O que sabemos dos grupos construtores de sambaquis? Breve revisão da arqueologia da costa sudeste do Brasil, dos primeiros sambaquis até a chegada da cerâmica Jê

Desde a década de 1990 até o ano de 2012, mais de cento e cinquenta trabalhos foram produzidos sobre a pré-história do litoral sudeste do Brasil. A grande maioria dos trabalhos refere-se aos sítios sambaquis, outra porção aos denominados “acampamentos litorâneos”, com e sem cerâmica, que caracterizam a pré-história mais recente do litoral. Dentro de tão vasto volume de trabalhos, quanto sabemos atualmente sobre a evolução da ocupação humana da costa e as características dos grupos que lá habitaram antes da migração massiva dos Guaranis? Este trabalho pretende sintetizar as informações mais relevantes produzidas nos últimos vinte anos sobre a pré-história do litoral sudeste e aventar novas hipóteses para discutir velhas questões referentes ao povoamento da costa e à “desaparição” dos grupos construtores sambaquis.From 1990 to the year of 2012 more than a hundred and fifty papers were written on the prehistory of the southeast coast of Brazil. Most of these works refer to the sambaqui  (shell mound) sites, while another portion to the so called “coastal campsites”, with or without ceramics, that characterize the recent prehistory of the coast. Within such a wide volume of work, how much do we actually know about the evolution of the human occupation of the coast and the characteristics of the groups that there inhabited before the massive migration of the Guarani groups? This paper aims to synthesize the most relevant information produced in the last twenty years on the prehistory of the southeast coast and to suggest new hypothesis on old questions related with the peopling of the coast and the “disappearance” of the sambaqui  builders

Shell sclerochronology and stable isotopes of the bivalve Anomalocardia flexuosa (Linnaeus, 1767) from southern Brazil: : implications for environmental and archaeological studies

We conduct the first stable isotopic and sclerochronological calibration of the bivalve Anomalocardia flexuosa (Linnaeus, 1767) in relation to environmental variables in a subtropical coastal area of southern Brazil. We investigate incremental shell growth patterns and δ18O and δ13C values of modern specimens collected alive from the Laguna Lagoonal System (LLS). As shells of Anomalocardia flexuosa are also the main components of pre-Columbian archaeological shell mounds and middens distributed along the Brazilian coastline, late Holocene archaeological specimens from a local shell mound (Cabeçuda) were selected to compare their stable carbon and oxygen isotopes with those of modern specimens. Shell growth increments, δ18O and δ13C values respond to a complex of environmental conditions, involving, for example, the effects of temperature and salinity. The isotopic information extracted from archaeological specimens from Cabeçuda shell midden in the LLS indirectly indicates that environmental conditions during the late Holocene were different from present day. In particular, intra-shell δ18O and δ13C values of archaeological shells reveal a stronger marine influence at 3 ka cal BP, which is in contrast to the seasonal freshwater/seawater balance that currently prevails at the LLS

Early Holocene ritual complexity in South America: the archaeological record of Lapa do Santo (east-central Brazil)

Early Archaic human skeletal remains found in a burial context in Lapa do Santo in eastcentral Brazil provide a rare glimpse into the lives of hunter-gatherer communities in South America, including their rituals for dealing with the dead. These included the reduction of the body by means of mutilation, defleshing, tooth removal, exposure to fire and possibly cannibalism, followed by the secondary burial of the remains according to strict rules. In a later period, pits were filled with disarticulated bones of a single individual without signs of body manipulation, demonstrating that the region was inhabited by dynamic groups in constant transformation over a period of centuries

Microtaphonomy in archaeological sites: The use of soil micromorphology to better understand bone taphonomy in archaeological contexts

In archaeozoological studies, taphonomic analyses have focused largely on identification of chemical and mechanical changes of the bones recovered during excavation. The quantification of bone remains is usually made using the number of remains (NR). One of the major drawbacks in the use of the NR method is that it does not take into account the variability in size of faunal remains, from large bones to microscopic fragments. In archaeological sites where no macroscopic bone is preserved due to adverse physico-chemical conditions (e.g. high pH), micromorphology can be used to detect the presence of bones and other animal remains. In addition, microscopic observations provide information on the pre and post-depositional alteration of faunal remains, and allow for a semi-quantitative assessment of microscopic bone fragments. In this sense, micromorphology can be used in support of archaeo-taphonomic studies, which have traditionally overlooked microscopic animal remains. This paper presents some applications of the use of micromorphology to understand bone taphonomy at different archaeological open-air sites, including: (1) a shell midden from Tierra del Fuego, (2) a Brazilian shell mound (sambaqui), (3) an Iberian Middle Palaeolithic site and (4) a Mesolithic campsite in northern Scotland.Raimonda Usai and Annika Burns of the Department of Archaeology, University of York prepared the thin sections from Camas Daraich. The Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness (former Ministry of Science and Innovation) provided financial support through the I+D projects HAR 2009-07.123 and HAR 2011-24356. Authors a), c) and d) belong to the “Agrest” Research Group sponsored by the Department of Universities and Research of the Catalan Government (AGAUR). Ximena S. Villagran would like to thank the financial support of Fundação de Amparo á Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP proc. 08/51264-0), Fundación Carolina and Banco Santander. We would like to thank A.B. Marin and M. Moreno, organizers of the 2nd Taphonomy Working Group Meeting held in Santander, for their kind invitation.Peer reviewe

