type of prehistoric archaeological site along the brazilian southeast coast. Built between 7.000 and 1.000 years BP, they point to an efficient human adaptation to that area. Generally identified as rich environments with a high earring capacity, the coastal ecosystems have only been occupied lately by human race, and this adaptation of nomad bands to the nearshore conditions seems to bring great social, economic and cultural changes. The analysis of archaeofaunal samples from three sambaquis offers an example of the nature of the prehistoric men adaptation to these environments

Resultados preliminares dos vestígios zooarqueológicos do sambaqui Espinheiros II (Joinville, SC).

This study treats about the faunal composition of the sambaqui’s sediments and shows some aspects about its formation. The analysis exposed by the searchers try to show two different moments in the construction of this site, moments with different kinds of shell deposition. The analysis of other elements, the fish bones, gives other ideas about the kind of fishing used by the mound builders. The similarities with the COSIPA shell mounds seem to reforce some hypothesis about the way of life of this prehistoric group

Characterization of soil profile developed in a riverine shellmound (Sambaqui Moraes), Miracatu-SP, Brasil

Archaeological excavations carried out in the riverine shellmound Moraes, Miracatu, SP - Brazil, pointed out distinct archaeological layers which resulted in the mound configuration of the site. Therefore, aiming at reaching a first approach on the formation process of the site, physical-chemical soil analysis from inside and outside the site were developed in order to comprehend the properties that could have contributed for the characterization of the peculiarities found on the archaeological layers of this riverine shellmound.It was demonstrated a large alteration in many chemical and physical properties of the soil horizons developed in the shellmound. The high levels of phosphorus in the dark horizons indicate an enrichment of that horizon by addition of residues rich in this element (e.g. bones). The dark horizons also show high levels of organic carbon in comparison with the original soil horizon. However, if the stabilization of the organic carbon that allows its accumulation in the dark horizons of shellmonds is because formation of stable compound with calcium and/or effect of heating (pyrogenic carbon) it is not clear and should be further investigated.Escavações arqueológicas desenvolvidas no sambaqui fluvial Moraes, no município de Miracatu, SP, revelaram distintas camadas arqueológicas que resultaram na configuração monticular deste sítio. Com o objetivo de discutir o processo formativo deste sítio, foram realizadas análises físico-químicas do solo de dentro e de fora do mesmo para a compreensão das propriedades que podem ter contribuído para a caracterização das particularidades encontradas nas camadas arqueológicas deste sambaqui fluvial. Foi constatada uma elevada alteração em alguns parâmetros físicos e químicos dos diferentes horizontes do solo desenvolvido no sambaqui. Em especial os elevados teores de fósforo corroboram um enriquecimento deste ambiente em resíduos antrópicos ricos neste elemento (e.g. ossos). Os horizontes escuros também mostram elevados teores de carbono em relação ao perfil testemunho. Entretanto, ainda não está claro se a estabilização do carbono nos sambaquis se deve à estabilização do cálcio ou efeito de calor (carbono pirogênico) e precisará ser elucidado em próximos estudos

A new early Holocene human skeleton from Brazil: implications for the settlement of the New World

Abstract Increasing skeletal evidence from the U.S.A., Mexico, Colombia, and Brazil strongly suggests that the first settlers in the Americas had a cranial morphology distinct from that displayed by most late and modern Native Americans. The Paleoamerican morphological pattern is more generalized and can be seen today among Africans, Australians, and Melanesians. Here, we present the results of a comparative morphological assessment of a late Paleoindian/early archaic specimen from Capelinha Burial II, southern Brazil. The Capelinha skull was compared with samples of four Paleoindian groups from South and Central America and worldwide modern groups from W.W. Howells' studies. In both analyses performed (classical morphometrics and geometric morphometrics), the results show a clear association between Capelinha Burial II and the Paleoindians, as well as Australians, Melanesians, and Africans, confirming its Paleoamerican status

Long-term resilience of late holocene coastal subsistence system in Southeastern South america.

Isotopic and molecular analysis on human, fauna and pottery remains can provide valuable new insights into the diets and subsistence practices of prehistoric populations. These are crucial to elucidate the resilience of social-ecological systems to cultural and environmental change. Bulk collagen carbon and nitrogen isotopic analysis of 82 human individuals from mid to late Holocene Brazilian archaeological sites (∼6,700 to ∼1,000 cal BP) reveal an adequate protein incorporation and, on the coast, the continuation in subsistence strategies based on the exploitation of aquatic resources despite the introduction of pottery and domesticated plant foods. These results are supported by carbon isotope analysis of single amino acid extracted from bone collagen. Chemical and isotopic analysis also shows that pottery technology was used to process marine foods and therefore assimilated into the existing subsistence strategy. Our multidisciplinary results demonstrate the resilient character of the coastal economy to cultural change during the late Holocene in southern Brazil

Genomic history of coastal societies from eastern South America

Sambaqui (shellmound) societies are among the most intriguing archaeological phenomena in pre-colonial South America, extending from approximately 8,000 to 1,000 years before present (yr bp) across 3,000 km on the Atlantic coast. However, little is known about their connection to early Holocene hunter-gatherers, how this may have contributed to different historical pathways and the processes through which late Holocene ceramists came to rule the coast shortly before European contact. To contribute to our understanding of the population history of indigenous societies on the eastern coast of South America, we produced genome-wide data from 34 ancient individuals as early as 10,000 yr bp from four different regions in Brazil. Early Holocene hunter-gatherers were found to lack shared genetic drift among themselves and with later populations from eastern South America, suggesting that they derived from a common radiation and did not contribute substantially to later coastal groups. Our analyses show genetic heterogeneity among contemporaneous Sambaqui groups from the southeastern and southern Brazilian coast, contrary to the similarity expressed in the archaeological record. The complex history of intercultural contact between inland horticulturists and coastal populations becomes genetically evident during the final horizon of Sambaqui societies, from around 2,200 yr bp, corroborating evidence of cultural change

Reconstructing the Deep Population History of Central and South America

We report genome-wide ancient DNA from 49 individuals forming four parallel time transects in Belize, Brazil, the Central Andes, and the Southern Cone, each dating to at least 9,000 years ago. The common ancestral population radiated rapidly from just one of the two early branches that contributed to Native Americans today. We document two previously unappreciated streams of gene flow between North and South America. One affected the Central Andes by 4,200 years ago, while the other explains an affinity between the oldest North American genome associated with the Clovis culture and the oldest Central and South Americans from Chile, Brazil, and Belize. However, this was not the primary source for later South Americans, as the other ancient individuals derive from lineages without specific affinity to the Clovis-associated genome, suggesting a population replacement that began at least 9,000 years ago and was followed by substantial population continuity in multiple regions