Living in the cold: Geoarchaeology of sealing sites from Byers Peninsula (Livingston Island, Antarctica)

Few geoarchaeological studies have been conducted in the Antarctic continent. This paper contains the first results of the geoarchaeological research done in two sealing sites dated from the 19th century, located in Byers Peninsula, South Shetland Islands (Antarctica). The research is part of a wider international project that aims at understanding the daily practices of the first anonymous occupants of Antarctica, and the insertion of the continent into the world system. The geoarchaeological study focuses on site formation analyses to provide new data on site function, use of local resources, length of occupation and taphonomy. With this approach, data not attainable through artefact or documentary analyses is provided. The studied sites are Sealer 3 and Sealer 4, two sealing shelters built with piled up boulders on rocky outcrops on the south Beaches of Livingston Island. Two major precincts and annexes were studied by means of multi-element chemical analyses, micromorphology and organic petrology. Although local lithology and cryogenic processes are dominant in the chemical and micromorphological records, respectively, important distinctions could be made, especially on the behavior associated with pyrotechnology and the use of local resources for survival. The effects of humans on the sediments are expressed by higher P2O5, CaO and total C concentrations. This is related with the use of seal bones, fat and herbaceous tissue as fuel for the hearths. Shelters with more intense occupation could be differentiated from single-activity sites. Differences are attributed to habitation shelters vs. working spaces for fat processing

Macroscopic and microbiological alterations of bird and small mammal bones buried in a Cerrado biome (south western Brazil)

In this paper, we present the results of an experimental approach developed to study the macroscopic and microbiological alteration of bird and small mammal bones buried under a Cerrado biome. The first experiment evaluated the macroscopic alteration of cooked and fresh carcasses buried through the dry and rainy seasons. The second experiment analyzed the mycobiota associated to the decomposition of a complete bird that remained buried for almost a year. Results show that in tropical forest environments: 1) bone structure and pre-taphonomic factors determine its differential alteration by biochemical processes; 2) fungal populations associated to the decomposition of animal remains depend on soil chemistry and ecological dynamics; 3) even in a corrosive environment, bird bones are more capable of surviving to several mycological decomposition steps. (C) 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.National Counsel of Technological and Scientific Development (CNPq) [MCT/CNPq02/2006 Universal

Stratigraphic and spatial variability in shell middens: microfacies identification at the ethnohistoric site Tunel VII (Tierra del Fuego, Argentina)

Based on ethnographic accounts from the eighteenth to the twentieth century, functional areas have been identified within Fueginian shell middens. In this context, archaeological microfacies acquire a functional meaning when the microscopic record is compared to information gathered from ethnology, macroscopic observations made during excavation, and experimental modern analogues. All these lines of evidence were combined for the first time at Tunel VII, an eighteenth/nineteenth century shell midden occupied repeatedly by Yamana people, the last hunter–gatherer–fisher groups of the Beagle Channel. The sampling strategy involved three sets of samples: (1) two stratigraphical columns taken from the hut “entrance” and from a portion of the shell midden (i.e., the surrounding refuse shell ring), (2) thin sections from five hearths representing successive phases of frequentation of the hut, and (3) experimental burnt valves of Mytilus edulis, the main malacological component of the site. Comparison of microfacies from groups (1) and (2) provided microscopic indicators to distinguish between shell dumping areas and occupation surfaces. Comparison of microfacies within columns from group (1) allowed recognizing periods of site abandonment and periods of more intense/longer site frequentation. The experimental samples from M. edulis served as a reference to characterize the five central hearths in terms of maximum burning temperatures reached. Different burning structures were correlated to the season of hut frequentation and to their location (and function) within different portions of the hut. The intra-site micromorphological comparison strategy within a well-documented ethnohistorical context provides valuable indicators for the identification of functional areas in archaeological contexts when ethnographical information is not available.Peer reviewe